House debates

Monday, 27 October 2014

Private Members' Business

Vietnamese-Australian Community

1:09 pm

Photo of Luke SimpkinsLuke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Gellibrand for bringing this motion forward because it gives me the opportunity to speak about the organisation Vietnamese Community in WA, which was established in 1987. It is a very active, not-for-profit, cultural, social and welfare community organisation. It is also the peak organisation, with over 20 sub-organisations. Its membership encompasses the entire Vietnamese community in Western Australia. From its offices in Brisbane Street in Perth, the organisation's main role is helping people of Vietnamese heritage in their settlement. It also provides social work services.

From what I see of its work, it also works very hard to preserve Vietnamese language and culture through educational activities—which I will explain later—and to showcase the Vietnamese culture to a wider Western Australian community. The community's main annual events are the lunar new year, or Tet festival, which is held at the Wanneroo showgrounds in February, and the Moon Festival, which falls around August, and this great event takes place at Girrawheen Senior High School. Both venues are within the electorate of Cowan. An interesting point about Tet in 2015 is that the community has decided that the event will be free to those who wear traditional Vietnamese dress. I am sure this will further expand the standing of the Vietnamese in Perth and will prove to be a highly colourful event.

Next year, it will be 40 years since the Vietnamese people first began to come to Australia in certain numbers. Although 1975 is credited as being the first time Vietnamese people started coming to Australia, it was only after the Fraser government came to power that the way was really open for them. As we have already heard from the Chief Government Whip, it was Prime Minister Whitlam who was against Vietnamese immigration. There are two unchallenged quotes that he made about the Vietnamese at the time of the fall of Vietnam. He said to his foreign affairs minister:

I'm not having these—

expletive—

Vietnamese Balts coming into the country with their religious and political prejudices against us.

And, after his celebration of the victory of the communists, he said:

Vietnamese sob stories don't wring my withers.

Given that attitude of Prime Minister Whitlam, it is obvious that it was only from 1976 that significant numbers of Vietnamese were allowed to resettle in Australia.

It was in April 1976 that the first boat arrived in Darwin carrying Vietnamese asylum seekers. In the next five years, 56 additional boats with just over 2,000 asylum seekers on board arrived. While escape from persecution was predominantly by boat, the numbers of those who came to directly to Australia by boat was insignificant compared to those who escaped by boat and went to nearby Asian countries where they were assessed and resettled in third countries, including Australia. So, while Australia had relatively few boats arrive directly from Vietnam, almost all of those that came in 1976 and the following years had escaped by boat.

It is for that reason that the Vietnamese Community in WA, under the outstanding leadership of Dr Anh Nguyen, created the Vietnamese Boat People Monument of Gratitude in a small park in Highgate, Perth. This memorial commemorates those who escaped by boat and lost their lives at sea and also thanks Australia for accepting them. This is an outstanding memorial, and I was pleased to attend the opening ceremony. Dr Anh Nguyen told me that on Friday last week that the town of Vincent has just renamed the park Tu Do—or Liberty Park. This is a magnificent achievement for the Vietnamese Community in WA, and I congratulate them and their committee for their work.

I would also like to mention the other great achievements of the community. The Vietnamese language and cultural school has, for several years, conducted classes in a primary school near the city However, Dr Anh Nguyen has just reached an agreement for the 200 students to move to classes at Girrawheen Senior High School, being in the centre of where Vietnamese people live in Perth.

There are many people of Vietnamese origin in the Cowan electorate. Around 4,000 voters are of Vietnamese descent. In Cowan, we also have the Fo Guang pagoda, a Vietnamese Buddhist temple, and just south of Cowan there is the Vietnamese Catholic Church.

In all aspects of society and life in Australia, and particularly in the Cowan electorate, Vietnamese Australians are positive. Their drive to succeed, their outstanding work and academic ethic and their positive attitude are combined with living in a land of opportunity. Under such circumstances, they are successful and will continue to be so. I congratulate Dr Anh Nguyen and the committee that includes two lawyers, two pharmacists, and two engineers for their successes and their great efforts for the community. I am very glad that Australia has benefited so much from the positive impact of Vietnamese migration.

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