Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak today to congratulate the vibrant Australian Indian community in Bradfield on the recent celebrations of Diwali. I particular want to highlight the colourful event that was hosted at Ku-ring-gai Town Hall in Pymble. The Diwali celebration was hosted by the Deputy Mayor of Ku-ring-gai, Barbara Ward, and sponsored by SHARE. They were joined by the Consul General of India, Mr Manish Gupta, alongside my state colleague Alister Henskens MP and local Hornsby Mayor, Philip Ruddock.

Barbara Ward is of Indian Fijian heritage, and I congratulate her on organising this event, the first public celebration of Diwali in the electorate of Bradfield. There is a strong feeling of community pride and confidence in the room as if the previously under-recognised community of Australians of Indian backgrounds in Bradfield was at last getting the recognition that it deserves. There was a full house for the celebrations and reportedly a waiting list of nearly a hundred people who were not able to attend due to the venue having reached capacity limit.

I'm proud to represent an electorate with many strong, multicultural communities, and the Indian community is an important component of the multicultural diversity of Bradfield. I'd like to thank Tina Brown and her team at the Post for covering this event. Local journalism is, of course, a very important means by which our community stays connected, and their coverage added to the understanding across Bradfield of the importance of our Indian community.

I look forward to celebrating Diwali again in 2023.

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