Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for International Development) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Lalor and Chief Government Whip, who is an absolute champion for her diverse community. I am incredibly proud to be a member of a government where a child with a name like Ryan, or Soon, or Ng, or Ambihaipahar, or Abdo, or Smith, or France, or Albanese can look at this parliament and say, 'I belong there'; a part of a government that has a vision of an Australia based on fairness and equality, where everyone—no matter who you are, who your parents are or where you were born—feels valued.

But we know that our social cohesion is fragile. As long as we treat people with a gritted-teeth tolerance instead of mutual respect, our social cohesion will remain fragile. This Albanese Labor government governs for all, because we believe that every Australian, whatever their race or religion, wherever they or their parents were born, should be able to feel safe and at home, without prejudice or discrimination. This should not be a partisan issue.

Over this week I've spoken to members of our Indian diaspora and they've told me that they did not feel safe—and they did not feel secure—after the rallies that we saw on Sunday. They've also told me that comments by some political leaders have exacerbated their fear and shattered their sense of security. To Indian Australians, this is our message: you do not have to justify your belonging in this country. We know you. We value you. We thank you for everything you have contributed to Australia—to communities, to charities, to business, to politics, to our medical profession and to our economy. We stand with you as we always have.

When the immigration of Lebanese Australians was described as a mistake, that was wrong. When the African Australian community were unfairly stereotyped, that was wrong. When the Chinese Australian community were accused of being spies, that was wrong. And the scapegoating of Indian communities, designed to undermine their sense of safety and belonging, is wrong. Every member of this Labor government stands by the communities that they represent, and we will always call out attempts to divide us because it is by calling them out that we will strengthen our social cohesion.

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