Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that it has been 40 years since the Vietnamese began coming to Australia and their arrival has been defined by:

(a) successful settlement;

(b) positive integration; and

(c) their assistance with the development of the Australian economy through their hard work and dedication;

(2) acknowledges the positive influence in Australia of the Vietnamese-Australian people from:

(a) the Vietnamese Community Association;

(b) the Vietnamese parishes of the Catholic Church;

(c) the Vietnamese Free Buddhist Church;

(d) other religious groups; and

(e) clubs and other service providers; and

(3) commends the Vietnamese-Australian community for its dedication to Australia and determination to provide opportunities and success for Vietnamese-Australian families.

Tonight in the Main Committee room the Vietnamese community of Australia is holding a reception to commemorate 40 years of Vietnamese migration to Australia. From the terrible tragedy of the fall of the Republic of Vietnam on 30 April 1975, a mass refugee escape took place as the brutal and vindictive regime in Hanoi took revenge on their enemies. Re-education camps, outright imprisonment, disappearances and murder were all hallmarks of the threat that made so many Vietnamese refugees flee. More than one million escaped and an estimated 400,000 were lost at sea. That was a continuation of the tragedy with the fall of the democratic dream on 30 April 1975. Refugee camps were established in places like Hong Kong and Malaysia in particular.

It was in April 1976 that Vietnamese refugees first arrived by boat in Darwin. Over five years a total of 2,100 arrived by boat, but the vast majority was resettled out of refugee camps in Asia. To make the point with these numbers: the 1976 census said there were 2,427 Vietnamese in Australia and in the 1981 census the number was up to 41,096; in the 1991 national census, 124,800 people born in Vietnam were resident in Australia and in 2001 there were 154,000; and the 2011 census indicated that 185,000 people born in Vietnam were resident in Australia and 219,000 spoke Vietnamese at home. In Cowan there are more than 5,000 people who are of Vietnamese heritage, and I am pleased to have spoken of their behalf on more than 30 occasions in this parliament. I have been to Vietnam twice; however, given my speeches have been critical of the government in Hanoi, I have not been able to get another visa for the past three years.

In this motion I talk about the successful settlement and positive integration of Vietnamese Australians' and their contribution to the development of the Australian economy. This is, of course, all very true; I see it across every part of the Cowan electorate. In Western Australia, Vietnamese people are wonderful entrepreneurs. They own and create very effective businesses. All of the independent bakeries and the fingernail, manicure and pedicure shops are all Vietnamese owned. In fact, the Summerfield Shopping Centre in Girrawheen, and a lot of the Newpark Shopping Centre, are full of Vietnamese-owned shops. Beyond their very strong retail contribution to business, there are many Vietnamese involved in horticulture in and around Cowan. I will also make mention of the Vietnamese Farmers Association president, Thang Van Le, of Gnangara and acknowledge the wonderful contribution he has made to WA.

During my visits to Vietnam, I could see that Vietnamese people know how to work hard. That same attitude is evident here in Australia. First-generation Vietnamese Australians have established successful family businesses and farms, achieving success through determination to succeed. Now, increasingly, the next generation have been defined by increasing numbers of professionals, and I see more and more doctors, pharmacists and other tertiary educated graduates.

The Vietnamese people have a determined and entrepreneurial spirit that thrives in the free enterprise environment here in Australia. It is a great combination. I also pay tribute to the community and religious leadership of Vietnamese Australians. The President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia is Mr Vo Tri Dung. In Western Australia I thank the President of the Vietnamese Community Dr Nguyen Anh Dung for his outstanding and wise leadership. His clarity of thought and dedication to the Vietnamese community have seen the creation of the magnificent Vietnamese Boat People Monument of Gratitude in the rightly named Liberty Park in the town of Vincent. I also acknowledge the outstanding leadership of the Vietnamese Buddhist community by the venerable Thich Phuoc Nhon. He is a great religious leader, and his drive for the Buddhists all the way around Australia is well noted. I also acknowledge the great efforts of Mr Huynh Ngoc Hung, President of the Vietnamese Senior Association in WA; Fr Pham Mong Huynh, Vietnamese Catholic Church WA; Mr Nguyen Van Thanh, President of the Republic of Vietnam Veterans' Association of Australia; Mr Doan Viet Trung, Secretary of the Protect the Vietnamese Workers Committee; and Dr Nguyen Do Thanh Phong, spokesperson for Viet Tan.

Five minutes is not long enough to really acknowledge the Vietnamese community in Australia. So many have made such great contributions. But I think it is important to say that they came here under circumstances of great adversity, but from that adversity Australia has greatly benefited by the contribution that they have made. They are great people and great Australians, and I certainly thank them for their efforts for this country both over the last 40 years and in the future, because they have made great contributions and they will continue to do so.

Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am happy to second the motion.

Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I call the member for Gellibrand.

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon and the beginning of the mass resettlement of Vietnamese migrants in Australia—a sad day for Vietnam but a happy day for modern Australia This event saw hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese forced to flee their country in search of refuge. Many made the journey from Vietnam to places like Pulau Bidong, a refugee camp in Malaysia, and then to places like the Midway Hostel in Footscray of my electorate as part of a regional resettlement agreement developed to accommodate this acute humanitarian crisis. They arrived with next to no resources and unable to speak the language in a country that was at best apprehensive about their presence.

The Vietnamese began to arrive in Australia shortly after the abolition of the White Australia policy but with the attitudes and cultural reflexes of this period laying remnant. How things have changed. Today Vietnamese born make up the fifth largest migrant community in Australia and the Vietnamese Australian community is the third largest ethnic group in Australia from a non-English-speaking country. There are now over 200,000 Vietnamese Australian people living in our country. The land on which the Midway Hostel formerly stood in Footscray in my electorate is now governed by a council with a Vietnamese Australian mayor: Maribyrnong City Council's Nam Quach. In just 40 years the Vietnamese Australian community has changed the face of my electorate and made an enormous contribution to the economy, society and government of Melbourne's west.

This motion seeks to congratulate the Vietnamese Australian community for its positive integration. While I agree that modern Australia would be significantly less vibrant without the Vietnamese Australian community, I would, with respect to the generous intent of this motion, phrase it slightly differently. Vietnamese migrants did not simply put on akubra hats and recite bush poetry when they reached our shores. They have not just integrated with Australian society; they have enriched it and added new dimensions to the Australian identity. We have learnt much from the values revered in the Australian Vietnamese community—values like hard work, the pursuit of excellence and community and familial obligation. New ideas and new ways of doing things in the Vietnamese community have enriched our businesses, our hospitals, our schools, our cuisine, our literature and our culture.

Immigration from Vietnam and the subsequent flourishing of the Vietnamese community in Australia has changed our nation for the better. Vietnamese immigration to Australia fundamentally changed the way that Australia sees itself. It gave us a practical experience of diversity and multiculturalism unlike any we had previously experienced. We are no longer a monocultural society, a colonial outpost with a fear of a yellow peril to our north; we are a multicultural, pluralistic and welcoming society largely free from the kinds of racial intolerance and segregation that immigrants left behind when they came to Australia. The Vietnamese Australian community is a shining example of how multiculturalism makes good countries great.

Earlier this month the Vietnamese community in Australia launched a fundraising campaign in conjunction with Rotary International, Disaster Support Nepal Australia and the Mounties group to raise money for the victims of the earthquake in April. In May, prominent Vietnamese Australian and self-taught singer and songwriter Hong-Anh released an album titled Boat People Dance, which focuses on the daily plight of refugees and also raises money for charity. This year, the Vietnamese community in Victoria raised over half a million dollars for the Royal Children's Hospital Appeal as part of the Good Friday Appeal.

Whenever anyone involved in these philanthropic causes is interviewed or asked to comment on their work it is common to hear them explain that their work is simply giving back to the Australian community or saying thank you. I think we can now all safely say that this is the wrong way around, and that we should be thanking the Vietnamese Australian community for the contribution they have made to Australia over the past 40 years. During a time when many ethnic groups feel anxious about much of the rhetoric surrounding the citizenship debate in this country, remembering the Vietnamese Australian community and their contribution is particularly valuable. Last month, a government backbencher got up in this place and declared that 'multiculturalism has failed'. Nothing could be further from the truth. I wish that he could have been with me and thousands of my constituents in Melbourne's west, where we watched fireworks over the Maribyrnong River for the lunar new year at the Quang Minh Temple, or celebrated and ate street food at the annual East Meets West Festival in Footscray in my electorate or stood in solidarity with the Vietnamese Australian community to pay tribute to Malcolm Fraser's passing.

In 2015, 28 per cent of Australians are born overseas, the highest percentage in 120 years. Over 40 per cent of the people living in my electorate were born in another country and two-thirds of them had a parent born in another country. My electorate would look extraordinarily different without the benefits of multiculturalism. We are a culturally diverse, pluralistic society, and this has not happened by accident. It has been government policy for decades, across governments from both sides of politics. It has happened because we realise the immense advantages that come with multiculturalism. I thank the Vietnamese Australian community for their role in promoting the benefits of multiculturalism, and their prominent role in Australian society. I, too, could personally thank many friends from the Vietnamese Australian community, but I will not hazard doing that in five minutes because it would take far longer to acknowledge all of them personally.

Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.