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

Harmony Week is a time when we recognise the many cultures, languages and traditions that make Australia the best place to live in the world. Importantly, it is also a moment to reflect on the values of inclusion, respect and belonging that allow people from different backgrounds to feel part of the same national story, because they are. Harmony Week reminds us that diversity is one of the defining strengths of modern Australia. We should be very proud of the country that we are because of our diversity.

Harmony Week must be more than just a celebration. It should serve as a reminder to us all that harmony must be more than symbolic. It requires effort, commitment and responsibility every single day and every single week. It requires us to actively build a society where every person feels valued, because they are valued; where every community feels that they belong, because they do belong; where one is kind to their neighbour, as a fellow Australian; and where no-one is defined by the colour of their skin or by their heritage.

My electorate of Chisholm is one of the most diverse communities in the country, and I'm very proud to represent my electorate here in this place. Chisholm is a thriving example of multicultural Australia. People from many cultures, languages and faiths live and work together in our community, making enormous contributions. The diversity enriches our neighbourhoods, our workplaces, our schools, our sporting clubs, our other community groups and our neighbourhood houses. The diversity in my community strengthens connections between people and it makes our community stronger.

We are all privileged to share this country too with the world's oldest continuing culture. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for this land and built communities for more than 60,000 years. Their cultures, knowledge and traditions form the foundation of the Australian story. Our national story continues to grow through the many cultures and histories that contribute to modern Australia. I am so privileged to represent a community where people proudly share their culture with their neighbours and contribute each and every day to the evolving story of our nation.

I wouldn't be here in this place if it wasn't for multiculturalism and the embrace of communities in Melbourne of Italians who migrated here after the Second World War. Like that of so many people in my community, my family's story is connected to migration, with my Italian family being among the more than 7.5 million people who've migrated to Australia since the end of the Second World War. My father's family came to Australia in the 19th century to find fortune on the goldfields. All these stories reflect the experiences of millions of Australians whose families came here seeking opportunity, safety and a better life. Our identities often reflect more than one cultural heritage too. Those identities all shape who we are and how we understand the world today. My Italian heritage and my father's five generations of Australian identity are both part of the person that I am today.

We are fortunate in Australia to be a country where multiculturalism is embraced and where people are able, and encouraged, to celebrate the cultures that shape them. When people come to Australia, culture is something that they contribute. It's not something they erase when they make that journey to become Australian citizens and contribute to our communities. Harmony Week highlights the enormous contributions made by migrant communities across Australia, reminding us that diversity has strengthened our nation in almost every single way—economically, culturally and socially.

This celebration is really important, but it's also essential that we continue the work of building a truly inclusive society. Again, we don't do this just in Harmony Week; we do this every single week and every single day. We need to take these moments as a call to action for us to recommit ourselves to the work that we all need to do in our communities to make sure that diversity is valued and cherished and that we see our neighbours as fellow Australians. We've seen some truly awful events over the summer in Australia, unfortunately, where people have been attacked for who they are, the religions that they practice and the places that they come from. We must all, both in and outside this place, commit ourselves every day to building a society where every person is respected and where everyone has equal opportunity.

Harmony Week does, as the Minister made very clear in her statement this morning, coincide with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and it is important that we recognise of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and, indeed, the origin of what has become Harmony Day and Harmony Week. The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination carries deep historical significance, reminding us that racism is not abstract and harmless. It's not just words, although words do matter. The day was established following a tragic event that shocked the world. On 21 March in 1960 thousands of people gathered in Sharpeville, South Africa, to peacefully protest the apartheid government's pass laws. These laws forced black South Africans to carry documents restricting their movement within their own country.

The protest was organised as an act of non-violent resistance. Participants deliberately presented themselves without passports to challenge the discriminatory system. Instead of responding peacefully, police opened fire on the crowd, with 69 people killed and more that 180 people injured. Many of those shot were fleeing the scene. This massacre, the Sharpeville massacre, became one of the most defining moments in the global struggle against apartheid, and the international reaction was appropriately profound and immediate, with the United Nations declaring 21 March the International day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 1966. The declaration called on the international community to redouble its efforts to combat racism, prejudice and discrimination, and we must continue that work.

As was mentioned, again, by the Minister this morning in her comments to the House, it's also important to remember that the concept of Harmony Day was introduced by the Howard government in 1999. That reframed the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in a way that softened the original meaning of the day and shifted it towards a general celebration. Of course we should celebrate diversity and the different cultural heritages that make Australia such a wonderful country, but we should also confront division at this time. Real harmony is something that must be built and defended through real action. Real social cohesion takes work and commitment, and it means that we must first eliminate racial discrimination. This means a fair go for everyone, and that is what it really means to be Australian. Committing to the value of opportunity for all and the hope and protection that Australia offers is our best offence against division and racial discrimination.

Of course, Australia's success as a multicultural nation did not happen by accident. It was due to clear policy direction from the Whitlam government, driven by the fact that the White Australia policy was not appropriate for modern Australia. We do need to acknowledge the existence of the White Australia policy to acknowledge and counter racial discrimination in this country and to see that legacy that was something that was counter to true multiculturalism and diversity.

Generations of Australians from all over the world built a country that has become confident enough to welcome people from every corner of the world. Again, that wasn't always the case, and we should all be proud that it is now. We must acknowledge the work that migrant communities have done over many years, working hard to build lives, uprooted from what they've know, building successful businesses, enriching our communities and contributing in every single way to our lives. Today Australia is home to people from more than 300 different ancestries, a nation of many languages, cultures and faiths. Australians celebrate Christmas and Easter, Lunar New Year, Hanukkah, Diwali, Ramadan, Holi and so many other celebrations, and I'm always very grateful as a representative of a very diverse community to be included in these celebrations and to learn from my neighbours in my community.

It is really important that when we celebrate Harmony Week and Harmony Day we commit ourselves to doing everything we can every single day to make sure that every person in our community really does count and that we take steps to eliminate racial discrimination and violence when they do occur so that we can continue to be the best example of multiculturalism in the world.

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