Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Engagement) Share this | Hansard source

():  I rise today to speak about Girmit Remembrance Day. This is an extremely important day which commemorates those Indians who were transported as indentured labour from India to, amongst other places, Fiji. Between 1879 and 1916, 60,000 Indians were transported as indentured labour from India and sent to Fiji, mainly to work in the sugar industry, in the cane fields. Each year, Girmit Remembrance Day recognises what those members of the Indian diaspora went through as indentured labour.

I would like to first congratulate the Fiji Girmit Foundation Australia for putting on a wonderful event to remember those Indians who went to Fiji as indentured labour, many of whose descendants have settled subsequently in Australia.

I would also like to sincerely thank and place on the record my thanks to Mr Jitendra Deo and his family, who supported the event which I attended through their Deo Family Charitable Foundation. Jitendra is a wonderful Queenslander and makes a wonderful contribution to our community, and this is just one example of his and his family's charitable work through that foundation. His whole family was engaged during the event. It was very, very special to see.

Finally, thirdly, I pay tribute to the descendants of those Indians who were taken as indentured labour and transported to Fiji who have subsequently settled in Australia, many of whom were given awards on the night for their contribution to Australia. These are the descendants of those original members of the Indian diaspora who were sent to Fiji as indentured labour that have subsequently settled in Australia, in our country, and they've made a wonderful contribution as part of our wonderful Australian Fijian Indian diaspora—contributions in medicine, business and community work. I honour their achievements. I honour their service.

During the course of the remembrance day, I reflected on what their ancestors must think about the contribution they've made to Australia. Try to put yourself in the position of one of the members of those shipments of indentured labour with the resilience, the courage and the resourcefulness they all demonstrated. What must they think now that their descendants are working in our hospitals as doctors or specialists, working in our science community and working in jobs providing great community service? So I say to each and every one of the recipients of those awards at the remembrance day that I attended: you do great honour to your ancestors, and each and every one of you represents the very best of Australian values.