Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Saturday, 22 October, the annual Walk Together walk is being held around the country. In Adelaide, it will start at 11 am at the Torrens Parade Grounds.

Walk Together 2016 will be a huge celebration of diversity and a loud declaration that thousands of Australians believe we can become a nation known for our compassion, our generosity and our welcoming nature. I, for one, will be proudly joining thousands of Australians in more than 20 cities and towns around the country to celebrate cultural diversity, promote compassion, build unity and to say welcome to people seeking asylum, refugees and other new arrivals to this wonderful nation of ours.

My Electorate of Hindmarsh is a very diverse community with around 200 languages spoken, with people from every nation settled in the western suburbs to make Australia their home. I want Hindmarsh and, indeed, the entire country to be a place of unity, respect and inclusion towards everyone. Last year over 20,000 people participated around the country in this march. And this year, for the first time, Walk Together will go international, with Anchorage in Alaska also taking part with its sister city, Darwin. Walk Together is an initiative of Welcome to Australia, a national movement that has built around the country, promoting a welcoming atmosphere for those that settle here in our nation, and promoting diversity and unity.