Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh. Earlier this week I was honoured to host members of our Sikh community here in Parliament House to celebrate the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak born in 1469, the first guru and founder of Sikhism.

Many will not be aware that Sikhism is now the fifth-largest religion in Australia according to the 2016 census and is one of the fastest-growing faith communities. Sikhism calls on its adherents to develop a thoughtful connection to their faith and serve communities around them. It is a religion that promotes a vision of social equality where all people are entitled to equal rights and individual respect.

On Tuesday I hosted a dinner with Mr Avtar Singh, from the electorate of Calwell, who led a delegation of Sikhs from McEwen and the wider community to celebrate this momentous occasion. Avtar is very heavily involved with the Sikh temple in Craigieburn and is president of the now famous Hume Bombers Football Club. He is a three-time recipient of the AFL community multicultural ambassador award and, proudly, I can say that he is a close friend of mine. I want to thank Avtar and his friends for joining us here in Canberra.

We were also joined by Deepak-Raj Gupta, the former chairman of the Australia India Business Council and now the very hardworking member for Yerrabi in the ACT Legislative Assembly. The other delegation members were professionals including an antique restorer and small business owners who employ lots of our local residents. These individuals are a testament to our diverse and inclusive community, which is why the electorate of McEwen fosters some of the best and most hardworking people that Australia has to offer.

I would like to thank my Labor colleagues, including the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, and the deputy leader, Richard Marles, and our shadow ministers Clare O'Neil, Michelle Rowland and Chris Bowen who came by to make their presence known and speak to the group. We know they have busy schedules, and to have them to come and speak to our delegation was very important. It was a wonderful opportunity for our community members to hear from members of the Labor team about what a modern, 21st-century Australia looks like: a respectful, inclusive place that enables people from any background to thrive and prosper. There is no doubt that our communities are made better by hardworking Australians like Avtar. It is made better still by the attitudes of acceptance in our electorate. It welcomes diversity and harnesses the involvement of all residents for our local community.

Promoting inclusion, no matter what a person's culture or religious background is, is what enables people to develop positive cultures allowing communities to thrive. Our electorate is one of the fastest growing in Australia, and I'm proud to be part of the Labor team—a party which will always be a place to give a voice to diversity and recognise the strength of multiculturalism in our great country.

See this speech in context