Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the greatest honours of being an elected representative is attending citizenship ceremonies and welcoming people to our community and celebrating the contributions of migrants. I love doing so in my incredibly multicultural electorate of Chisholm.

I attend ceremonies at Monash and Whitehorse councils, and, on occasion, I see other members there, including those opposite. I find it hard to understand how those opposite, when they attend citizenship ceremonies, can look new citizens in the eye and shake their hands, and then come into this place and make false, divisive and outrageous statements demonising migrants. I find it difficult to understand how it is possible to wax lyrical about migrants while being part of an opposition that blames migrants for stealing homes and jobs in our communities. I'm frankly sick of this divisive behaviour and feel a duty to call it out, especially because, when those opposite were last in government, their appalling comments about migrant communities led to people in my electorate feeling unsafe and attributing violent attacks they experienced to the dangerous rhetoric constantly spouted from those opposite.

I will always stand up for my community, in my electorate, in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and in this chamber. And I urge those opposite to do the same.