Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to extend my thanks and appreciation to Tamil Festival Australia for another incredible year, with another fantastic event held in Melbourne just a few weeks ago. The spirit of Thai Pongal, a harvest festival, and its values of gratitude, community, hope and renewal truly shone through as we came together at Caribbean Park in January, which has been designated Tamil Heritage Month. These themes are more important than ever, with an incredible turnout year on year, great music, delicious food and a wonderful sharing of cultures. I'm always very humbled to be invited to join in the festivities. I want to wish Chisholm's and Victoria's Tamil community good health and happiness for the rest of 2026, and I look forward to seeing you all throughout the year and next year for another celebration of Thai Pongal.

It has been a very busy time in the electorate of Chisholm. Last Saturday I had the great pleasure of welcoming the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Anne Aly, to the New Century School in Wheelers Hill. We met with teachers, students and the people who do such vital work in our community through our community language schools.

Community language schools are really important. Right across the nation they are connecting young Australians to the languages of their parents, their grandparents and their communities, and strengthening the multicultural fabric that makes Australia such a wonderful place to live. Indeed, I'm someone who attended a language school—Italian—on Saturday mornings as a child in the local area. That really helped me to understand my mother's culture and connect to her language and culture, as well as through my engagement with the broader community.

In an increasingly diverse global market, strengthening community language education sets young Australians up for the future, opening many doors of opportunity for them. We want every child to have the best start in life, and part of that is recognising the importance of community language schools. That's why our government is investing $25.6 million to support more than 600 community language schools right across the country, helping more than 90,000 students learn 84 languages. This includes the New Century School, which has been teaching its students Chinese since 2000. Chisholm has one of the largest Chinese communities in Australia, and its strength is underpinned by language schools like the New Century School, which helps students feel a part of a welcoming and inclusive Australia.

I want to convey my thanks to the New Century School for having Minister Aly and me visit, and I look forward to continuing to work with the New Century School and all of the community languages schools in Chisholm.

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