Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the outset, I want to commend the fine words of the member for Corangamite in bringing this motion to the parliament. I've heard the member for Melbourne make several very personal contributions, and each time she speaks it's well worth listening to. Likewise, the member for Goldstein just now.

I want to acknowledge the member for Rankin's presence in the chamber. Normally the member for Rankin and I—as we are now—are on opposite sides. He probably generally disagrees with whatever I'm saying, but I'm sure he's going to agree with me tonight. I want to acknowledge that he's here as a local member, not as the Treasurer. He's here because he cares. He's here with his people, with people who have come to his electorate to seek a better life. So I say to him: thank you for being here for this important motion. And I thank each and every person here for coming here to the parliament tonight to listen to this motion.

Wagga Wagga, like many other communities in Australia, has a Hazara community. That is so important. The Hazara people have left their homeland, Afghanistan. They've faced ethnic and religious persecution for too many years, over many decades. I appreciate that many of their loved ones are still in the country of their birth, their homeland, and with their families as well, but they have been separated, and my heart goes out to them.

There are over 50,000 Hazara people in Australia, many of whom fled Afghanistan during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Australia lost 47 of our bravest and finest during their service in Afghanistan. It was a war that went on for way too long—from 2001 to 2021. It was the longest conflict that this country has been engaged in. I heard so often about the educational opportunities, the better life, that it opened up for women in Afghanistan—and you knew that that was a war worth fighting. Sadly, we see the Taliban back in charge. You sometimes wonder whether those outcomes, particularly for girls and women, are still there. But it did open up a pathway for them to study, to employment opportunities and to equality that was not there before.

I mentioned Wagga Wagga. Many of the Hazaras have gone to study at Charles Sturt University. Our local Hazara community strongly believes in the value of education. Hazara people are often targeted at schools in Afghanistan, preventing them from obtaining that education—particularly women, who don't get the same opportunities. This is so vital. Hazara women in Afghanistan are particularly at risk of violence and discrimination, as the Taliban have retained control of that country, and that is just so sad.

I mention—because all politics is local—Wagga mother Hakimeh Rahimi, who fled Afghanistan in 1995. Back when her story was published by the local newspaper in 2021, she'd been in Australia for eight years. She called Wagga Wagga home. She came to Wagga Wagga—which is a very giving, very multicultural place—because she saw hope and opportunity there that she could not see elsewhere. She was welcomed with open arms by the Multicultural Council of Wagga Wagga, by Belinda Crain, who runs that very august organisation, but also by the Wagga Wagga community as a whole—because we understand, we value, we acknowledge and we recognise you are peace-loving people like us. You want the best. You want the best for your families. You want the best for your education. You want the best for your future. They are all things that I know that we share in this room and in this parliament.

It doesn't matter from what side of politics you are; you are welcome in Australia. This is your home. It's as much your home as it is mine, and I was born here—way too many years ago! But to the many of you who have come to this nation to make it your home: thank you. Thank you for choosing our country. Please know that, if there are matters of importance, you have your local members, whether it's Jim or whether it's me—and I think I can use that term. Please avail yourselves of every opportunity that is available to you in Australia. I say again: I know you've been through a lot; thank you for choosing this country as your home. Thank you very much.

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