Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to first take this opportunity to thank the people of Barton for placing their faith and confidence in me to represent them for another term in this parliament. I am very proud to represent the electorate of Barton. Barton represents a microcosm of modern Australia. It is one of the most culturally diverse electorates in the nation, home to some of the largest Greek, Arabic, Chinese and Nepalese communities in Australia. While the result of the election was not what everyone hoped, the campaign provided me with a wonderful opportunity to crisscross the electorate from Canterbury to Marrickville, Rockdale, Kogarah and Hurstville and to catch up with the many wonderful groups and residents doing wonderful things in our local communities. I pledge first and foremost to the electors of Barton that I will continue to advocate and provide a strong voice for their interests in this parliament.

I'd also like to extend my congratulations and heartfelt condolences, which I'll explain in a moment, to Don and Doreen Kinna of Bexley, who celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary last month. Sadly, Doreen has just passed away, and I want to say to Don that we are so sorry for that. But, for 72 years, what an inspiration! Don and Doreen met at a local dance after having noticed each other on a tram. On 21 June 1947, they married at St Andrew's Cathedral in the heart of Sydney. They celebrated their long and happy marriage at the Uniting Banks Lodge in Peakhurst. Don continues to live in the family home of 66 years and he would travel every day to see Doreen at the nursing home.

It was an honour to be invited to celebrate their happy day and to witness their love for each other. It was truly inspiring. Their life together has also been shared with the local community. Don and Doreen worked tirelessly for many years raising funds for Pathfinders, a charity for the blind. They also worked for the St George Football Club, where Don, a life member, was a linesman and a scoreboard volunteer for many years. They gave up many weekends to cook sausage sizzles for the club. Sadly, as I said, Doreen passed away last month. I want to say to Don: you have our great sorrow, but what a truly inspirational love and marriage you had.

In May we observed Nepalese Republic Day. It is the 12th Nepalese Republic Day since Nepal's establishment as a federal democratic republic on 29 May 2000. This is an auspicious occasion for the people of Nepal and the electorate of Barton. The electorate of Barton is the home of one of the largest and fastest-growing Nepalese communities in Australia. Other than English, Nepali is the fifth most spoken language in Barton. It is the second most common country of birth in Barton. I am so proud to be able to represent the Nepalese community in this place. We wish the people of Nepal a peaceful and prosperous future and happy Ganatantra Diwas.

It was just NAIDOC Day recently. I know many members of this chamber participated in many NAIDOC events across the country. I want to acknowledge that this month we did celebrate National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, and the theme this year was voice, treaty and truth. This is an important event on our national calendar not just for First Nations people but for all Australians. It was an opportunity for us as a nation to celebrate the history, culture and achievement of First Nations people.

First Nations people have made tremendous contributions to Australia in a variety of ways. NAIDOC honours these achievements and contributions, which are a source of pride for all Australians. I, like others, attended on many days, but I particularly wanted to put on record the NAIDOC Awards Ceremony in Canberra which I attended. The winners of the NAIDOC Awards were Dean Duncan, David Gulpilil, Thelma Weston, Greg Little, the Littlewell Working Group, Mi-kaisha Masella, Elma Gada Kris, Professor Michael McDaniel, Ganur Maynard and Shantelle Thompson. It was an enormous honour to be there along with the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Minister Ken Wyatt. We presented the Elder of the Year awards to two extremely amazing people, and it was a great honour. I have to say that the response of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members that were there to both of us being there was tremendous.