Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On 21 March 1960, black South Africans were gathered at Sharpeville. They came to protest apartheid pass laws, which controlled where black people could live, work and walk. Police opened fire on these innocent people. Sixty-nine people were killed, more than 180 were injured and many were shot as they fled. In response, the United Nations marked 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a reminder of the cost of racist laws and policies, and our duty to oppose them. This day isn't just a date in your calendar. It is a day that calls us to act, to listen and to change. Recently, we have seen the cost of hate in Australia. In Bondi, on 14 December, 15 innocent people were murdered in a targeted antisemitic attack. This was the worst terrorist attack Australia had ever seen, and it was motivated by hatred directed at a community for their beliefs. This is not the Australia I know.

Across our country, racism has been rising: antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Asian and anti-Black hatred, hostility towards First Nations people and attacks on migrants. This is leaving communities feeling unsafe and unheard. Our neighbours have been targeted. Our institutions have felt the strain. We cannot accept this as normal. I've said it in this parliament before and I say it again today: modern Australia is a multicultural Australia. This is our strength. In modern Australia, there is no room for racism, whether it be online, on a mine site, in a bar, in an office, in our schools or in Parliament House.

I grew up in Kambalda, a nickel mining town in regional WA. People came from every corner of Australia and every corner of our globe, and everyone worked together to build a living and raise their children. I had an extraordinary childhood where we looked after each other's backs and I felt like I belonged. In fact, everyone felt like they belonged. This is the Australia that I know. This is multiculturalism in practice.

Guess what? The modern Australian Labor Party looks like modern Australia. I'm here with the member for Tangney. I was very proud to be elected with you in 2022. We have been able to achieve some incredible things over the last two elections. It is amazing to be a part of the most diverse government in history. This is a government that is reflective of the cultural and linguistic diversity that has enriched Australia for generations. This representation matters. When our decision-making bodies reflect our communities, trust grows and belonging deepens. Policy can then do what it should: include. To any little boy or little girl out there who wants to be a member of parliament or even the Prime Minister when you grow up, know that you belong here. I was the first person of colour to be elected to the seat of Swan, and I will not be the last.

Harmony Week starts on Monday 16 March and builds towards the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the 21st. It is a week that asks us to practise respect, to listen and to reflect on our past. Our national story began tens of thousands of years ago with the world's oldest continuous culture, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Sixty thousand years is an amazing history. This is our shared inheritance. But this past is still present, and truth-telling shows us that. In fact, the member for Bonner shared an amazing story of Uncle Bob here in this place. What we need to continue to do is face our history because honesty and truth-telling make room for healing and justice, and justice strengthens our social fabric. As one of the elders in my community says, you need to know where you're from to know where you are going.

I have seen the power of people being seen and heard. When communities share their experience of racism, when institutions listen with humility, we see that understanding grows, and so does connection and so does cohesion. When harm happens, we need to make sure that we let people know what the standard is. I like to reflect on who we are as Australians. The thing that I see in Australia is that we are one of the most egalitarian societies. We actually hate hierarchy and power dissonance; we have this fundamental belief in a fair go for all. So when I say 'all' I mean all. We need to make sure we let people know what these Australian standards are.

If racism is ignored, it does not fade. What happens instead is it mutates and escalates. It finds new outlets in online platforms and in bystander silence. Preventing the next generation from learning hate matters even more. Listen to this: children are not born with hate; they learn it. It is our job to interrupt that cycle with clarity, courage and leadership. I welcome the work of the Attorney-General in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, as it recognised that those who teach hate to children harm our society and harm children in their care. Alongside this measure, the government's new laws against hate, extremism and antisemitism creates penalties for hate crime offences, and new frameworks to list organisations as prohibited hate groups as well as prohibiting hate symbols. We have also introduced new visa cancellation powers for people who spread hate or extremism.

I also want to highlight our amazing Minister for Multicultural Affairs. She has spent her life helping communities stand strong against fear, and is backing that work with real structures and real supports, including the new Office for Multicultural Affairs, which is about inclusion, coordinating settlement services, community grants and a lot more. What's pretty extraordinary is that in the 48th Parliament we have a minister for multicultural affairs at the cabinet table. This is an example of structural changes that governments can make to ensure we are thinking of ways that we can be more inclusive.

The minister is also incredibly well-qualified, and has done amazing work in deradicalisation. She has shown that people caught up in hate have a pathway to re-orientate themselves. We have the responsibility as a society to help put people on the right track. The work that we're doing is not just about representation and celebration; it's about delivering policies that actually invest, listen and include. This representation matters.

When our decision-making bodies reflect our communities, trust grows and belonging deepens. Policy can do exactly what we want it to do. And government has a role. Community has a role. We're investing in initiatives that build respect, connection and resilience, and we're strengthening the organisations that bring people together. Inclusion is nation-building, and human rights are Australian values. We need to make sure that we continue to invest in them, especially during the tough times.

If you talk to any parent, they want their kids to be safe, whether that is safe in their uniform, safe in a headscarf, safe in a yarmulke or safe online. Safety starts with us, with the words that we choose and what we refuse to let pass. Talk to any young person. They want to belong; they want to be seen on our screens and in our parliament. And when they see themselves, they see the future.

This day begins in grief, but our response must be action. If you hear a slur, don't look away. If you see exclusion, make space. If you hold power, open the doors wider. If you have a platform, lift others. If you're unsure, listen first. Make space in meetings, on panels, at the microphone. If you hold a chair, share the chair. Know the history of where you stand. This is an incredible country. We can continue to eliminate this.

See this speech in context