Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise tonight to pay tribute to Harmony Day 2011. As many in this parliament would be aware, Harmony Day was first recognised and celebrated in 1999 as a result of a 1996 election commitment to implement an anti-racism campaign. Since its establishment by the Howard government in 1998, the Living in Harmony program has funded over 450 projects, and public recognition of the program has continued to grow over the past 12 years, with thousands of events being held all around Australia.

This year, Harmony Day has gained public endorsement and support from a number of organisations across the country, including the Australian Centre for Languages, Adcorp, the Australian Football League, the Australian Red Cross, the Australian Sports Commission, Girl Guides Australia and Scouts Australia.

When out and about in my electorate of Brisbane last week, I was absolutely delighted to see that one of the local schools, St Columba’s school at Wilston, was so keen to promote this very important day. The school did a fantastic job of highlighting the importance of Harmony Day. On Friday it was very hard to miss the sea of orange balloons, banners and posters at the front of the school. This display no doubt reminded the hundreds of people who travel along Kedron Brook Road every day of the upcoming Harmony Day celebrations. Unfortunately, I was unable to be in my electorate to celebrate Harmony Day 2011, but I look forward to returning to Brisbane and speaking with Principal Martin Wilkie about how today’s celebrations turned out.

The continuing message for Harmony Day 2011 is that everybody belongs. This is a phrase that rings true to me and, no doubt, to the many diverse communities in Brisbane. Harmony Day is an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be Australian. We share a belief in democracy and respect for the rights and liberties of all Australians. We share a commitment to this country and its people. It is a day also to reflect on the benefits of living in a country that embraces respect, fairness, participation, acceptance and, above all, a fair go. Harmony Day is an important day for everyone who calls Australia home. Today is a day when each of us reflects on what makes us unique and what we have in common.

Sadly, for many in Brisbane one of the things that they have in common is having been devastated by the January 2011 floods. However, in times of tragedy and destruction, the community comes together. This was no truer than in the multicultural community recently. On 5 March, I attended an event hosted by the Queensland multicultural council to help support the food relief efforts across Brisbane. More than 300 people from many different organisations and areas across Brisbane attended the event. My sincere congratulations and thanks go to Kiong and Shona from the Australia Malaysia Business Council of Queensland for their promotion and efforts in organising this spectacular event.

While we pay particular attention to Harmony Day in promoting multiculturalism today and on 21 March each year, Sergeant Jim Bellos of the Queensland police force is committed to promoting harmony across cultures 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Of particular note are the very famous multi-faith dinners that Sergeant Bellos is known to hold regularly, where people of up to 50 different faiths can come together. Sergeant Bellos was the 2009 Queenslander of the Year and he continues to be a very strong advocate for encouraging and promoting harmony across communities. Sergeant Bellos is something of a celebrity in Brisbane and is a household name to many. We are very, very privileged to have him in the Queensland police force. His promotion to the position of Metropolitan South Region Cross Cultural Liaison Officer in 2005 is an absolute tribute to his hard work and commitment and his lifelong passion for working in harmony with multicultural communities.

I look forward to returning to the electorate of Brisbane and hearing the many stories of success from the many Harmony Day celebration events that were held today, not only in the Brisbane electorate but also across Australia.