Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was my pleasure to be at the recent opening of the first Mandaean place of worship, known as a Mandi, in my electorate. The purpose-built facility allows those of the Mandaean faith to properly observe their religious practices by providing a clean source of running water for baptism. Mandaean faith is an ancient religion based on the teachings of John the Baptist. The importance of the event was obvious by the number of attendees, including many of my colleagues from Liverpool council and state and federal parliament.

Until 2003, most of the world's Mandaean population lived in the southern part of Iraq. At that time, the population was thought to number over 60,000. Over the course of the years since, with the ongoing conflict in that region and persecution of the Mandaean minority, they now number fewer than 5,000. A recent ABC article estimates that there are between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans worldwide. Of that population, Australia is home to approximately 10,000, who live in or near Sydney's western suburbs, including my own constituency. The construction of this place of worship is certainly an accomplishment which will be well-used by this close-knit community. I congratulate the leaders of the Mandaean community on the achievement, especially Dr Amad Mtashar for his leadership in this project.