Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Northern Tasmania's Bhutanese community has grown and thrived since the first refugees settled in Launceston over a decade ago. In fact, Launceston has one of the largest refugee populations in Australia. Of the some 5,500 Bhutanese who called Australia home, around 1,500 of them have settled in Launceston and they're an incredible asset to the electorate of Bass.

Launceston was fortunate to recently host the 2019 Bhutanese Australian soccer national championship. In fact, this is the second time Launceston has hosted the event since its inception in 2012, with the championship rotating between Australian cities with large Bhutanese populations. The week-long event comprised of 10 teams of boys and three teams of girls who come from Adelaide, Cairns and Albury-Wodonga and four of our own teams from Tasmania. They braved our wet and cold weather to compete.

While the event was originally organised as a way of reconnecting the Bhutanese communities across Australia, for the first time the organisers also incorporated a badminton tournament, inviting people from other cultures to participate in the event. It was wonderful for Launceston to host this event, and I thank the organisers and the local Bhutanese community for making it such a success.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for members' statements has concluded under standing order 43.