Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Friday 14 August I attended Yeronga State High School's Multicultural Day. This day celebrates the unique cultural diversity that exists at Yeronga State High. This school includes students from over 50 different countries and over 60 cultural backgrounds. I was happy to be there to see part of the 'United Nations' parade, where students would come up to the microphone and announce the country they were representing, normally in their own language. That is an interesting point, because there are so many Australians from so many different countries—something I am sure the government will realise in the next couple of weeks. I hope they will realise that almost six million Australians potentially could be deported back to another country if they did the wrong thing. They need to realise that so many Australians come from so many different countries. It was a wonderful event at Yeronga State High, and I thank the school and the principal, Terry Heath, for inviting me and many other distinguished guests. I know how much this school cares for all of its students, and the event reflected the genuine respect and spirited interplay between the students and the teaching staff.

Sadly, at the rollcall of nations there was one voice missing—a voice from Iran that was heard in the playground last year and the year before. I am aware that students and teachers at Yeronga State High have been particularly distressed in recent months about the voice that has been missing, the plight of one of their students. Mojgan Shamaslipoor was a student at Yeronga State High School. Mojgan is from Iran and arrived by boat with her brother a few years ago. Mojgan enrolled at Yeronga State High School in July 2013 after being granted a bridging visa in 2012. Her teachers say she was making excellent progress. Mojgan has worked very hard to master English; obviously this is her second language. Her teachers say she is gifted in performing arts and was a valued member of the school community. Like many other students, she was thinking about what will happen in the months ahead. In the middle of last year she married Milad Jafari, an Australian citizen. I know that is young to be married—only 21. It is a little bit like Romeo and Juliet. But young love: it happened, and Mojgan and Milad were married.

Mojgan, sadly, while at Yeronga State High during the day, was interned at the Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation Centre at night. She was in the playground by day and then had that semi-confinement at night. Her teachers say Mojgan was extremely anxious and distressed while staying at the transit accommodation centre. The school was very supportive of Mojgan's situation. However, they were concerned about her mental health. As she moved towards graduation she would have had a few nerves about exams and the like. Mojgan was only three months away from graduation but, sadly and unexpectedly, she was forcibly removed from the Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation Centre and sent to detention in Darwin. This is obviously a very distressing situation for Mojgan and also for her husband and the staff and students at Yeronga State High, as well as the community, who have come to know her and of her sad circumstances—the school that has provided her with support and friendship over the two years she has been a student there. Like her husband, Milad Jafari, I now call on the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Minister Dutton, to grant Mojgan a spousal visa so that this sad state of affairs will not have the same ending as Romeo and Juliet.

It is a testament to Yeronga State High School that they are able to unite so many culturally diverse students and create an atmosphere of love, support, respect and academic excellence. Yeronga should be an example for all of us in our community, rather than those who seek to create division and lack of respect.

Sadly, my fellow Queensland MP the member for Dawson recently attended a rally that promoted right-wing extremist behaviour and was designed only to create disharmony in our society. We as MPs should be doing all that we can to encourage harmony, just like Yeronga State High School did on Friday and does every day of the week that it is open. Sadly, we have a government MP—the member for Dawson—who, without any admonishment from the Prime Minister, sends the wrong message to many people in our community, especially our hardworking multicultural communities. The Abbott government needs to get its priorities right and provide support and funding for those organisations that are working to build a cohesive and inclusive Australia rather than ignoring the fact that government backbenchers speak at rallies that promote hatred. The silence of the Prime Minister was deafening. Remember: the standards that we walk past are the standards that we accept. (Time expired)