Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1)acknowledges:

(a)that 21 February is International Mother Language Day (IMLD);

(b)the work of the Ekushe Academy Australia and the Mother Language Conservation Movement in creating awareness of the importance of mother languages in Australia;

(c)that 2019 is the Year of Indigenous Languages; and

(d)that about 200 different languages are spoken throughout Australia; and

(2)calls on the Australian Government to:

(a)observe IMLD on 21 February;

(b)promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by people around the world, especially in Australia;

(c)build on Australia's multilingual strengths including support for second language education in Australian education institutions; and

(d)actively work to support communities in their efforts to preserve their mother language.

21 February is International Mother Language Day. It gives me the opportunity to celebrate the richness of language in my community and to talk about two of Labor's policies to grow our language skills. Language allows us to transmit meaning. For each culture, language holds significant history, traditions and identity, and meanings that are quite often specific to that language. It is also a doorway to other cultures, knowledge exchange and trade. We are a very lucky country to have so many languages spoken in our communities. It is in the interest of the families, human understanding and our economy to grow that capacity.

International Mother Language Day was established in 2000. The date of 21 February corresponds with the day in 1952 when students were protesting for the recognition of Bangla as one of the national languages of East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh. During the demonstration, four young students were shot dead. So it is a day of special significance to Bangla speaking people in Australia, and I have worked with them for many years to raise the profile of this day. I would like to make special mention of Nirmal Paul, who is the founder and chairperson of Mother Languages Conservation International, and Dr Swapan Paul, who is the president of the Ekushe Academy Australia. Both of these organisations have a mission to raise awareness of the importance of mother language in the Australian community—and they do a remarkable job.

And there is a lot to be aware of. In my community, just in the community of Parramatta, there are 110 languages spoken at home. All of the languages spoken add to the vibrancy of our community, and I am proud of the diversity and richness in which we live. Labor has two particular policies aimed at fostering that richness. On Saturday we announced a plan to get more Australian children learning languages. A Shorten Labor government, if elected, will invest an extra $8 million in community language schools so that more Australian children get the chance to learn other languages.

The parents and grandparents in Parramatta who were born overseas probably know all about community language schools, but there are many who don't. They have been operating in Australia for more than 150 years. There are 700 of them, teaching over 100,000 students in over 80 languages, with literally thousands of volunteer teachers and very committed parents. That includes Akan Education Learning Program, in Granville; Our Lady of Lebanon Arabic School, in Harris Park; the Bangla Language School, in Rosehill; the Shua Community Language School, in Granville; the Afghan Community Language School and the Afghan Cultural School, in Parramatta, which both teach Dari; the South Asian Australian Association, in Parramatta, which teaches Hindi; and just outside my electorate the Wentworthville Tamil Study Centre, which teaches Tamil. The $25,000 grants that will be available through the program will make a real difference and will allow these committed groups of parents and teachers to extend their services to three-and four-year-olds. So children will be exposed to these languages and learn the skills of language at an even younger age, which is incredibly important for our future prosperity as a nation and for the strength of the communities among us.

But we also need to improve efforts in schools. A Shorten Labor government will also make Asian languages and literacy a national priority and invest $32 million to strengthen Asian language and literacy education in schools. The number of students studying Asian languages has actually been stagnating in recent years. It is a surprise, because you would expect it to be different. As a nation, we have been stagnating. We are in one of the fastest growing regions in the world, with a natural capacity for language in our community, and we are not grabbing the opportunity with both hands. We should be. If elected, Labor will increase the number of Asian language teachers, we will improve Asian language curriculum materials from preschool to year 12 and we will set ambitious targets and goals for Asian languages. A Shorten Labor government will get more Australians studying Asian languages to ensure the next generation is prepared for the jobs and economic opportunities of the Asian century.

As we celebrate International Mother Language Day on 21 February, let's celebrate the richness and diversity that language brings to our community but let's also acknowledge the imperative to grow and develop this strength so that our children and grandchildren can better understand their cultural background and talk to their grandparents in their first language but also so that our strength in languages links us to the world as only a common language can. We are indeed a lucky country. If elected, Labor will invest in the richness of our multilingual population. Happy 21 February, happy International Mother Language Day to all my community, particularly those who speak Bangla.

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