Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (1), (2) and (7) together as circulated in my name:

(1) Schedule 1, item 4, page 4 (line 3), after "growth", insert ", with particular regard for migration and refugee settlement policy".

(2) Schedule 1, item 4, page 4 (line 4), after "social", insert ", cultural".

(7) Schedule 1, item 22, page 13 (line 4), after "women", insert ", and people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds,".

Overall, my amendments seek to ensure that the government think about the plan for infrastructure in communities where there are large influxes of migrants and refugees, such as in electorates like Fowler. We have had over 10,000 refugees settle in our city in recent years with no infrastructure planning in place to deal with the growth of the community.

Amendments (1) and (2) refer to the auditing responsibilities of Infrastructure Australia to ensure that the decisions they make will have particular regard to migrant and refugee settlement policies. I don't understand why communities like ours, who have had to shoulder the challenges of settling refugees and migrants, miss out on resources that would enable these newly arrived migrants or refugees to one day be able to stand on their own two feet and contribute back to this society. This amendment may be specific, but migrant and refugee policy ultimately affects Australians currently living here. We are about to bring in 1.5 million people, and therefore I would say that infrastructure is critical to sustaining the influx and the settlement of migrants.

My electorate of Fowler has been a settlement city. More than 70 per cent of our population have parents born overseas or people speaking a language other than English. We are a settlement electorate, and we're proud of that. As a former refugee myself, I know that people like me have contributed so much to the rich cultural tapestry of Fowler, but our area is buckling from the pressure of having to accommodate more people with very little infrastructure support from successive governments. We are now facing a housing crisis and an unemployment rate of 10 per cent, three times the national average. With a second airport being built out in Western Sydney, major infrastructure such as rail projects must be designed so that we can connect major cities like Sydney, Parramatta, Liverpool and Fairfield to the Badgerys Creek airport.

Amendment (7) refers to the particular clause in which Infrastructure Australia allows for affirmative action in relation to the appointment of women in their commission and advisory board. I really urge the government to also consider this point with relation to the appointment of people of culturally and linguistically diverse lived experience who have experience of infrastructure. In my previous life in the corporate sector, I have seen so many boards that do not reflect the rich diversity of our modern Australia. I hope that this will welcome the diversity of lived experiences in assessing infrastructure fairly so that all communities will ultimately benefit. After all, it's the wealth of diverse knowledge that will ultimately benefit everyone, from the highest levels of government to the communities across Western Sydney and in the regions. I ask the government to really consider my amendments above and to take action to ensure we do what's best for our diverse migrant and refugee communities.

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