Mary Doyle (Aston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to address the blatantly racist and hateful attacks that were perpetrated upon two Asian restaurants, a healing centre on Mountain Highway and the Hindu temple in the suburbs of Boronia and Bayswater earlier this week. In my first speech in this parliament, in May 2023, I spoke about meeting Atul from the Shree Swaminarayan Hindu temple in Boronia and how I was welcomed upon my first of many visits there. The temple is a tranquil place of worship to the Hindu community of Aston and beyond. To learn that it'd been plastered with such hateful images and offensive language was sickening.

I have spoken to Atul today and I will visit with him and others at the temple on Saturday to reassure them that I stand with them in solidarity against such hateful attacks. I also hope to visit Graham and Elly, owners of Kingsland Chinese Restaurant in Boronia, who found similar hateful graffiti upon their premises earlier this week. No-one should have to deal with this kind of hate.

The cowards who chose to paint such hateful images and offensive words on these premises are absolute low-life with fear in their hearts, not love, for others, and I strongly condemn their actions. I stand in solidarity with those affected and I want to assure them that, as their federal member, I believe that our multicultural diversity in Aston is something to be celebrated, not feared. It makes us a stronger community, and racist and hateful attacks such as these will not be tolerated.

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