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

I congratulate Senator Smith on his remarks. It is wonderful to hear that Western Australia has a wonderful African diaspora, as we have in my home state of Queensland. I do note that there will be some very significant football competitions coming up. There will be national competitions—in the Australian Congolese community, held in Darwin, and in the Burundian community, which is going to be held, I think, in Adelaide. I give my best wishes to members of the Queensland Congolese team and their coach Kado—my good friend—and also to the Burundian team for their national competition. Thank you very much for everything that you all do.

I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the 49th PNG Independence Day celebrations in my home state of Queensland. There are too many wantoks to thank. I have a list of wantoks to thank. I will take it out of the bilum that was presented to me at the Independence Day celebrations. Thank you for that. I would like to congratulate Lynette Wessel, the President of the PNG Federation of Queensland Inc. Lynette does a terrific job year after year as president of the federation. Thank you so much, Lynette, for everything you do. I also would like to thank Maureen Mopio-Jane, the vice president of the association, who is a very accomplished journalist in her own right. I recommend to senators that they be interviewed by Maureen on radio 4EB if they get the opportunity. She is a wonderful lady. Thank you, Maureen. I would also like to acknowledge the presence of the consul general, Mr Reatau Rau. I look forward to working with you, Consul General. I thank all the volunteers and all the performers for putting on such a wonderful event. It was open to the whole community. Thousands of people attended. It was absolutely terrific.

As I said on the day, next year is the 50th anniversary of the independence of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. I think the biggest party and the biggest celebration outside PNG should be in my home state of Queensland because we have such a wonderful PNG diaspora. As members in this chamber would know, I lived and worked in Papua New Guinea between 1999 and 2001. It was an absolute privilege to do so. It was very difficult to leave at the end of that time because the bond with my PNG wantoks was so strong, so thank you for everything you do.

I would now like to congratulate the Federation of Sri Lankan Organisations of Queensland Inc for a wonderful Sri Lanka Day event held just this last weekend. I give my heartfelt congratulations and pay tribute to president Dr Jay Weerawardena and his team, and it is a team. In the booklet handed out on the day, there was the event organising committee and—I will count them—24 members are listed on that organising committee. They did such a wonderful job bringing together a great event. The patron of the Federation of Sri Lankan Organisations of Queensland, Mr Anton Swan, who served for many years as honorary consul in Queensland, was in attendance. I want to specifically recognise his contribution to multiculturalism in my home state of Queensland. He's an outstanding example of the very best of Australian values.

I also want to congratulate the members of the Sri Lankan community who received community service awards, including Dharme Rathnayake, who unfortunately, sadly, passed away last year. Dharme, with his wife, Amara, played a leading role in preserving and nurturing Sri Lankan cultural heritage in my home state of Queensland. I want to pay tribute to another winner of a community service award, Mrs Kanthi Wijesoma, who has been heavily involved in community radio across Australia, was integral in setting up a language school and a women's association, and has been an outstanding leader in the Queensland Sri Lankan community. Thank you so much for your contribution.

Lastly, I want to pay tribute to Mr Lal Mendis, who, very sadly, passed away last year. Lal was a driving force behind the Sri Lanka Sports Association. He was also instrumental and a driving force behind successfully establishing the first Sri Lanka Day Multicultural Food and Cultural Festival in 2021. I give my congratulations to his family for the contribution he made,

These people were all great members of the Sri Lankan community in my home state of Queensland. Each and every one of them represents the very best of Australian values.

I want to congratulate the Tamil Association of Queensland. This association has been in existence since 1986, nearly four decades, and has been a pillar of strength for the Tamil community. Just last Sunday, we had an inaugural event celebrating the formation of Femisphere. Femisphere, set up by the Tamil Association of Queensland, is an initiative whereby women's issues within the Tamil community can be ventilated and considered, including health issues, domestic violence issues and legal issues. Issues specific to women can be considered and ventilated amongst women in the community, and expert advice can be received. Women can receive assistance and share their concerns. It's just a wonderful initiative.

I want to congratulate the president of the Tamil Association of Queensland, Karthick Elangovan, for his leadership of the Tamil Association of Queensland and for getting this initiative off the ground. It's a wonderful initiative. I want to congratulate all the members of the subcommittee of Femisphere: Mrs Preethi Singh Sudarsan, convenor; Ms Shreemathi Narayanan, deputy convenor; Mrs Uma Agnal Anton, assistant treasurer; and Mrs Sangeetha Rajeswaran, public relations officer. We heard some outstanding and thoughtful speeches from some of the convenors during the day. They made a great contribution.

Lastly, I want to recognise some special members of the Tamil community in Queensland who were recognised during the event. These outstanding women provide great leadership in the Tamil Association of Queensland and the community. It was so fitting that they received their certificates of recognition on the day because they're really the inspiration for the next generation. That was one of the points I made. One of the great things about this initiative is that it's going to inspire the next generation of women and girls coming through, and that's a great thing. I want to give a special call-out and place on the Hansard record the contribution made by Chitra Yogi Srikhanta. I want to read the reason Mrs Chitra was given the award:

In recognition of the outstanding dedication, creativity and skill in the art of Bharatanatyam dance and an inspiration to the wider community… The Nadananjali School of Dance was Established in 1993. Over the past three decades, Mrs. Chitra has nurtured hundreds of students, imbuing in them the same love, discipline and dedication, and dedication to Bharatanatyam that has been the hallmark of her own journey.

The other certificate of recognition was given to Mrs Sulotchana Devi Viveganantham in recognition of her outstanding dedication, unwavering support and inspiration to the wider community since the 1970s. She was one of the founding members of the Tamil Association of Queensland, which was established in 1986. Mrs Devi has held key positions: vice-president, secretary and treasurer. She's played a pioneering role in Tamil 4EB radio, which is our multilingual community radio station in Queensland; Hindu Ahlaya Sangam; Brisbane Tamil School, which is a language school; and other organisations. Mrs Devi and her husband actually opened the first Indian grocery store, KK Brothers, in Chelmer in my home state of Queensland.

It was a wonderful event to recognise these two outstanding women who are part of the Tamil Association and have been the inspiration, in many respects, for the next generation of women coming through that community. Congratulations to the Tamil Association of Queensland. Each and every one of you represents the very best of Australian values.