Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

Tangney is home to 162 nationalities. With almost half of the people of Tangney born overseas, Tangney is rich in different cultures, traditions and languages. We share our cultures and take the opportunity to learn new ones. At a recent coffee catch-up with community members in Tangney, I had the pleasure of meeting the Garvey family and their daughter, who is at the top of her Chinese-language class at All Saints College. I spoke with her in Chinese language, and I was very impressed by her passion, commitment and enthusiasm to immerse herself in a different culture.

The Albanese Labor government has provided approximately $15 million to more than 600 community language schools as part of our grants program. This funding will assist more than 90,000 students learning 84 different languages in Australia. Learning a second language—or a third or fourth—is helping us to connect to the languages of our parents, our grandparents, our neighbours and our communities. A shared language helps us embrace diversity and harmony. Thank you to the Garvey family for sharing your experience of learning language.

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