Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and with it the exodus of an estimated one million Vietnamese people from their homeland. Of those who fled it is believed that about half a million vanished with many possibly dying at sea. Of those who survived over 57,000 landed in Australia with some 2,000 coming as boat arrivals. Their settlement marked a significant turning point in the Australian story. The Vietnamese were the first major wave of boat arrival refugees to reach Australia. They also represented the first major wave of non-European migrants and a major test for Australian immigration policy at the time. The integration of Vietnamese people into Australian society caused a major shift in Australian cultural thinking. It was a difficult period throughout Australia with mixed reactions to the Vietnamese arrivals.

Australia had been entrenched in the Vietnam War for a decade. Australians understood the fate of those Vietnamese who fled and there was sympathy for them. Simultaneously Australians were uneasy about having people of a different culture and background as their neighbours. I had personal experience of that. In the early 1980s Vietnamese people moved into my local area in substantial numbers and sought to build a major Vietnamese community centre. As a local councillor at the time I soon found myself in the middle of a polarised community. As history now shows any fears held at the time were unfounded. The Vietnamese community centre was built and caused no disruption to the local community. The Vietnamese people proved to be model neighbours and subsequently model citizens. It seemed that it was a similar story wherever in Australia Vietnamese people settled.

Having survived a dangerous journey to Australia after a 10-year long war the Vietnamese people were determined to make the most of their new life, and their sole focus was the opportunities Australia presented to them. They were grateful for what they were offered and were not deterred by the barriers that others may have succumbed to. In a relatively short time their place in the Australian story was secured. They integrated seamlessly into Australian life and through their incredible work ethic set about building not only their own future but also that of our country. Never did they deny or turn their back on their heritage.

The 40th anniversary was marked by a reception in the national parliament on 22 June, which I attended, and which was attended by Vietnamese representatives from around Australia. I was particularly proud that South Australia's Governor His Excellency the Hon. Hieu Van Le and Mrs Lan Le were amongst those in attendance. As refugee boat arrivals themselves theirs is a truly remarkable and inspirational story.

Today, 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War, we not only reflect on the many individual stories of Vietnamese arrivals, but celebrate their presence. We also thank the Australian Vietnamese community for their outstanding contribution to Australian prosperity.