Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The vibrant multiculturalism of Melbourne's north is something of which I am very proud, but I do not take it for granted either in the electorate that I am privileged to represent in this place or more generally around our country. We cannot take this for granted, and I will not. Despite the challenging times in which we live, there are those who seek to divide Australians and so put our social cohesion under threat. Last week in this place, the member for Dawson said that 'multiculturalism has failed us a nation'. He went on to say:

Today's multiculturalism means that the world view and the beliefs that spawn practices like honour killings, child brides or sharia law must be accepted, because they are seen as legitimate values within a particular culture.

The member for Dawson's remarks cannot stand unchallenged, and so I will challenge them: I could not disagree more. Those of us here cannot license these views or their consequences to multicultural communities and our social cohesion. They do not take place in a vacuum, of course. Forty years after the enactment of the Racial Discrimination Act, we are a different and better nation for it, but key provisions in that act have been challenged, with proposals last year to remove vital protections defeated following a community campaign I was proud to be a part of along with my Labor colleagues. This law remains, but the challenges to its key principles remain, including within this parliament, which should be a pillar of support for multiculturalism.

I believe the diversity of modern Australia is our country's greatest asset. I see this every week in the suburbs that make up the Scullin electorate. Sharing in this with community is a highlight of my role. It is something that my young children greatly appreciate, too—attending festivals and events that are demonstrations of the great social dividends of multiculturalism, which brings communities together and in so doing builds a more resilient and more confident community, builds understanding and promotes social inclusion. I see and I feel this, and I am pleased to see there is plenty of evidence in support. Today I looked at the April 2015 ANU poll, which shows that public opinion continues to be favourable to immigrants' contribution to society and that 86 per cent believe that immigrants improve Australian society by bringing new ideas and culture with them. But there are also worrying signs. Some young people clearly feel alienated and marginalised. Let us think about how we might persuade them not to feel this way—people like the young woman assaulted in my electorate last year, apparently by reason of the way she dressed.

Last week the Prime Minister appointed the member for Berowra to take on the role of the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Citizenship and Community Engagement as well as appointing Senator Fierravanti-Wells to address community engagement and social inclusion. This sounds like a good thing and I hope it will be, but it comes during a week when the government is debating, vigorously it would seem, giving the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection unfettered powers to strip some Australians of their citizenship, while having little to say by way of rebuke to the member for Dawson. What signals does this send?

In this place, we should be advancing the cause of inclusiveness. This is the most effective way to tackle the forces of fear and of division, giving everyone a real stakeholding in our society. Today in this place we have been talking about equality, I hope making some progress towards removing an ugly discriminatory aspect of our laws and making a statement about our commitment to value each of us equally. I am proud to be supporting equality in marriage and I am proud that Labor is leading this debate. Removing discrimination based on innate qualities such as race, gender or sexuality is something I will always be proud to fight for. But these fights are not simply about changing the law. They are about leadership and about setting standards. As the member for Greenway put it:

It would be nice if all members of the Abbott Government said more about social inclusion more often, and meant it.

In recent days, it has been said that all views deserve respect. I disagree. Not all views deserve respect, but all people most certainly do. People all have a right to be respected and to not be racially abused. This is why we fought to stop backsliding on the Racial Discrimination Act. I respect people's right to express their views, of course, but, particularly for those in positions of leadership, there is a heavy duty to look at the consequences of our words and their influence. We all have a shared interest in making Australia a better place to live. That means a more harmonious place and it means always standing up for multiculturalism, the signal social achievement of modern Australia.