Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to acknowledge Kyeemagh Infants School, which turns 75 this weekend. On Saturday I attended and spoke at their 75th birthday festivities. There was a diverse range of food and fun activities for students past and present and, of course, for parents, teachers and teachers from years gone by. Kyeemagh Infants School is a very multicultural school and is located in one of the most multicultural electorates in the country. Kyeemagh Infants School is Barton today and Barton's future. More than that, in Kyeemagh Infants School we see Australia's future. As part of the 75th birthday celebrations, the students, teachers and parents put together a 75th birthday Kyeemagh cookbook, which they say captures and showcases the diverse multicultural area we live in.

In our debates about dual citizenship and citizenship changes, about who is more Australian than the other, it's important to remember that we are a nation of immigrants. We've come here from all over the world, based on the incredible foundations of First Australians, and that is what makes Australia so great. We in this parliament could learn a thing or two from Kyeemagh's school song:

Learning to love and care for each other

Truthful and kind we respect one another

Congratulations, Kyeemagh Infants School, on your 75th birthday. K to 6 is on the way. May we never stop learning.

Also, on Saturday night I attended a great event by the Nepalese community. It's also part of the cultural diversity of Barton. I'd like to take this opportunity to speak about my attendance over the weekend at the Nepalese Indigenous Nationalities Forum's 10th annual dinner, celebrating the anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. That evening, I had the privilege of viewing a Nepalese indigenous costume parade and cultural dances. The ambassador of the Consulate General and many community leaders were present.

The Nepalese community is one of the fastest growing ethnic communities in the electorate of Barton. In 2011, there were 3,206 Nepalese and in 2016 the number had grown to 6,156. Earlier this month, I also had the privilege of meeting the former Prime Minister of Nepal Madhav Kumar Nepal when he visited Sydney. The immigration of Nepalese to Australia accelerated, of course, after the earthquake in 2015. The earthquake killed over 9,000 people and injured 22,000—a truly tragic event in Nepalese history. But, as is the story for so many Australians, they have come here for a better life, and they have come to Barton for the future of their children. I'm very honoured to represent the Nepalese community and hope to visit Nepal in November this year.