Chris Hayes (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to indicate that I attended the Bangla Fair, which was held at Campbelltown Sports Stadium last Saturday. The Bangla Fair is a function put on by the Bangladesh Welfare Society of Campbelltown. This event draws around 2,000 to 2,500 people from all over Sydney. It is a very colourful, vibrant and culturally diverse event that occurs in the south-west of Sydney.

This is the fourth time Campbelltown has hosted the Bangla Fair and it is the third time I have had the opportunity to attend. It is a celebration of a unique culture through food, music and other social activities. In addition to the Bangladesh community being able to celebrate their culture, it is also an opportunity to share that culture with the people in the south-west of Sydney. I was particularly impressed, as I have been in the past, at the organisation, commitment and also the embracing nature of this event in terms of the people who attended from the south-west of Sydney generally.

I would like to pay particular regard to the President of the Bangladesh Welfare Society, Nazrul Syed; vice-presidents Mainul Islam and Habibur Rahman; the general secretary, Iqbal Farrukh; and an executive member, Aladdin Alok. In respect of the last fellow, I am personally aware of the amount of effort this young man puts into not only the Bangladesh community but the community around Campbelltown as a volunteer for various organisations. He is a very highly motivated young man who certainly puts the community first and foremost. I would also like to acknowledge that the founder of the Bangladesh Welfare Society, Abdur Raim Mollah, died last year. He was a former general secretary. His death has certainly been mourned by the Bangladesh community in my area, but, even more than that, his passing has been mourned by the community of Campbelltown generally. He was a very good man, a very good family man and a man committed to cultural as well as community ideals. He is very sadly missed. Events like this really do show the value of multiculturalism. That is something I am particularly proud of in my electorate and in the south-west of Sydney generally. It is something that shows that we can all live in happiness and in a way that complements one another. (Time expired)