Ash Ambihaipahar (Barton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

You are. I have a lot of time for that argument because when members advocate for doctors, hospitals and healthcare services they are talking about real issues facing Australians. But sometimes when I listen to many of the member for Lyne's colleagues they're not talking about frontline services. They're talking about culture wars. They're talking about fear and division—not about bread-and-butter issues like access to doctors, which should be the focus of any decent opposition. When was the last time you heard a serious health policy from the coalition? When was the last time you heard One Nation talk about bulk-billing? Too many on that side are not talking about the problems that are facing their constituents. They're talking about the problems they are finding in their own algorithms instead. On this side of the chamber we are listening to our communities, talking about their problems and building the type of nation our citizens deserve. I challenge those opposite to rise to the same challenge.

I want to turn celebrating our multicultural communities. Last month I had the privilege of attending the opening of the Museum of Chinese in Australia in Haymarket. The Albanese government is proud to have supported the establishment of this museum, contributing $2.6 million in funding. The museum celebrates and preserves the history of Chinese Australians and is hosted in the heritage listed former Haymarket Library in Sydney. But what makes this museum so powerful is not just the history it preserves. It is the message it sends. It says that the story of Chinese Australians is not separate from the Australian story. It is part of it. As the Prime Minister said at the opening, the museum celebrates, 'a vital thread through the history of our modern nation – the long and extraordinary story of Chinese people in Australia.' As the member for Sydney, Minister Plibersek, said, it reminds us that migrants do not arrive in Australia and replace the national story. They add to it, they enrich it, and they expand it. Every generation adds another chapter, and that is how a nation grows.

It was particularly special to celebrate the museum's opening during Lunar New Year. This year is the year of the fire horse, a time of renewal, hope and connection for millions of people here in Australia and across the world, including in my own electorate of Barton. Lunar New Year is celebrated by many cultures, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and other East and Southeast Asian communities. Whilst traditions may differ, the shared themes are very familiar: hope for good health, prosperity and good fortune in the year ahead.

Across my electorate and across Australia, Lunar New Year is marked not just by lanterns and shared meals but by something more enduring: the strength of community. It is a time when generations come together, when elders pass on stories and values and when young people learn the importance of respect, hard work and belonging. For many families who migrated to Australia, Lunar New Year is also a reminder of resilience. It reflects journeys of sacrifice and courage—the courage to leave behind everything familiar, as well as the courage to build a life somewhere new and the courage to hold on to culture, language and identity along the way.

Multiculturalism in Australia has never meant leaving culture at the door; it means bringing culture to the table. When every culture brings something to the table, the whole country is much richer for it. That is why celebrating multicultural Australia is not just about festivals or food. It is about recognising that modern Australia has been built by people from every corner of the world and that the Australian story is still being written. Every migration journey adds another page, every community adds another voice, and every generation adds another chapter.

Across Barton, local organisations hosted Lunar New Year celebrations, including CASS, Kogarah Storehouse, Advance Diversity Services, CanRevive and the Bayside and Georges River councils. They had been planning these occasions for many months, practicing celebratory dances, ordering red packets, sending invitations and preparing speeches, and most of this work was on volunteer basis. This represents so many hours spent serving and celebrating others, not for personal gain but the love of one another.

These organisations play an extraordinary role in bringing communities together. They are the quiet architects of social cohesion. They support families, they build bridges across cultures and they remind us that multiculturalism is not an abstract idea; it is something that happens every day in local halls, community centres and neighbourhood festivals. Thank you to those local organisations that made Lunar New Year so special. I am so thankful to be invited and included in your celebrations.

We have similar historical preservation works also being undertaken in Barton. I was proud to pledge $200,000 to restore the Hermis-Ilion Hall and Library in Bexley. This space is an important place for people to come together to celebrate and hand down their Olympian culture and traditions. In turn, it illuminates another thread in our Australian story. Every culture adds another colour to the national tapestry, and every story adds another chapter to our shared history. In Barton, Greek Australians have been part of that story for generations. They build businesses, churches and community organisations, and they raise families and help shape the character of the local community. The restoration of the Hermis-Ilion Hall ensures that their history and their culture will continue to be celebrated for generations to come.

In a similar vein, I also want to sincerely thank the Australian Tamil Congress for their generous acknowledgement of my election. To be supported and welcomed by a community organisation with such a strong history of advocacy, service and leadership is deeply meaningful for me. For many years, the Congress has worked tirelessly to ensure the Tamil community is not only seen but heard and that its contributions to the Australian story are recognised and respected. I've seen the work that they do standing up for community welfare, preserving culture across generations and advocating with courage and dignity on issues that deeply matter to them.

The work strengthens not only the Tamil community; it strengthens Australia. Every time a community preserves its culture while contributing to Australian life, the national story becomes much richer. The Tamil story in Australia is one of perseverance and contribution, and it deserves to be reflected in our institutions, our policies and national conversations. I'd like to thank Mr Rajeevan, the executive and the committee of the Australian Tamil Congress for their dedication and service, and I look forward to continuing to work side by side with the congress and the Tamil community into the future.

Finally, I want to highlight the government's Commonwealth paid prac payments because, once again, this side of the House is focused on equipping young people, no matter their background, with the skills they need to enter the workforce. Most importantly, we are equipping them to enter sectors where there are real skill shortages. This policy is for students studying teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work, and these students will now receive financial support for the mandatory placements required as part of their training. For too long, these placements forced students to work full time for weeks or months without any pay. For many students, particularly those from migrant or working-class families, that was simply not sustainable. This reform matters because talent should not be determined by your bank balance and opportunity should not depend on whether you can afford to work for free. This is the first time an Australian government has provided financial support for mandatory placements. It is a significant reform and one we should all be very proud of.

I know many students at Kogarah TAFE will benefit directly from this policy, and the professions that benefit from this reform share something important in common. They are caring professions—professions built on empathy, humility and service—and they are the professions that hold our communities together. I think of Karuna Rawat, a local in my electorate of Barton, who is a mental health nurse and also Miss Nepal International, and she is an icon. She works night shifts in our local wards, caring for some of the most vulnerable members of our community, and then she wakes up the next day to champion the Nepali community and advocate for reform in our health system. That is the Australian story in action: a migrant community member serving others, a young woman stepping forward as a leader, and a professional giving back to the country she now calls home.

These are the stories our investments help create. Budgets are not just about economics. They are about opportunity, they are about fairness, and they are about ensuring that every Australian, no matter where they come from, can see themselves in the story of this country. That is progressive patriotism, and that is the Australia we are building together.

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