Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to congratulate the Guru Nanak Society of Australia on their upcoming 20th anniversary. The Guru Nanak Society was launched on 15 November 2005 to coincide with the 534th birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first guru of Sikhs and the founder of Sikhism. I'd like to thank Mr Mahanbir Grewal, a great South Australian, a leader in the Sikh community and one of the founders of this particular temple in Allenby Gardens in my electorate. I'd also like to thank him for his friendship and for encouraging me to turn up to the temple and be part of their community—a great community.

The society runs a temple in Allenby Gardens where they serve as a beacon of spirituality and community engagement. On average, the society serves 3,500 vegetarian meals a week to members of the community, not just the Sikh community but members of the community wide and spread—anyone can attend and get a meal. They are really great community workers when it comes to outreach programs as well. They also have a Punjabi language school that's grown from six children in 2006 to over 150 children. The society has expanded from its base in Adelaide and now has branches in Port Augusta, Whyalla and Port Pirie. The Sikh community make up a growing section of our community, having grown in South Australia from 8,812 in the 2016 census to 17,259—including in my electorate in Adelaide, in which the census showed 4,099 people of Sikh faith.

Last year, I had the privilege of attending the 36th Australian Sikh Games. Over the course of the three-day event, over 100,000 people attended Ellis Park in Adelaide. They watched 3,500 athletes compete in various sporting events, including the showpiece kabaddi event, and it's in events like these that the Guru Nanak Society play a massive role in feeding the public and hosting.

The Guru Nanak Society have also hosted an annual Lohri Mela every January, since the inaugural Lohri Mela of 2010. This is a great party that has great food, great community, music et cetera. I'd like to wish the Guru Nanak Society a happy 20th anniversary, and may there be more to come. I look forward to visiting them again very soon.