Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and Pacific Island Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to join the south-east Melbourne Chin community to celebrate the 78th Chin National Day in Pakenham, in the electorate of La Trobe. I thank the president, Robert Khua Tin Tang, who gave a fantastic speech about Australia and the community's strong connections with Australia; the secretary and event manager Tin Mualcin; and Reverend Mang Sangkim. It's great to see that the new Chin Baptist Church—the reverend was telling me about this—should be opened up in September of this year.

The work the south-east Melbourne Chin community do, especially to support new arrivals, is incredible. Chin National Day is a powerful celebration of freedom, unity and identity. It honours the courage of generations who have fought to preserve their culture and their democratic values. I must say that every time I do a citizenship ceremony the Chin community come out, and they are always in their traditional dress. They're so proud of their history but also proud of becoming Australian citizens.

Many Chin families living in Australia today have endured experiences that are hard for others to imagine. The Chin community in Myanmar are mostly Christian and for decades have been targeted because of both their ethnic and religious identity, and simply because of their strong support for democracy. The military carried out violent crackdowns, including the destruction of homes, churches, schools and entire towns. Just prior to the event, aircraft had bombed schools—something which is unbelievable. These are not distant events. They are lived experiences for many people in the Chin community in La Trobe and right across Victoria. They are stories the Chin community carry with courage and dignity. Australia has become a safe place of hope for many Chin refugees, and today there are more than 10,000 who call Australia home, including many in the electorate of La Trobe.

I will just make this point. We hear parties like One Nation, and even my own party and the government, talk about reducing visa numbers. When it comes to humanitarian visas and the Chin community, they must be one of the groups at the top of the list. They come to Australia—

I can't believe I'm getting interjections from a Labor member on this, when I'm supporting the Chin community for the great work they do. They've been absolutely fabulous Australians, and I thank them for everything they do in Australia. It's a shame the Labor Party doesn't support the Chin community.

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