Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] I draw the attention of the House to the reality that Australia is a diverse nation so it is no revelation that a diverse range of communities are impacted by this delta outbreak. As the member for Greenway I represent two of the eight local government areas of concern currently subject to the strict lockdown restrictions in Western Sydney. Greater Western Sydney is perhaps the fastest growing and most diverse region in New South Wales, if not Australia. More than one third of residents are overseas born. In my electorate of Greenway over 45 per cent of households speak a language other than English. These facts are not novel and it is time this government provided information in a way that caught up with reality. It is hard enough for native English speakers to keep track of the evolving COVID safety messages, let alone those for whom English is a second language.

In my community Zoom last week, which was joined by hundreds of local residents, it became very clear that there was much confusion about how these rules operate in practice. Unfortunately, the New South Wales government and federal government health websites are neither consistent nor comprehensive when it comes to the provision of in-language translations about COVID. This must change and it must change urgently—(Time expired)