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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-06-21 Daily Xml
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Refugee Week

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (14:59): My question is to the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. How is the government supporting community organisations to shine a different light on the story of refugees?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:59): I thank the honourable member for this important question because I know that she shares the government's commitment to support refugees who arrive in South Australia from countries that have experienced conflict. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that the number of refugees or asylum seekers and internally displaced people worldwide is more than 59 million. According to the UNHCR, 51 per cent of refugees are under the age of 18. Their stories are all different, but they share common experiences of courage and resilience. Refugees have faced the wrath of human evil but survived. They are extraordinary people.

This week is the 2016 Refugee Week. It is an important occasion and it comes at a time of considerable media attention towards refugees and asylum seekers. Refugee Week provides us with an opportunity to engage with new members of our community and deepen our understanding of the issues that affect them. But strengthening community harmony involves much more than those from a targeted community to be willing to converse, educate and dispel misconceptions. There is an equal responsibility on the rest of the community to listen and engage in a mature and respectful manner.

The theme for this Refugee Week is, 'With courage, let us all combine,' taken from the second verse of our national anthem. This theme celebrates the courage of refugees and it is a call for unity, encouraging us to welcome refugees and to acknowledge the skills and energy they bring to Australia. There will be many community events and activities held across our state, including a soccer carnival, poster and art exhibitions, multicultural meals, DVD launches and language lessons. I am pleased that our government committed $15,000 to the Australian Refugee Association and the Australian Migrant Resource Centre to support the delivery of these activities.

I strongly encourage all South Australians, and indeed members of this house, to celebrate Refugee Week at an event in their local community. Please visit www.refugeeweek.org.au for more information about events near you. These events are a great opportunity for all of us to join together and celebrate the diversity of our South Australian community, and there was no event more so than last night, and I note that the Leader of the Opposition was also in attendance. We were invited by our Governor to celebrate World Refugee Day. He invited two young people to speak about their journey here to South Australia. They talked about fear, they talked about the unknown, and then they talked about their future here in South Australia and the positivity around that.

I guess what stayed with me more than ever last night was when the His Excellency the Governor of South Australia said, 'Every day is World Refugee Day at Government House,' and that when he was studying after he arrived in 1976 he walked past Government House every day to go to university and he never knew what was behind the wall for many, many years, and now he lives there. This is an important story to tell that we should be proud of in South Australia, and we welcome people here as they start their life anew.

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