Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This year saw an extraordinary confluence of cultural and religious celebration around the world. Within a two-week period, half the world's population celebrated Lunar New Year, Lent, Ramadan and Holi. The last time this happened was in 1863. I can tell you that my community in Melbourne's west, including Point Cook—Australia's most multicultural suburb—didn't miss the opportunity to mark this occasion.

At the Wyndham Multicultural Lunar Festival, thousands of members of my community came together to celebrate this confluence of events. I told the community there 'xinnian kuaile', 'chuc mung nam moi', 'kung hei fat choy', 'holi hai', 'Ramadan kareem' and 'best wishes for this extraordinary holiday and cultural celebration season'. I thank all the very hardworking committee members that made that festival possible and gave our community a chance to come together in our diversity.

One of the most significant contributions I've seen from volunteers in my community is from David Mullins. David Mullins prepared the Faces of Wyndham photographic series. This is an extraordinary portrait series that began in 2019 to capture the diversity of the more than 160 cultures that make up our community in Melbourne's west—hundreds of individual stories coming together in our community in Melbourne's west to become part of one story, the story of modern Australia. The portraits are extraordinary, I think, and they are striking tribute to David's skill as an artist, allowing these magnificent individuals in modern Australia to show their most important, essential parts of identity to our community. His project has been a gift to our community in Melbourne's west, and it's been generously supported by the Asian Business Association of Wyndham, which made an exhibition of this portrait series possible in the CBD and allowed the book of the series to be published. I'm proud to have a copy in my parliamentary office here in Canberra and in my electorate office in Melbourne.

We need projects like this in Australia today—projects that show that, while we are proud of our diversity in Australia, the things that make us special in Australia are the things that bring us together. What unites us is more important, more significant, than our differences. We celebrate that in modern Australia.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further constituency statements by honourable members, the next item of business will be called on.