Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to visit St Abdisho's church in Coolaroo in my electorate and to finally meet with His Grace Mar Benyamin Elya, the bishop of the diocese of Victoria and New Zealand, newly appointed last year and finally come to us from Sydney. Bishop Elya heads the spiritual needs of the Assyrian community in Victoria and, in particular, in my electorate, which is a community that's a very large and fast-growing community. In more recent times, with the arrival of a large number of refugees from Syria and Iraq, we have seen members of the local Assyrian community swell up to about 1,500 families.

I've had many discussions with the bishop, but one discussion of importance was his desire to establish a school that will service the needs of the Assyrian community in my electorate—a similar school, I understand, exists in New South Wales. The vision for a school to service the needs of the community is very pertinent, especially in this instance because schools, like churches or places of worship, become a significant infrastructure for newly emerging communities. I'm looking forward to working with His Grace on this project. He represents a new generation of religious leaders in Australia. He came here when he was 12 years of age and he's best equipped to meet the needs of that emerging community.