House debates

Wednesday, 8 March 2023

Statements by Members

Maltese Community

1:30 pm

Photo of Daniel MulinoDaniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

The Maltese community's reputation as a hardworking, hospitable people is well deserved, given their service to the community. Fraser electorate resident Carmelo 'Charlie' Desira is emblematic of the commitment of the Maltese community to serve. Charlie was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in this year's Australia Day Honours List. A founder of the Loaves & Fishes Foodbank, Charlie has been volunteering up to 30 hours a week for the past 23 years, delivering hampers and collecting, sorting and handing out food. At the weekend, I thoroughly enjoyed celebrating St George's Day with a fantastic night of great food and music. St George is a patron saint of Malta, and the size of the celebrations was a testament to how important he is to Maltese culture.

Close-knit communities Sunshine and St Albans have been known as 'Little Malta' since the 1960s. The first Maltese-born Australian arrived in Australia in 1810, and then migration increased after 1944 when the Maltese were classified as 'white British subjects' for the purposes of Australia's White Australia policy. The Maltese were offered assisted passage under the 1948 Malta-Australia assisted passage agreement, which facilitated large waves of migration and brought many Maltese people to Sunshine. In Melbourne, most Maltese Australians reside in the western suburbs of Sunshine and St Albans, and they contribute to that community to this day. Thank you to you all.