Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Bennelong is a vibrant and multicultural community that I am proud to represent in this chamber. We're a melting pot of cultures, with people from all corners of the globe calling this beautiful part of our country their home. Sixty-six per cent of families have one or both parents born overseas. So, on any given weekend in Bennelong you can find a cultural celebration somewhere around, and last weekend we had not one but two such celebrations. On Friday afternoon I hosted a celebration of Holi at Wilga Park in Macquarie Park. Holi marks the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and is the triumph of good over evil. The community gathered together, bringing plates of food to share, and danced and threw coloured powder—and boy oh boy did I get covered in coloured powder!

The very next day I joined with our local Persian community for their Nowruz festival. Nowruz is the Iranian and Persian new year, and it was a wonderful occasion—music, dancing, food and traditional performances all coming together to create a vibrant and joyous atmosphere. Little Persia in Top Ryde was absolutely packed from 2 pm to 8 pm that evening. It was the first Nowruz celebration in Bennelong supported by the Commonwealth government, and I was proud to deliver that and to be there celebrating with them. Holi on one day, Nowruz the next, with people of all backgrounds celebration together—that's modern-day Australia and modern-day Bennelong, and I love it.