Renee Coffey (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

Australia's strength has never come from sameness. It has come from the people who have built lives across difference, from our many First Nations communities with millennia of history and culture—the oldest continuous cultures on earth—to people who arrive with little English, little money and deep hope for their children, people who turned uncertainty into contribution. That is the Australian story. It is the story of parents who left behind fear to watch their children speak freely in a democracy. It is the story of families who carried old memories into a new home. It is the story of children translating letters at the kitchen table, then growing up to write laws in this chamber.

Fear narrows a country. Hope strengthens it. For too much of our history, Australia narrowed the idea of belonging. But this country chose a better path. My friend the member for Reid said in this House in her maiden speech:

In just over half a century, we have moved from an embrace of a White Australia policy to a country that is now a majority-migrant nation. But what is more remarkable is how this news was received—not with backlash but with a genuine embrace of modern Australia.

I believe we are a parliament that is getting close to being truly representative of the people and communities we represent. Look around this chamber. We see more of Australia here than ever before. We see people with names, accents, faiths, stories and family histories that once sat outside the old idea of power. We are not and never will be a monoculture. Monoculture is a myth.

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