Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration) Share this | Hansard source

First, I must say that I wasn't aware that Senator Polley had managed to collect a stray hair from one of my combs and do a DNA test on me, but there you go.

I want to thank Punjabi popstar Diljit Dosanjh for his AURA tour to Australia. It was a wonderful tour. I saw some footage from the concert in Sydney. I saw the joy of the audience, the singing, the dancing. There were sold-out concerts all across Australia—90,000 attendees. Diljit Dosanjh had also unfortunately been the target of some odious racist internet trolls. I want to compliment the grace with which Diljit Dosanjh responded to those vile racist internet trolls. He handled it with such grace and gave such a great example to young people in India, in Australia and all over the world. He is a great example to young people everywhere, because not only is he a popstar; he is an actor, he's a film producer and he's also a philanthropist.

His Saanjh Foundation empowers young people. In particular, young people from vulnerable backgrounds are subject to bullying and other prejudice. His foundation is supporting the 10 hardest hit villages that felt the impact of the Punjabi floods earlier this year. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for coming to Australia. Thank you for bringing so much joy to our community. Thank you for providing such a great example to young people everywhere.

In doing this, I would also like to acknowledge the outstanding article which was written by an outstanding Australian by the name of Khushaal Vyas, who was a member of the Multicultural NSW advisory board and a youth rights lawyer in New South Wales. I'd like to quote from his article an outstanding message for all Australians:

I know this behaviour isn't representative of Australia. I also believe we can certainly have healthy conversations about immigration and the level of intake. But we must understand where that discussion crosses a line—especially when the commentary is fed by venturing into hateful stereotypes and xenophobia that is harmful to both the multicultural and economic fabric of this country. We must remain above that.

Thank you very much to Khushaal Vyas for such a strong and powerful message.

I've spoken in this chamber on three occasions during the course of this year about the need to protect religious and ethnic groups in Syria. I gave a speech in March following the appalling human rights abuses occurring in the coastal region where the Alawite community and Christian community were targeted. I gave a speech on 23 July 2025 following the suicide bombing of the Mar Elias Church in Syria. On 4 September 2025, I gave a speech in relation to the appalling situation in Suweida where the Druze community was being targeted. I had the opportunity recently to meet with the Syrian Australian community in Melbourne, and I want to thank all the members of the community who came to that meeting to convey their views. I want to say to you that you've raised the issues that I've heard and that all Australians should listen to. We must do everything we can as members of the international community to prevent this persecution of ethnic and religious minorities and Syria.

In closing, I want to read to you from a speech given by an outstanding young member of the Syrian community at that meeting:

My hope is that as Australia continues to grow as a multicultural nation, we keep finding ways to open doors not just to protect but to empower. Because every new family that arrives here brings new ideas, new energy & new hope.

Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I hope to be part of a generation that continues to build bridges between cultures, between nations & most importantly between hearts.

What an outstanding message from a young member of the Syrian Australian community which brings a lot of joy to my heart and a lot of hope for the future.