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

I rise to inform the House of a recent community event I attended in my electorate of Bennelong. Last Friday I joined leaders and teachers from many different communities who have been successful in applying for language school grants. We had in attendance representatives from language schools that teach Farsi, Mandarin, Cantonese, Eastern Armenian, Polish, Arabic and Telugu.

As I often remark in this House, Bennelong is Australia's innovation capital, but it is equally one of Australia's shining examples of harmonious and rich multiculturalism. The government has been instrumental in offering support to these organisations, and it's wonderful to see financial aid being delivered to groups who provide so much benefit. One of the saddest, but nonetheless necessary, measures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is the almost complete restriction of international travel and migration. For a country as diverse and multicultural as Australia, the loss of new persons coming to make our shores home has been acutely felt. However, seeing our language teachers' passion and enthusiasm, I am encouraged that our multicultural communities will continue to thrive. I trust and pray that, once the crisis is over and the free movement of people is resumed, families and communities will be able to reunite. Until that time, we must continue to support our multicultural communities and foster the teaching of different languages.