John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday's release of the government's multicultural statement, Multicultural Australia: United, Strong and Successful, is a timely renewal of our commitment to a strong and prosperous multicultural Australia. We promote the principle of mutual respect, celebrate free speech and denounce racial hatred and discrimination as incompatible with Australian society. It is as relevant to our First Australians as it is to me as a fourth-generation Queenslander, to our    war veterans, and to our most recent arrivals.

That is what the UNESCO ambassadors who came from Paris specifically to visit Toowoomba saw last week—the first ever UNESCO peace delegation to visit Australia—invited by our Goodwill Committee at Pure Land Learning College. To be there to welcome them, speak at the community forum and engage in other activities during their stay was a privilege and a pleasure.

Today is Harmony Day, and Toowoomba is well progressed in its stated aim of becoming a model city of peace and harmony, as supported by a wide range of our faith and community leaders, including our mayor, Paul Antonio, our Catholic bishop, our Anglican bishop, the head of our Buddhist community at Pure Land Learning College and the head of our Toowoomba Islamic society as well.