John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Monday, 7 November, I had the honour of welcoming a delegation from the Armenian National Committee of Australia to Canberra to speak about the Armenian-Australian community's issues and concerns. ANC Australia was joined by the chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America, Mr Raffi Hamparian, who is a well-known name around Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. for the great work he does on behalf of the Armenian community in the United States.

The Armenian National Committees around the world, including here in Australia, do a great job of representing their community and providing us with the materials necessary to determine positions of importance to Armenians. A recent example of such material was a book titled Armenia, Australia and the Great War, by Professor Peter Stanley and Vicken Babkenian, which examines the deep connection between Australia's history of humanitarian relief and the greatest tragedy that befell the Armenian people, the Armenian genocide.

We have a rich historical connection with the Armenian people, yet the facts are unknown to many. For example, I would imagine that many of us here are unaware that our Diggers were among the first witnesses to describe the Armenian genocide, which became our nation's first major international humanitarian relief effort. My electorate is proud to be the home of thousands of Armenian-Australians, who all take part in our diverse community. I would like to thank the ANC for their efforts in helping this community and in the ongoing fight to have the Armenian genocide recognised around the world.