Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last weekend I attended the opening of a new Vietnamese Cultural Heritage Centre in Sunshine, established by the Victorian Chapter of the Vietnamese Community in Australia for the benefit of the community. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Vietnamese community, especially Phong Nguyen, the President of the VCA, and the committee members for their commitment to this project. It has taken four years to bring this project to fruition. I know that the centre will contribute significantly to the community and will provide space and facilities that complement all of the great work that the community group already does.

I also want to record in parliament my public thanks to all those volunteers, donors and other community members who gave their time, their skills and their money to support this project. The centre will initially host two new community programs—the Vietnamese martial arts program and the Vision Aged Care Vietnamese Group. It is planned that the aged care group will prepare entertainment and learning activities for a children’s playgroup, which will provide unique opportunities for intergenerational interaction. I am sure that, with room to grow in this new centre, the VCA will soon expand the services and activities that they provide—for example, the centre’s kitchen may soon host an employment program of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations for a Vietnamese cooking and catering service. I certainly hope the department will support this program at the appropriate time.

Sunday’s event was an occasion to mark the official opening of the centre and gave people a preview of what more can come as the council seals the roads and as other development continues in the area. But it was also an occasion that the Vietnamese community took to mark the coming retirement of the state member for Footscray, Mr Bruce Mildenhall, who was honoured for his service to the community. He spoke in a very heartfelt way about how the partnership between him and the Vietnamese community had been one of the most rewarding parts of his 24 years in public life. Just as importantly, Mr Quang Luu, former head of SBS Radio and of Vietnamese background himself, was honoured for his many years of great work for the community. The community spoke of the special pride that they have had for the roles he has held over the past years.

In the last 30 years the Vietnamese community as a whole has made an extraordinarily valuable contribution to Australian society in business, the arts and civic life and particularly to my electorate of Gellibrand, where over six per cent of the population is of Vietnamese background. I think it is important to acknowledge the contributions that Australia’s first wave of non-European refugees has made. The recent 30th anniversary of Vietnamese migration to Australia was a significant milestone for the community to mark. They have faced significant challenges but have successfully overcome these barriers to become integral members of the Australian community. It is particularly through the support and advocacy of organisations such as the VCA and the new Cultural Heritage Centre, which play an important part in this, that this has been able to happen successfully. (Time expired)