Matters of Interest

Ghan Kilburn City Football Club

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (15:24): I rise to speak today about one of our emerging CALD communities of Kilburn and Blair Athol to the north of our city and offer a reflection upon what makes this community a success and touch briefly upon some of its challenges. The arrival of people from such diverse places as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Liberia, to name a few, has brought great life, great cultural diversity and a sense of hope and solidarity to the Kilburn Blair Athol region.

I want to recognise the leaders in that community, by and large refugees themselves, who work tirelessly for the benefit of all. Some here will remember the postwar immigration boom that brought many thousands of people of different backgrounds and languages to the state and how their sport of soccer became an opportunity for community building, cultural and linguistic expression and unity. This was not without its problems, but the benefit to the state over time is beyond measure, a point which we would do well to keep in mind.

The Ghan Kilburn City Football Club began in 2012. The Kilburn Football and Cricket Club allowed Ghan to share the use of their oval, and the dream of a local soccer team became a reality. Under the guidance of local business leader Rahim Shah Zaidi and coach Desmond Tucker, the team found success, quickly rising from division 5 Sunday league to division 1 in 2019. The club grew from two adult men's teams to now fielding junior teams and a women's team.

Last year, the club's senior team won both the Sunday President's shield and the Champion of Champions shield, and its junior sides fared similarly well. One of the young women players has also been selected to play for Afghanistan in the Women's World Cup. There are over 150 players from countries of origin such as Afghanistan, Nepal, Iraq and various European nations, as well as Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Congo, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Togo, Australia and Indigenous Australia.

The development of Ghan Kilburn City has always been much more than simply about the soccer. Let me quote the club president, Mr Zaidi:

From the beginning we have been about serving the needs of the local community by seeking to create social cohesion and supporting the particular needs of the emerging immigrant communities.

The hand of friendship and support offered to us by Kilburn Football and Cricket Club since the beginning is a wonderful example of community building and solidarity that we wish to emulate. This is a success story that needs to continue.

Our experience tells us that the development of the club has been a remedy for social ills by providing a focus and an outlet for young people and a diversion away from antisocial behaviour. Our vision for the expansion of our youth academy and junior teams will continue this work and also support local families through social interaction, networking and other ad hoc supports.

It will come as no surprise then to note that the advent of Ghan soccer marked a significant decline in crime in the area, something Ghan and the community as a whole should be justly proud of. This wonderful community and its soccer club have been devastated in these past weeks by a penalty applied to Ghan by the amateur league's governing body over an incident at a preseason match a few weeks earlier.

No-one at Ghan is denying that the behaviour by all involved was not acceptable. No-one at Ghan is denying that some penalty was not appropriate. I am no expert, and I do not intend to criticise the league nor their decision at this time. What I do know, from speaking with people at the club, is that the extent of the penalty applied has been demoralising beyond words to the whole community, not just the players.

I cannot imagine how hard it has been for these people who came to this country in difficult circumstances, many fleeing war and conflict, many spending years—even decades—in resettlement camps, some being born there. I can imagine, however, that recovery from such trauma is an intergenerational project for many. It is just not easy.

In closing, I cannot but share in their frustration and ask legitimately if there simply was not some other way, whether, rather than wielding a very heavy stick, the hand of friendship and support to make sure that this kind of thing does not happen again might not have been a better and a more effective solution.

Time expired.