Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

We're here to talk about migration and integration. I'm going to focus mainly on integration because I think that is the urgent point in terms of the discussion today, given some of the earlier comments that have been made. But firstly, briefly on migration, I think it's perfectly appropriate for us to have a conversation about the levels of migration. They have concerned a lot of Australians, and a lot of Australians are legitimately worried about house prices, about young people being locked out of homes and about infrastructure not keeping up with our population—100 per cent very fair questions. There are also very fair questions in terms of what pathways are available to people and making sure that those pathways are appropriate. I think those are really important questions.

But I really want to talk about integration, because what we say about this in this House does matter. I feel very strongly about this, particularly as an incredibly proud daughter of a migrant—my mum's family. The reason why I think this is really important is that we have a country that is one of the most diverse in history, and that is a remarkable thing. I don't think it's easy to have a country as diverse as this country is. I think we need to take that responsibility carefully.

Part of that responsibility is treating people with the dignity of the individual, which is actually a deeply Western value. It's a deeply liberal democratic value: you have a moral authority based on you as a human. Your moral authority and your role in life don't depend on your ethnicity, your ethnic origin, your religion, your sexuality or anything else. It comes down to you in terms of your responsibility and in terms of your character. That is what this country is based on: the moral authority of the individual. That is something that we have to focus on when having these sorts of conversations, because there is an implication—I'm not going to make assumptions about what is deliberate and what is not, but I look at the people who are watching this debate today, and I think of the people at home. Every Australian who is in this country, who is willing to live by our values, who commits to the words of our citizenship pledge, which I'm delighted often to hear said by people—those people deserve our respect, and they deserve our support, and we can learn and thrive from their difference as well as the contribution that they make to Australia. I think we just have to keep coming back to the individuals rather than to blanket groups who try and other and dehumanise parts of our community.

I think we need to build a modern version of the Australian story, because we have this Gallipoli myth about who we were back in 1914. We are a very different nation from then and, frankly, a much greater nation from then. To see the world, you don't need to travel the world; you can actually experience the world here in Australia. I think that is a wonderful thing and is something that I enjoy enormously. I see a version of Australia which represents the breadth, the depth and the diversity of our country and can unite around inclusivity rather than hark back to a past which excludes a whole bunch of Australians. If you exclude a whole bunch of Australians, you know what? We are not going to get back to that cohesive Australian country that some would like us to get; we are going to be more divided than ever. I think it is up to us now, as a country, to build on that inclusive version of Australia and to accept that we have Australian values. We expect people to live by the rule of law. We expect people to live by our Australian values, but those Australian values encompass the view that your safety and your acceptance are not dependent on your ethnicity, your sexuality or your religion. It is down to you and your contribution to this country.

As I said, as a child of a migrant, I couldn't be more proud to be part of this country. I couldn't be more proud of my mother's contribution to this country as a migrant. The member for Kennedy referenced Bondi. I could not be more proud that people like Ahmed Al Ahmed made a huge difference in people's lives by saving them, because he did not look at religion or anything else. He stood up for Australian values, and I am proud that he is part of this country. We have to be very careful how we lead this, because this is a special country. It is not easy to be this diverse, but we can do that. That means having a version of Australia that we can all buy into.

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