Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to mention the fantastic work of Boronia Multicultural Services, which is located in Toongabbie in my electorate. Boronia Multicultural Services is a non-profit advocacy and support service for refugees and migrants of non-English-speaking background living in the Holroyd and Parramatta local government areas, supported by grants from the federal government.

Last week I had the privilege of attending their 2011-12 annual general meeting in Toongabbie. This is their 23rd year of providing support to families of refugee and migrant backgrounds in my electorate and also the electorate of the member for Parramatta. Boronia's mission statement outlines that their objective is:

… to assist with the advancement and promotion of a culturally and linguistically diverse community through facilitating equal access, opportunity and participation for all, based on the principles of social justice, access and equity.

Its activities include mother support groups, sewing, computer classes and swimming classes, as well as specific projects such as empowering refugee Tamil women by providing them with human rights education, leadership and advocacy training and mental well-being programs for Farsi and Dari speakers. All the staff and volunteers of BMS work tirelessly to achieve their mission and I would like to especially mention the excellent efforts of Ms Rugmini Venkatraman, Ms Thamaraiselvi Senthooran, Mr Michael Odur, Ms Mahin Rashtakhiz, Ms Sonu Aggarwal, Ms Jaspreet Walia and Ms Bec Reidy.

Organisations such as Boronia Multicultural Services help make the community I represent a great place to live. I thank them sincerely for their efforts and I look forward to working with them in the future and advocating on their behalf into the future.