Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first assisted-passage migrants from Turkey to Sydney and Melbourne. Their arrival, in 1968, was the product of a groundbreaking agreement signed on 5 October 1967 by the Turkish and Australian governments, thus ending the White Australia policy. This anniversary marks a successful migration story in which Turkish migrants have gone on to become active citizens of Australia participating in all aspects of Australian civil society while maintaining their identity, language and culture. I want to use this anniversary as an opportunity to pay tribute to the large Turkish-speaking community in the electorate of Calwell and thank them for the significant contribution they have made to the community and to so many different professions and industries, such as business, sport, politics and the arts. In addition, 2018 is being celebrated by the Turkish Cypriot community as the 70th anniversary of the arrival in Australia of Cypriot migrants.

To mark this auspicious occasion, the Moreland Turkish Association, together with other community organisations, has developed a program of events. The activities kicked off this weekend with a soccer game on Saturday and the Turkish Sofra Festival yesterday. The festival, held at the Immigration Museum, also marked the opening of the Kimlik exhibition, which celebrates and documents the contribution of the Turkish community to Australian life while preserving many valuable memories and stories of those first arrivals—stories that are part of our contemporary Australian migration history. The program of events will include festivals, exhibitions, seminars and conferences, concerts and sporting activities. A program such as this not just is for the Turkish community but provides an opportunity to build relationships with the broader multicultural Australian community.

While on the subject of writing our stories, I note I had the pleasure of attending the official launch of the Margaret Egan Young Writers Award at the Hume Global Learning Centre in Broadmeadows last Friday. Sponsored by the author of the book Back to Broady, Caroline van de Pol, and supported by the Hume City Council and Writers Victoria, the award is themed 'memoirs of Broadmeadows' and encourages all students of Broadmeadows to write about their experiences and understanding of their wonderfully diverse suburb. The winner will receive financial and mentoring support as well as the honour of being named the first Margaret Egan Young Writers Award recipient.

Launching the award along with Caroline was fellow writer and former Broadmeadows neighbour Nick Gleeson, author of the book The Many Ways of Seeing. The two shared their memories of growing up in Broadmeadows in the hope that they would inspire the next generation of young writers. One such writer is Penola Catholic College student Marco, who impressed me so much on the day with his understanding of the written form, especially the way he uses books as a means to understand and make sense of the world around him. Writing is such an important tool in expressing one's thoughts and feelings and also in describing experiences of places and people.