Multiculturalism

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-102451

Hansard session: Fifty-Sixth Parliament, First Session (56-1)

Multiculturalism

Priority

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (15:47:15):

I move:

That this House:

(1)Condemns the Leader of the Opposition's "white flight" comments.

(2)Supports the Government's efforts to promote multiculturalism.

In the electorate of Oatley in the St George region—one of the most multicultural areas in Sydney—we have many people from different multicultural groups.

Mr Stephen Kamper:

Say Papalexandropoulos three times.

Mr MARK COURE:

What was that? Not true at all.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

Order! The member for Oatley will direct his comments through the Chair.

Mr MARK COURE:

We have people from Chinese, Lebanese, Greek, Macedonian and many more backgrounds. China is the top overseas birthplace of the community in my area. I represent a very culturally diverse district of Sydney, and I am proud to have forged such strong ties with cultural communities over many years across the south of Sydney—in fact, my grandparents who migrated to Australia immediately after World War II moved into Australia Avenue in Matraville, which I think is in the electorate of Heffron. That is where they first met. They worked three jobs—

Mr Chris Minns:

They probably voted for Ron as well.

Mr MARK COURE:

They probably did, actually. They worked three jobs between them, working extremely hard so that their children could grow up with more opportunities and a better life. My dad and mum were able to attend good schools and live comfortable, carefree childhoods because of the sacrifices and the work ethic of my grandparents. I am sure that many of us in this House have similar stories about family members. I have always been a close friend and supporter of multicultural communities, in particular those communities in my electorate of Oatley and across the St George district. Many Chinese families have chosen to settle in the St George region.

Mr Stephen Kamper:

What about the Greeks?

Mr MARK COURE:

We will get to them in a second. I feel as though the electorate of Oatley is just one of the many examples of New South Wales as a whole: ethnically diverse, business orientated and home to hardworking families. The history of migrant settlement in Australia is an interesting one. Migrant communities have quickly become an integral part of the social fabric of our broader community. People of all nations have made significant progress in a wide diversity of professions and creative endeavours, ranging from medicine to law, literature, art and, of course, politics.

In just the past decade Mandarin has become the most common language spoken other than English. China is one of the most important trading partners of this nation and will continue to be as we progress further into the twenty-first century. The Australia-China bilateral relationship is based on strong economic and trade ties, a comprehensive program of high-level visits and wideranging cooperation. For example, China is Australia's largest two-way trading partner in goods and services and our largest export market. A significant component of Australia's economic growth is reliant on the Asian region.

I say all of this to put on record that New South Wales could not have achieved what we enjoy today without the contribution of migrants, whether they be Greek, Chinese or Lebanese. Migration has assisted in establishing a critical population base, opening up rural industries, creating towns and cities, constructing infrastructure and forging links within Sydney and around the world. It is clear that migration has ongoing economic and social benefits. I express my appreciation to all migrants, whether newly arrived or those whose grandparents were the first generation to migrate. To them I say thank you.

For the State Labor Leader of the Opposition to say that there is "white flight" as a result of migrant communities moving into certain areas of Sydney means that he has completely ignored the contribution of migrants in our State, in our city and across the nation. The Leader of the Opposition has commented on the refugee climate in Sydney, particularly in western regions. Fairfield was mentioned as a suburb where large intakes of refugees apparently could not match available jobs and education resources. It is disappointing that serious migration and refugee challenges have been belittled by being described in that condescending manner. I acknowledge the wonderful contribution of each and every one of the migrants in Sydney and across the nation.

Mr JIHAD DIB (Lakemba) (15:52:35):

I move:

That the motion be amended by leaving out all words after "That" with a view to inserting instead:

"this House:

(1)Supports the Government's efforts to promote multiculturalism.

(2)Calls on all political parties to refuse to preference the One Nation party."

I move that because amendment I believe this is what multiculturalism is about. When members opposite take a position on multiculturalism, I urge them to look at the members sitting behind me. Many Labor members come from non-English speaking backgrounds and English was often the second language of their forebears who came to this country. For example, I was born in Lebanon. The member for Shellharbour, the member for Heffron, the member for Rockdale—the famous Greek himself—also come from non-English speaking backgrounds. Other Labor members with diverse backgrounds include the member for Macquarie Fields, the member for Blacktown and the member for Mount Druitt.

Like other Labor members I have said on many occasions in this place that if those opposite doubt our commitment to multiculturalism they are completely wrong. In reality, the Leader of the Opposition made a sensible call on the Government to ensure that we have the necessary resources to support multiculturalism in this State. About two years ago I spoke in this Chamber about the State Government's decision to take on 12,000 Syrian refugees. At that time I was very vocal that it was a great idea and it was important. But I said that we needed to ensure that we had the resources for them—the schools, jobs and social infrastructure—and we have not had that. When that is called out we should not be accused of making a racist comment.

We are calling out what is required. Common sense dictates that. We hear members opposite talk about their commitment, but I ask: When the budget is handed down in two weeks, will there be increased funding to those areas that need it the most? Will there be increased funding to the places that take the majority of migration such as Fairfield, Bankstown and Blacktown? That has not happened yet. Until it does, it makes it difficult to listen to this confected anger. The member for Oatley spent most of his time reading his speech. If he got out and about in the community, as I know he does, and joined the others he would know exactly what it is about. I suggest the member for Oatley listens. He has had his turn and he will get another one.

I come back to the issue of One Nation. A couple of Thursdays ago we had to listen to people who have not once talked about the value that multiculturalism and diversity brings us and who do not want to share in the different stories. Only a few weeks ago I said that every one of us has a story. There are two Australian stories. The first is the Indigenous story and every other story is a migrant story. Whether people came on the First Fleet, with the cameleers, looking for gold or following the Second World War, those are our individual stories. If we want to talk about multiculturalism, that is what it is: We must value every person's story.

The most important point I make is that I am happy to listen to people's comments, but I am not happy to listen to people accuse us of all sorts of things when we decided that we would rule out a preference deal with a racist and divisive party such as One Nation. My question to members on the other side is: Will they do the same? They will not. They are going to vote it down. This is all confected anger. It is clear and simple. If members opposite believe in multiculturalism, they must make Multicultural NSW more than just an organisation that puts on events. It should get back to being the great Multicultural NSW that it was. If the Government were genuinely sincere, it would support the amendment and in the budget the Treasurer would provide extra money to suburbs such as Fairfield, Bankstown, Blacktown and Lakemba—the places that do the heavy lifting when it comes to migration yet do not get the resources—and put money into schools and TAFEs to give opportunities to migrants. Until that time comes, these are hollow words.

Ms ELENI PETINOS (Miranda) (15:57:40):

As I listened to the member for Lakemba, and two words stood out, "confected anger". I cannot see members on the other side even pretending to be angry. I know that half of you do not agree with your leader. You do not want to be defending your leader.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

Order! The member for Miranda will direct her comments through the Chair.

Ms ELENI PETINOS:Daily Telegraph

You were all happy to throw him under a bus to the . We are happier than anyone else that he is there. As long as he is we on this side are very comfortable because the Liberal‑Nationals will be returned to government and you all know it. You are not even whingeing or yelling at me. You are all obsessed—

Ms Jodi McKay:

Point of order: The member should direct her comments through the Chair.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

Order! The member for Miranda will direct her comments through the Chair.

Ms ELENI PETINOS:

Members opposite are very upset with One Nation. They are amending the motion to talk about it. Is that because Pauline Hanson endorsed the comments that their leader made? The Greens are not endorsing the comments that were made. On 24 May at 10.34 a.m. Dr Mehreen Faruqi posted on Twitter:

This is absolutely disgusting. Pandering to racism. White flight is just a fancy term for race-baiting.

There has been much discussion in this place about multiculturalism and its benefits. Multiculturalism benefits this country and builds on its rich tapestry, social fabric and cohesion. Like the member for Oatley and the member for Lakemba said, we all have very proud stories of multiculturalism and the way that our families ended up in this country. As I look across at many members opposite, I know that their families have stories and we are all the product of what happens when multiculturalism works well. So many diverse families have come here and helped to build the culture of this country that we are all so proud of. I think it is atrocious that we are having this debate.

Interruption

[]

The Leader of the Opposition made the comments and it is important to have this debate on the record. There are more than 307 ancestries in this State. We speak 215 languages and practise 146 religions. That is a record that we can all be proud of, irrespective of where we sit in this Chamber. We all agree that every person who comes to this country works hard and makes a positive contribution to our society and they deserve to be valued. That should not be taken away by a comment from anyone, particularly the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr RON HOENIG (Heffron) (16:00:46):

The Leader of the Opposition will not be lectured on multiculturalism by this Government. To move a motion condemning the Leader of the Opposition is the most serious motion a government can move in this House. Where is the Executive? Where is their courage? The only person left in the Chamber is the Minister for Multiculturalism, and he is not even participating in the debate. Where are they? They think because the leaders of both conservative parties are from non-English speaking backgrounds they have a mortgage on multiculturalism. Do I have to remind members that the conservative parties hardly have an impressive record in this country in relation to multiculturalism? Do I really need to remind them? Do I need to remind them that the leading light of the Liberal Party—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

Order! The member for Oatley will have an opportunity to respond shortly.

Mr RON HOENIG:

In 1985 the Liberal Party's most successful Prime Minister, John Howard, as deputy leader fought tooth and nail against economic sanctions against an apartheid South Africa. Who opened the door in 1988 to the Asian immigration debate? It was John Howard. Who was responsible for the birth of Pauline Hanson? It was John Howard.

Mr Troy Grant:

Point of order: Mr and Mrs Hanson were responsible for the birth of Pauline Hanson.

Mr RON HOENIG:

When the Government is in trouble the Minister for Police has to fabricate a point of order. Last year which party was responsible for giving preferences to Pauline Hanson's One Nation? It was the Liberal Party in Western Australia. Which party refuses to rule out doing a deal with that racist party? It is the Liberal-Nationals in New South Wales. Australia is the most successful multicultural country in the world. Australia is a land built by migrants and their children. It is the one country that has been enormously successful at being able to take people from just about every country and merge them with an Indigenous culture to provide a society of harmony. Our responsibility as the representatives of the people of this country is to talk about harmony and being together. It is not to point to one word out of place said by the Leader of the Opposition—who is fighting for refugees escaping genocide in the Middle East—and come up with confected anger when he has already apologised for the remark. How about supporting multiculturalism and not making political capital out of racism?

Ms JENNY LEONG (Newtown) (16:04:06):Daily Telegraph

By leave: I speak on behalf of The Greens on the motion moved by the member for Oatley. It is important to call "white flight" what it is—that is, racist. The use of that term is completely unacceptable, and seeing it splayed across the front page of the was disgusting. I do not for a second think that the Leader of the Opposition, nor anyone else in the New South Wales Labor Party, is in any way racist. However, it is crucial that we recognise that the powerful and the influential in our society will take any comment out of context, whip it up and turn it into racist division.

Daily Telegraph

I find it completely unacceptable and unbelievable that the Leader of the Opposition and the people working in his office did not know how the would take that kind of statement and whip it up. It may have been said in error, but I expect more of an alternative government. I also expect more from this Parliament in the way we conduct these debates. If there is genuine commitment to standing up against racism and to supporting multiculturalism in this Parliament, I will test it by moving an amendment. I want to see whether members are willing to put political pointscoring aside and to make a genuine commitment to that principle. We do not want to give the Liberal-Nationals free kicks when it comes to race and discrimination. Their policies have been appalling at both the State and Federal levels. However, that does not excuse NSW Labor from whipping this into something else in the interests of electoral success. I move:

That the amendment be amended by leaving out all words after "this" with a view to inserting instead:

"House:

(1)Condemns all forms of racism.

(2)Affirms its commitment to multiculturalism in New South Wales."

The Greens are committed to multiculturalism. I call on every member in this Chamber to support the amendment. If we are genuinely committed to not scoring political points, we will unanimously support it. If this is about something else, then everyone else will want to score political points. The people who will suffer will be the young women and young men on public transport who will be abused and harassed because of their birthplace or the colour of their skin. It is unacceptable for anyone in this place to condone that.

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (16:07:28):

In reply: It is good that The Greens and the crossbench members are siding with the Government for once on this important motion.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

Order! I remind the member for Bankstown that she is on three calls to order.

Mr MARK COURE:

I thank members for their wonderful contributions, and particularly those who have migrated to Australia and who now call it home—specifically New South Wales. This State is home to people from 207 cultural backgrounds who speak more than 215 languages and who follow 145 religious doctrines. I used a quote earlier that is worth repeating, "The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the sports we play"—go the Dragons—"are a true reflection of the great story of Australian migration." I again acknowledge the wonderful contribution that multiculturalism makes to this country. Government members will not play the game of division; we will not play the game of race-based politics.

The member for Lakemba spoke about Pauline Hanson. The one person who backed the Leader of the Labor Party was in fact Pauline Hanson. His comment has turned neighbour against neighbour, not only in Western Sydney but also across New South Wales, and members opposite know that. Coalition members will not discriminate based on race or religion, or the colour of someone's skin. The comment was stupid and silly and, as I said, it has turned neighbour against neighbour and community group against community group. Members opposite should apologise.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

The question is that the amendment to the amendment be agreed to.

The House divided.

Ayes36

Noes46

Majority10

Amendment negatived.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

The question now is that the words stand.

The House divided.

Ayes46

Noes36

Majority10

Motion agreed to.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

The question is that the motion as moved by the member for Oatley be agreed to.

The House divided.

Ayes47

Noes34

Majority13

Motion agreed to.