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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-17 Daily Xml
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Bills

South Australian Multicultural Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 4 March 2021.)

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (16:30): I note that I am the lead speaker for this bill. Last night, the Governor hosted the Governor's Multicultural Awards—in fact, I think they were the 13th awards. Members from both sides of the house and the crossbench attended, and I was delighted to see the member for Frome in attendance there.

It was an incredibly well-attended event that recognised the contributions South Australian individuals, associations and groups provide to not just multiculturalism but interculturalism as well. That is important because it is not just about acknowledging the diversity in the 200 different groups that we have here. It is about acknowledging each other's culture, understanding and being interested in understanding how we can support each other.

Updating the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission Act was started under the previous Labor government and we committed to do that, so we support updating this act. It has been 30 years since it has been done, so this is a significant opportunity for this parliament to embrace South Australians and show the future of what we want to talk about in multiculturalism.

We must view this bill in a wider context because it is more than just a bill for an act that will talk about the South Australian Multicultural Commission. Most importantly, this bill is about an act to advance multiculturalism and interculturalism in South Australia. It will also establish the South Australian Multicultural Commission, and it will provide for the South Australian Multicultural Charter while repealing the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission Act 1980.

This is an important bill that will become an act because it sets up a structure for us to advance multiculturalism and interculturalism. It is important that we are clear that this is our future. Today is an opportunity for us to deliberate on the future and to envision an active and representative commission where people from our diverse multicultural communities are recognised and heard and have clear access to government.

We believe on this side of the house, as is shared in a bipartisan manner, that representation of the community is important, and our amendments aim to strengthen the role of the proposed South Australian Multicultural Commission. As a former Minister for Multicultural Affairs, this is a portfolio that never leaves you. What stays with you is the people—the people who invite you to share their culture, to celebrate their culture and to talk to you about their life here in Australia. Because of that, I remain very connected to our diverse multicultural community. I was delighted when our Labor leader asked me to take on this role again as a shadow minister in recent times.

By continuing to be connected to our community, I have heard the calls for change. Even in the government's own consultation report on this bill, first done in 2019, there were significant calls for change. Even at the awards last night, people came up to me to express their disappointment with some aspects of the current draft of the bill. What I heard last night was someone's disappointment that there was no youth representation explicitly mentioned in the bill. They saw me at the leaders awards and said to me, 'I know that you are debating this soon, and I want you to understand what I am concerned about.'

When I spent some time looking at what people had said, it was very clear to me that the bill that was presented to us had some areas that had not translated from the discussion report, the consultant's report, into the bill. I heard that they want a very clear message that government agencies be held to account for implementation of the advancement of multiculturalism and interculturalism. That was very clear in the executive summary. They also want the commission to be more visible. They are also keen to understand the process of appointment to the commission. They want it to be more transparent and to understand the recruitment process.

Other issues raised in this discussion and consultation process were the ideal attributes, skills and experience they wanted to see on the commission. People raised youth regional representation, and of course there were concerns that there was not specific detail about gender representation on the commission. It was also very clear that people were very keen to remove the term 'ethnic'. It was considered outdated and not appropriate as we go forward. That was very clear from what I heard.

To this end, the opposition seeks to be constructive and seeks some further amendments to the bill that was laid before this house. The focus of those amendments is to improve the representative nature of the commission, to strengthen the multicultural charter and to enact it as a regulation of government. We are also keen to give the charter accountability and transparency.

Other areas we will focus on through our proposed amendments include the experiences of those commission members. We are looking for a diversity of experience to be represented. A concern that has been raised very clearly with me is about the resources for the commission. In regard to this bill that was laid before the house, people were concerned that the commission was not given enough certainty of resources and staffing as it should be as a commission to be respected.

There were also questions about whom they should advise. One of the challenges that was raised is that there was a feeling that it was going to be a commission in name only and that what they were moving to be was an advisory group to the minister. Current and former commission members clearly said to me that they want the ability to advise the whole of government, all state authorities. I think this is incredibly important because we see that already in the current act.

As I said, we will seek to have the charter in regulation. A charter is a wonderful thing. I know that we will come up with a form of words we all agree with. But I want more than that, and I heard that from people as well. We want to make sure that we have a reporting mechanism to ensure the charter is enacted to our state authorities; we want to give it teeth. It is great to have a set of words, but really what counts is that it is being enacted and can be measured.

There are two other things I want to touch on, which we will be talking about further during the committee stage, and one is in the parliamentary declaration. Significant changes to the original bill have been proposed by the government, and I acknowledge there has been some work done there. I would particularly like to recognise the amendment to acknowledge that Aboriginal peoples are South Australia's First Peoples and nations and the traditional owners and occupants of land and waters in South Australia. I recognise that it is proposed to be incorporated. That is something that was raised in the consultation period, yet for some reason it did not make it into the bill laid before the house.

There is one area that I feel strongly about, and it is to do with the functions of the committee, and it is in an amendment we have put forward. That is that the multicultural commission has the following functions under this act—and we are proposing that this is (e):

to raise awareness of the harm that racism and other forms of discriminatory behaviour can do to multiculturalism and interculturalism in South Australia.

Only this week did we see Adelaide United player Kusini Yengi subjected to racial abuse through social media. I give credit to Adelaide United for speaking out strongly when they saw that this had happened. Unfortunately, this happens more than I think we would like to believe. We have work to do in this area. We know that our Asian community has been under fire, had abuse hurled at them post COVID issues, as they are held somehow responsible. We need to call this out. We need to raise awareness of the harm that racism and other forms of discriminatory behaviour can do others. I raise this because I think it is an important function for the commission.

The Australian Refugee Association is part of the Stop Racism Now group, and there are another 24 groups involved in that. They raised this in the consultation report. They raised the issue and their concern around racism, but for some reason it was not in the bill. So I think that is an incredibly important function for this commission to have. It is incredibly important for us to acknowledge this in this bill because we are looking to the future. We are looking to the future, given that this was done 30 years ago and may not be done for some time, for what must change, a true acknowledgement that we are a multicultural society.

One in two of us have a parent born overseas. In my own electorate, 36 per cent of the people who live in the City of Salisbury were born overseas. This is us, this is Australia, but there are some people who do not support that. One of the key messages given to me was that we cannot be complacent. Many people in this house—and I would like to say all the people in this house—believe in multiculturalism. We know that Australia has been built by waves of migrants coming here for a better life.

I often talk about the characteristics of a migrant. They are bold and they are brave. It is a very big decision in your life to leave your family behind to start a new life in a new country. We know some people did not have a choice. In fact, just recently at the opening of the Vietnamese Boat People Monument the reality that people faced if they stayed makes you understand why they took the risk they did. Many people perished on their way here.

People come here for many different reasons. They come here as skilled migrants or as international students. Sometimes people come for love because they fall in love with an Australian. Whatever the decision for someone to come to Australia, we know they make a contribution to us. They make us stronger, they make us better and they certainly have connected us to the world.

I do not talk about this very often, but this function of raising concern and making sure that we raise awareness of the harm of racism is somewhat personal to me because my son is African-Australian. The other day I asked him, 'Do people ever ask you where you come from?' He said, 'Yes, sure, mum, they do all the time.' I had not even thought that that is something he has to explain.

Most of the time I think people ask because they are curious or because they are being friendly, but the fact he has to explain that is something I was not aware of. When I hear that Kusini Yengi, an elite sportsperson, gets this kind of abuse it does worry me sometimes what my son might experience during his lifetime. I ask the parliament very strongly, through bipartisanship, to make sure that is part of the functions of the commission.

We seek to introduce these amendments in a constructive spirit to help achieve the aims of furthering our multicultural success story. This is an aim that has bipartisan support. I would like to acknowledge the work and contribution of the previous shadow minister for multicultural affairs, the member for Badcoe, and the assistant shadow minister for multicultural affairs, the member for Cheltenham. Both have conducted a significant consultation process regarding the bill.

I would also like to acknowledge the Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs and the Deputy Premier for their accessibility in discussing our views on the bill. Already they have acknowledged to me that they will accept and support some of the amendments put forward. I appreciate that. I know that members of our multicultural community will be somewhat disappointed that the Premier, who is responsible for multiculturalism, is not seeing this bill through in the house. I will leave it at that.

This is an important opportunity for us here today to talk about the future and to talk about the importance of multiculturalism and interculturalism. I am very proud to be the lead speaker from the opposition today. I will have more detailed discussions of the amendment during the committee stage.

Mr DULUK (Waite) (16:49): I also rise to make a small contribution to the South Australian Multicultural Bill 2020 and am looking forward to it getting through the house. As has been said by all sides—by the member for Ramsay in her contribution and, indeed, by the government—multiculturalism in this state is an important, bipartisan issue.

I think it is timely that after several decades there has now been an update and review of the act and a review of the important role that the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission (SAMEAC) plays in our community to ensure that multicultural communities, communities where English is a second language and communities of new migrants and refugees have a space and a voice in the public discourse of our state.

To that extent, I was somewhat surprised when in recent weeks, before this bill came to the house, I was contacted by members of the multicultural and ethnic affairs community about some concerns they had about the bill as then laid on the table. I am really quite relieved that I and indeed other members of the house, especially the member for Florey and my other colleagues in this quarter of the U-shape, have been able to work with people like Mr Norman Schueler, Chair of SAMEAC, Dr Tony Cocchiaro and other members of SAMEAC to ensure that the legislation presented in a bipartisan manner to this house does indeed meet that threshold. I know there are quite a few amendments as tabled by the government, which I look forward to supporting, and of course some amendments by the member for Ramsay as well, which I will give due consideration as the debate goes on.

I will just touch on a very important multicultural event that happened last Saturday up at Hill River, as it was known—it is now known as Polish Hill River—to celebrate the 150 years of settlement at Polish Hill River and the arrival of Father Leon Rogalski S.J. to Polish Hill River some 150 years ago, which is so important. Why is this important to me? It is talking about Polish settlement here in South Australia. Of course, for those who do not know, my own family background is of Polish descent.

Polish Hill River has been around for many years and is an important part of the Clare Valley community and, indeed, the history of migration to and settlement in South Australia, with the first Poles arriving in about 1844 and settling in Tanunda. Those first Poles were Galasz and Wotka (Gallasch and Wuttke, as they were known in Prussian German). It was some time later, in about 1856, that 131 Poles settled in Sevenhill, and several years later, in 1870, Father Leon Rogalski came to Australia to service that community.

It was really the first time that migrant community from Poland had pastoral care in their own language and was so looked after, showing the importance of faith and language to a community. For those who follow the history of the settlement of South Australia, we know that many districts across the state, whether it be Tanunda or up in the Adelaide Hills, where there was strong Prussian German migration, many of those people were fleeing persecution from their homelands at the time.

Indeed, the story of Australian migration and settlement is of people fleeing persecution. Of course, we celebrate St Patrick's Day today. The contribution of the Irish community in Australia is next to none. They obviously played a huge part in the penal colonies of Britain and in the history of this nation. Pretty much every subsequent wave of migrants, whether they be economic or political refugees, or fleeing war, oppression or famine, has come and made its contribution to this state.

It was really an honour to be up at Polish Hill River on Saturday. Of course, the official opening was presided by His Excellency the Hon. Hieu Van Le AC, our Governor. The Hon. Mr Michael Kolodziejski, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland was in attendance, as was the Most Reverend Patrick O'Regan, Archbishop of Adelaide, and a huge number from the Polish community in Adelaide—I would say some 200 people. The government was represented by the Hon. Michelle Lensink from the other place, and the member for Frome, Mr Geoff Brock, was there. It was a wonderful occasion for community.

To that extent, I would really like to thank the dedicated volunteers of the Polish Hill River Church Museum, led by chairman, Jerzy (George) Mrotek; vice chair, Irena Sosnowski; treasurer, Krystyna Gajewski; maintenance officer, Richard Novorolski; and curator, Edward Dudzinski. The secretary is unfilled, but Ted Dudzinski is filling that role at the moment and he probably will for the foreseeable future.

I thank all the members of the Polish Hill River Church Museum, who really are the custodians of 150 years of tradition, of Polish heritage in the Clare Valley and of course across all of South Australia. I know for the last several weekends in the lead-up to last Saturday they were up there maintaining Polish Hill River and ensuring that the festivities on Saturday were exceptional, and indeed they were. Of course, there was a large contingent of pilgrims who came over from Melbourne, especially from the Jesuit order, and quite a lot of Poles from Melbourne came across as well. I think they were excited to get out of Melbourne for the first time in a long time.

It was a really wonderful occasion of celebration. As always, the Governor's address to the community was excellent. I think many in the Polish community see His Excellency as an honorary Pole. His story of migration to this wonderful state I think aligns with that of many from the Polish community. For me, it was fantastic to see last week's celebration go ahead. It was meant to happen last year, but COVID postponed it, so it was actually 151 years of settlement. I thank George Mrotek and his group of volunteers for putting together last Saturday's celebration, which was truly a credit to them.

Across all multicultural communities of South Australia, whether it be in the Polish community, the Vietnamese community, the Cambodian community—

Ms Bedford: The Italian community.

Mr DULUK: —the Italian community, as the member for Florey indicates, as there are many from the Italian community in her electorate—everyone is so proud of what they are doing. I know in a couple of weeks is the Polish-Hungarian Friendship society annual get together, and no doubt the member for Cheltenham will be there, as he is proud of his Hungarian background. So many in this house are proud of those who have come before them and share that special relationship. As I said at the beginning of my remarks, it is so important when it comes to multiculturalism in this state that we have a bipartisan approach—

Ms Bedford: Multipartisan.

Mr DULUK: —multipartisan approach even, as many would say—that all South Australians are on the same page and that we always look to assist those who are new to our nation, who may struggle with our language, our customs and our norms.

That really is the role of SAMEAC now over many, many years, which has been out there to be able to foster that relationship with new Australians, with migrants to this nation, to make them feel welcome and to help show them how their communities can work with the broader society to ensure that there are language classes and that young mums and children especially, over the history of migration, have the support they need in terms of integrating into our communities in a harmonious way. This ensures that all South Australians, no matter where they come from or how long they have been here, can make a wonderful contribution to this state.

Mr SZAKACS (Cheltenham) (16:58): As have many others in this place, I rise not only to indicate my support for the bill, with some amendments, but also to add some of my own comments to the very thoughtful contributions other members have made around multiculturalism in this state—or, as this bill seeks to modernise, the discussions around interculturalism—and also, I think it is important to say, around ethnic affairs, which has been part of this state's living fabric now for decades.

I have spoken proudly on numerous occasions in this place about my own cultural heritage. My father, a Hungarian refugee, arrived here in 1957 and my mother's side were of good Irish-Scottish stock off the farms of New South Wales many generations ago. It has been heartening to hear the contributions of other members in this place about the different stories they bring to multiculturalism, those members from regional South Australia, those members from the concrete patches of the city. Our stories that connect us with multiculturalism across this state are unique but also do bring us all together in a distinct way.

For me, multiculturalism does not happen by mistake. It certainly does not happen by accident. It happens by design. We have been a country and also, very proudly, a state that have put multiculturalism at the front and centre of our economic and social policy. We are arguably the greatest living example of harmony and multiculturalism anywhere in the world.

This parliament, no doubt, could look more like our community. I hope that this update to our law will pave a way for this parliament one day to better reflect our community. As our cultural diversity changes in our community, I hope this parliament also does the same. I think they are the sorts of goals that we seek to achieve as a parliament and through the declaration that we will be considering in this bill.

How does this parliament look to those people who seek to call South Australia home? What message do we send? What aspirations can we peg to our operations here that give hope and cause for those who seek to call South Australia home that they should be—not could be but should be—taking their rightful place in this chamber?

In the South Australian Multicultural Bill, as the member for Ramsay and shadow multicultural affairs minister has put, there are a number of important amendments that we will be moving that we seek to improve this update. Representation and diversity in representation are at the core of one of the suite of amendments that we will move. As the member for Ramsay has said, on this side we have conducted a suite of consultations with various stakeholders, but the most informative to the amendments that we seek to move today is actually the consultation that was undertaken by the government itself through multicultural SA.

I have expressed my own concerns that that consultation took place over two years ago or it was completed almost two years ago. The currency of that consultation within the current massively changed situation that we find ourselves in as a community should be considered. Notwithstanding that, the consultation feedback and the consultation process that the government undertook was pretty clear. It was clear that better representation of diverse communities was sought.

For that reason, amendments that will be moved by the opposition will seek to include on the commission itself the voice of refugees, the voice of women, the voice of newly arrived migrants as well as the voice of young people and, in addition, the voice of a regional member. Those things are important because the community, multicultural communities, have told us that they are important. We will also seek to move amendments to improve the declaration. The declaration itself is an important step forward for this parliament.

The parliamentary declaration is an important step forward for this parliament, but it needs to aspire to include a series of targets and goals that we would hopefully see ourselves coming back to in 40 years' time, as we have with the existing act. For that reason, we are seeking to move amendments that will recognise that multiculturalism does not just happen. It happens because of a wave of successive migrations—permanent and temporary migrations as well as the resettlement of refugees here in South Australia.

The charter itself, which is an admirable step forward, needs to have significant currency. For that reason, the amendments we will be seeking to move include the charter as a regulation. Again, we have heard from the community that it is important. It futureproofs the charter. It instils and guarantees, to an extent as best we can, a buy-in to an important step forward in a nonpartisan way.

Within that charter, we believe it important to include at the front and centre a statement that multiculturalism in this country starts with our First Nations people. We are all migrants to this land. Multiculturalism and interculturalism start with those men and women who have been inhabiting this land and celebrating their living culture for now over 60,000 years.

Another important amendment that we seek is, sadly, to call out racism. Racism is insidious. It is backhanded and it is undermining of the values we seek to aspire to as a liberal democracy. I think it is also one of those things we do not speak out about enough and at times we have not spoken about. I acknowledge that the existing act and the proposed bill certainly provide capacity to address or implement a series of strategies to tackle racism, but it is my view, and it is the view of those of us on this side, that it starts by saying that racism exists. It starts by saying that racism undermines multiculturalism. It is only once we acknowledge racism exists that we can truly tackle it head-on.

I hope and trust that this bill will continue our amazing journey as a very proud multicultural community to facilitate and enable communities to tell their stories. It is the stories through those communities who choose to call South Australia home that enrich us and that enliven us. We have heard the iteration of those from so many members who have contributed so far to this second reading debate.

I had a quick look at my diary over the last couple of days and the next couple of days to try to provide some local examples of just what that multicultural evolving, living story looks like for me and for my day and for all our days in this place. I came up with a short list. I think there is about 56 hours worth of stuff here. I had the privilege on the weekend of attending a launch by Bene Aged Care of a suite of stories called LivingProof. Norman Schueler, who is in the gallery today, was there as well.

For those who do not know or have not been familiar with Bene Aged Care, they are a multicultural aged-care provider. LivingProof seeks to break down some of the stereotypes of living and growing older in our community but through a distinct Italian voice. We had the privilege to hear from a man called Guiseppo, who every single day during the pandemic would visit his wife through the window of their aged-care facility to say, 'Hi,' to greet her with love and no doubt to greet her with the humour he presented to us.

I also had the privilege of hearing from academics from our Serbian community who have undertaken a series of work to highlight the horror, shocking abuses and genocide that occurred in the Sinovatz concentration camp during World War II by the fascist regime. Hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Roma, Jews and anti-fascists and socialists were murdered in ways that still profoundly shape the psyche of those who survived.

I attended the Woodville Primary School in my local area, where 70 cultures are represented. We celebrate Nereus on the weekend. As the member for Waite touched upon, I am no doubt having a drink, or a Palinka, at the Polish-Hungarian Friendship Association. We will be with members of our Greek community remembering the 200th anniversary of Greek independence and the sacrifices Greeks made in pursuit of their own freedom.

These are some of the stories that I have the privilege of hearing every single day—those stories that we in this place listen to and inform our approach to shaping the best public policy that we can to protect and advance multiculturalism. This bill, and a focus on the economy, on work and on social and political life, I trust and hope will be something we can proudly look back on in the future as those multicultural stories continue to grow, continue to evolve, continue to be celebrated and continue to strengthen and shape the wonderful, strong community that we call home in South Australia.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (17:12): I am the product of multiculturism and a very proud product of Australia's acceptance and ability to open its borders to people like my parents who migrated here for a better life. I am eternally grateful for what those pioneers did to encourage mass migration to Australia.

As I was listening to the remarks of my friend the member for Cheltenham, he pointed out something that I think is often lost on a lot of people in the multicultural community, and indeed in the multicultural debate, and that is our first Australians, our Indigenous people of this country, our First Nations. Those people have been still been the most welcoming of all—despite what they have been through—and a lot more welcoming than some of the greetings I have received in some communities, and I include the parliament when I first got here.

I am concerned about the bill, where it started and where we are now. I suspect that good intentions may not have been thoroughly conveyed accurately to all participants in this debate from the government about what its intentions were.

It was not until the advocacy of the multicultural community here in South Australia and the realisation of what was occurring through the changes in the bill that amendments were put forward by the government, and are being put forward by the crossbench and the shadow minister and the parliamentary secretary for multicultural and ethnic affairs here in the opposition.

To put it bluntly, the government botched this. It is not a criticism; it is just a fact. It disappoints me that we have reached the point where members of the multicultural and ethnic affairs community had to reach out quietly to the opposition and the crossbench to voice their dissatisfaction with what was occurring. That should not need to happen. That should not need to occur, because the whole reason we have this debate is so that their voices are heard, and their voices were not being heard.

When we discovered that those voices were not being heard, and given the new status of this chamber, things changed dramatically. It is amazing to see how quickly change can happen when you really want it to. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention, and no doubt these amendments were the necessity of the government because there would have been changes coming one way or another.

Ms Bedford: Necessity Bedford.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Sorry?

Ms Bedford: I could be called Necessity Bedford.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: That's right. Mr Deputy Speaker, one of the major fundamental reasons we have been such a good example of multiculturalism throughout the world is that we have not gone through a process of assimilation, which is very much the US policy of migration, where communities are told to assimilate as quickly as possible.

Indeed, at the turn of the last century former President Theodore Roosevelt wrote extensively about the dangers of migration unless they accepted Americanism, and the idea of Irish Catholics or vast waves of European migration changing the United States forever. The Australian experiment was very different in many aspects and the difference was that we did not so much want people to assimilate to Australian culture but to enrich it, to add to it, to diversify it, to improve it—

The Hon. Z.L. Bettison: To build it.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —to build it, and that is what has occurred. Unfortunately, this is often referred to as 'the food outcome' of multiculturalism, which I think is probably the worst example you can use. Every time I hear someone say, 'I love multiculturalism. The curries are amazing,' or 'Gee, I love multiculturalism. Greek food is to die for.'

An honourable member: It is, though.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It is, but that is not multiculturalism: that is just good food—and you are welcome. Multiculturalism is the ability to allow people to encourage those from diverse backgrounds to come here and feel welcome, and to know that as citizens their ethnicity, their background and the time they arrive are fundamentally no different from the people who arrived here on the Buffalo. That is multiculturalism; that is what it really means—that their voices are just as important as everyone else's.

I do not think there are many people left who do not agree with that principle, but these views are still on the boundaries and fringes of civilised society. I talk about One Nation, I talk about with great shame my political party's former views on the White Australia Policy, and I again talk about some aspects of the Liberal Party when it comes to migration. But we are all evolving together and we are all getting better at this, not just because of the food.

When we get back to basic principles, why are people thirsting to come to Australia? Again, the misconception is, 'Oh, it is the prosperity.' Yes, that is a large contributing factor, but like any other family who wants to leave somewhere dangerous, what are they really seeking? They are seeking freedom from oppression, they are seeking liberty and the ability to raise their families peacefully and offer their children the same future we can offer all of ours and to give them the same opportunity that every parent aspires for their children.

That is what Australia offers: the equality of that opportunity regardless of your race, ethnicity and, hopefully, eventually, even for First Nations people who have been at the bottom of that list in terms of outcomes since we arrived here in this country. That is what multiculturalism is all about.

To contradict everything I have just said, I remember meeting a young man on a tour here at Parliament House from the Thebarton Senior College, which is in my electorate. It is where large groups of migrant communities go to learn languages, basically English, to be able to function in our society. That young man started Parwana, which is an Afghan/Pakistan restaurant at the end of the street that I live in. It is an amazing business.

I do not raise it in parliament to talk about the food, even though the food is amazing. It is about the entrepreneurship and the ability of that family, once they have arrived, to find a structure of multiculturalism that they could plug into very quickly, building on communities that have come before them—the Irish communities, the Jewish communities, the Greek communities, the Italian communities, the Vietnamese communities and now many people from the subcontinent in Africa, who keep on building on each other's strengths. It is taking less and less time for that entrepreneurship to flourish.

Indeed, in regional communities these migrant groups have done great things to refresh dwindling population growth in population centres. They need voices. They need voices at every arm of government, not just to one person but to all of government—education facilities, health facilities, job prospects, entrepreneurship. That is why the amendments being contemplated before this house are so vitally important.

I can go through and give you many, many examples of many communities who have done amazing things. I am exceptionally proud that I was part of a process that appointed a Chief Justice whose parents were migrants—that is a great story—His Honour Chris Kourakis. For me, that is one of the ultimate achievements of Greek migration in South Australia.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: And Mr Kourakis grew up in Port Lincoln.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: He did grow up in Port Lincoln—a constituent of yours. He is the godson of another great constituent of yours, Dr Hagen Stehr AO. We are talking about great stories.

The Hon. V.A. Chapman: He's not Greek.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I consider Hagen Stehr Greek. He has married into the Greek community; he is one of our own. No-one else wants him.

Multiculturalism is more than food. It is about the opportunity of Australia. Every citizenship ceremony that I have been to in the West Torrens council, which is where I go because I am one of those rare, lucky MPs in metropolitan Adelaide where almost my entire community is within one council area, so I do not have to pick and choose on Australia Day and every other council citizenship ceremony where I go. One of the points I try to make to our new arrivals is that from the moment they become Australian citizens they are equal before the law to everyone else, from the Prime Minister down.

That legal concept of equality and the rule of law are what really our multicultural system is about. That is why I think it is a remarkable experiment, Australia, that far exceeds what has happened in the United States and far exceeds what has happened in Canada. In terms of nations and multiculturalism, I think we have done it better here than anywhere else, but there is still more we can do. It is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. There are still people who attempt to marginalise and use ethnicity and race and migration for political purposes. Just go back to the most recent Victorian state election, where there was this notion of African gangs roaming the streets of Melbourne.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: University-level English.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The university-level English test. I also point out, if the current English test was in place, my father would not have got his citizenship. I am disappointed that is creeping back into our system, but I think the system will correct itself and we will move past that.

Another great example of migration and multiculturalism in this country is Mathias Cormann, a Belgian migrant to Australia, who rises to one of the highest levels in the commonwealth government, with a thick accent, embraced by Australians, and now head of the OECD. It is a great example of Australia using that migration and using that talent, to then use the skills he has for Australia's benefit, for us to take for the first time the chair of the OECD. It is a great outcome for our nation, partisan politics aside. I think it is fantastic and a great migration success story.

Gladys Berejiklian is the daughter of Armenian migrants—what a great story that is. She is a remarkable woman. I knew her as a treasurer and she, quite frankly, is a great billboard for multiculturalism in Australia and what that means, giving people who come to this country the same opportunity as people who have been year for decades, if not generations. I think it is remarkable.

I could go on and on all the way back to people like Nick Bolkus. Without a Nick Bolkus you could not have a Steve Condous. Without a Steve Condous you cannot have a Gladys Berejiklian or a Tom Koutsantonis. You cannot get to a Joe Szakacs without people breaking down a barrier before as you move forward. I am exceptionally proud of what our party has done to develop that diversity—diversity of voices, diversity of opinions—taking these communities' voices seriously at the highest levels. That is what this bill should be doing more of.

As the member for Ramsay would know, at the end of my street, near Parwana, there are a number of burgeoning African community centres and entrepreneurs—again, arguing against myself, going back to the restaurant argument, but there they are.

The Hon. Z.L. Bettison: They are also exporters and importers.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Exporters and importers—entrepreneurship. Multiculturalism really means that they have the same voice as anyone else in Torrensville and are just as important and are heard and are visible. I hope that this bill, once amended, once dealt with appropriately, given the attention it deserves, will strengthen and empower our multicultural communities to do more, because they stand on the shoulders of giants—giants.

The work from Norman Schueler, all the way back from SAMEAC, has been a remarkable example, I think, of bipartisan community building, resilience and strength in the face of sometimes neglect, in the face of sometimes perceived irrelevance or even nuisance. The multicultural community adds benefit to our communities that far outweigh what you can buy late at night after a few drinks.

The last thing I want to add is that multiculturalism also means a lot not just to new migrants or our First Nations people but again to a cohort of people like me and my children for whom the country of origin, where my parents came from, is getting further and further away. I feel that, and I feel anxious about that distance that is growing between me and the culture that I come from. What legislation like this does is reinforce the principle that it is okay to maintain those cultures, that freedom to express our faith, to express our culture, to express our identity, which is no longer just Hellenic but is intrinsically Australian as well.

That is the dream and the aspiration: that my little girl can grow up and my grandchildren will grow up in a country where ethnicity and race are not a determinant in any aspect of whether you can get a job, go to school, get employed, or any determinant in opportunity.

For those of you who are more interested in capital and more interested in entrepreneurship, think of who it is who gets up and leaves a troubled country and moves to a stable country like ours—the bold ones, the risk-takers, the entrepreneurs, the ones who want to strive to get ahead. What do they do? They add value to our country, they employ people, they take risks and they invest.

The first migrants went to Eyre Peninsula, went out to Yorke Peninsula and went out to our regions. The Greeks and Italians went out to Renmark and Coober Pedy, going out just a little bit further north, a little bit further west, ploughing, building, working in our factories, in property, in the arts, and in the professions. It makes you proud to know that this state has fostered so much growth and so much diversity and has done so much.

I will finish with this last story. The first time I ever heard about the Labor Party as a child was my mother telling a story amongst her sisters, and they were talking in Greek—they were cleaning ladies at the Royal Adelaide Hospital—and they were talking about how they could not speak Greek in the lunch room. They had to speak English or not speak at all. There was an Italian friend of my mother's, and I have no idea how they communicated but they did, who said she knew a young lawyer in Norwood, who was actually a member of parliament, who would come down and speak to them. That young man was Don Dunstan.

He turned up. I do not think my mother ever really voted for Don Dunstan, to be fair, but I remember them talking about how he walked in and he could speak Italian and he could speak words of Greek. Then he confronted whoever the operational manager was at the time about this policy of not being able to speak in your native tongue and it changed their lives forever. It was authority in Australia accepting them speaking a different language. It was like, 'Yes, you are no different from any of us.'

That is the power of legislation like this and multiculturalism and that is the power of us saying it is important. That changes their lives, and then they change their children's lives and they all build this nation and make it better and more prosperous and build this great experiment that is Australia, the envy of the world. There is no better place in the world to live than this country. My father has lived here longer than he lived in Greece. If you asked him to choose, he would still say Australia—absolutely, no questions asked, the best decision he ever made. I cannot disagree with him one bit.

I am exceptionally proud of the work the shadow minister and the parliamentary secretary to the Leader of the Opposition have done. I am exceptionally proud of what the crossbench has done to improve the bill and I am exceptionally proud of those communities who spoke up about what they saw as deficiencies in the bill first proposed by the government and I congratulate the government on listening and making those proposed changes. I commend the amendments and ultimately the bill to the house.

The Hon. S.J.R. PATTERSON (Morphett—Member of the Executive Council, Minister for Trade and Investment) (17:32): I also take the opportunity to speak about the South Australian Multicultural Bill 2020. I note today being 17 March is St Patrick's Day, so it is a day of celebration for one of our fantastic communities here in South Australia, the Irish community, and really emphasises how important multiculturalism is to South Australia and Australia.

The only way to get to Australia, being an island, is by ocean and of course we are a migratory nation because of that. It really is worth acknowledging our First Nations people here who were the original custodians of this land. Where we are now in parliament is Kaurna land. There are many First Nations or Indigenous nations throughout South Australia who are so very important and they are very welcoming people.

Going to ceremonies in my electorate is fantastic, having the Welcome to Country performed by Indigenous elders, where we respect their spiritual relationship with their country and their elders. Tamaru is one of those, and he is working very hard, along with many community leaders, to get that reconciliation in place. We know that they provide a real foundation stone for South Australians here and we have built on that over the years.

My electorate of Morphett is really the site of European settlement here in South Australia in 1836, with that fleet including the Buffalo and the Cygnet, on which Sir John Morphett arrived and after whom my electorate is named. They were sailing up the coast, looking for fresh water. The Patawalonga at Glenelg feeds out into Holdfast Bay, and that is where they thought there might be an opportunity to settle. At that stage, of course, it was marshland and not the foreshore it is today. Those settlers had to make their way inland and up the Patawalonga. Eventually, they found much more solid land at the site of the Old Gum Tree, where we now hold Proclamation Day on 28 December each year to recognise our transition and going forward from there.

It was an obvious new step for this nation and, from that, over the years there have been migrants from many other countries as well. I think what really has made Australia stand out from other nations is our multiculturalism and the ability for people of all cultures to come here. Approximately one in four Australian citizens were born overseas, and they brought their own unique culture here, which has certainly shaped Australia into the country we live in today. It makes us a rare melting pot of hundreds of cultures and ethnicities, which of course contribute to our Australian way of life.

Moving away from the country you have called home is really difficult at any time. You might be leaving family and friends behind, which makes it more difficult, but also quite often you might be leaving conflict. It really is incumbent on those who are here already to make people arriving into Australia feel welcome, to embrace their multiculturalism and to help make this their new home. Overall, that broad welcoming aspect has built up over years and I think is accelerating as we become more aware of the importance of being welcoming. The culture each migrant brings along is so important and has really made Australia one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world. It is so important that we do celebrate this but also that we continue to work on it.

I have talked about today being St Patrick's Day and of course 21 March is Harmony Day, which is really about celebrating our multiculturalism. The official Harmony Day website provides some interesting statistics regarding multiculturalism in Australia. I mentioned before those Australians born overseas. The website itself says nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was, so that its another layer.

I had the pleasure of visiting Glenelg Primary School in a previous year with the Minister for Education. We addressed the leaders of the school, the year 7s, and let them understand what is involved in being a parliamentarian. One of the interesting questions we asked was, 'Who was born overseas?' and quite a few hands went up. Then when we asked whose parents were born overseas, more hands went up, and then when it got to grandparents it was a significant number, well over half. I think that just brings home the depth of migration and multiculturalism here in our community.

Referring back to the Harmony Day website, it identifies over 300 ancestries present and goes on to add that since 1945 more than 7½ million people have migrated to Australia. Importantly, 85 per cent of Australians agree that multiculturalism has been good for Australia.

Apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi. In addition, it is really pleasing to see the growth in the number of people speaking their traditional Kaurna language here in Adelaide, as well as other Indigenous cultures trying to regain that knowledge of language. In fact, more than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia, which brings that tie-in back from the past through to the present and adds to our culture.

If I could touch a little bit on Morphett, I know I talked about its beginnings from a European perspective. We certainly are still blessed with a diverse community in such a picturesque coastal setting. In the case of my electorate, approximately three-quarters of people were born here in Australia; certainly many more were born overseas and decided to come and live in my community.

The most common countries of birth in Morphett outside Australia include England, India, Scotland, China and New Zealand. The large number of people coming into our community from overseas means that there is obviously a diverse set of languages spoken. I mentioned across Australia, but if we home in on Morphett we see other languages spoken apart from English, being Greek, Italian, Mandarin, Punjabi and Spanish.

When you talk about migrants bringing their culture to South Australia, of course they also have their religious beliefs, which is really important. Not only do we have the various Christian denominations well represented in my electorate of Morphett but we also see Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism, among other religions. I am very proud to also have in my electorate the Marion mosque in Park Holme, along Marion Road, which is run by very capable and dedicated people from the Islamic Society of South Australia. They are very welcoming of me and of the community, and they really try to engage with people in the surrounding areas. I certainly commend them.

That brings me to the bill. We have a fantastic migrant community and the bill is really about how we can go about celebrating that and making sure it is elevated in our thought processes here in parliament. The bill itself is for an act to advance multiculturalism and interculturalism in South Australia, to establish the South Australian Multicultural Commission, to provide for the South Australian multicultural charter and also to repeal the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission Act 1980.

It is worth touching briefly on that and acknowledging that important act, which was implemented in 1980 under the Tonkin Liberal government. I also acknowledge the Chair of SAMEAC, Mr Norman Schueler, who is here listening to the debate in parliament today. The SAMEAC Act was a visionary piece of legislation for its time in 1980, and it remains to this day the only item of South Australian legislation related to multicultural affairs.

Amendments were made to this act in 1989, which made it the first item of legislation in the country to define 'multiculturalism'. There again we see South Australia leading the way on a number of these matters that are so very important. Of course, multiculturalism in South Australia has adapted and changed over the course of the 40 years since this act was implemented. As such, it is right and worthwhile that an updated act be implemented, which reflects a more modern understanding of multiculturalism and diversity.

To that end, in 2019 the Marshall Liberal government conducted a legislative review of the SAMEAC Act to help shape new legislation. The consultation phase of the review featured six community forums, an invitation-only stakeholder workshop and some written submissions, as well as an online forum and an online survey via YourSAy. The key themes from this review were that the concept of multiculturalism should be modernised to reflect changes in thinking and practices. SAMEAC's functions should be modernised.

Importantly, the legislation should recognise Aboriginal South Australians as carriers of the original cultures in this state, which I sought to acknowledge at the opening of my contribution as well. SAMEAC member appointments should be more transparent and the language of the SAMEAC should be contemporised. So the bill that we have before us today does reflect much of this feedback received during the consultation.

We as a government—and I also—thank all those who were involved in this consultation period for their passion. We acknowledge that passion and their interest in modernising our state's multicultural laws. This is aimed at delivering better services and policies for all of us in the community. As I mentioned before, South Australia has been a leader in multicultural affairs legislation for a long time and, as a state, we really are proud and have a justified reputation in this area. Of course, it is vital that we continue to underpin policies, programs and activities with contemporary legislation here.

I will just touch on some issues in Morphett that are important to us, but I will also speak to the sense of celebration in the citizenship ceremonies that we conduct. I have some fantastic councils that conduct citizenship ceremonies in my electorate—the City of West Torrens, the City of Marion and the City of Holdfast Bay. They put a lot of effort into running these citizenship ceremonies.

My former role as Mayor of Holdfast Bay, prior to coming into parliament, gave me an insight into how fortunate we are, the Australians who are born here, who automatically get citizenship, and what it actually means to those who come along. Often they are called up to receive their citizenship and quite often they have young children and the young children have beaming smiles. They come from all different countries. For example, they come from Russia, Iran, China, South America and some of the more traditional European and US countries and, of course, from Africa.

I will share a story about a lady who came from Iran. The political classes in a lot of countries are removed from their citizenry. She came along and grabbed onto my arm and was holding my jacket for about two minutes with a smile on her face because she could not believe that she was able to do that and that she had such access to her representatives. To me, that hit home about the importance of democracy and the message that those citizens put in their citizenship swearing in. They respect the rule of law and they value and uphold democracy. That is so very important and I commend the councils.

Holdfast Bay quite often has the ceremony on the foreshore. It is a magnificent setting where you have the waves and quite often in the mornings the sea is very tranquil and calm. I do not think there could be a better place in Australia to hold a citizenship ceremony. As I said, Marion conducts many citizenship ceremonies. The one that was held in January at the Hendrie Street Reserve was a celebration where many cultures attended and it was witnessed by a lot of family and friends. It was followed by a sausage sizzle and a barbecue, which was a chance for the new arrivals to get to know everyone else, followed by some music, which I think is a great welcome to this country.

Of course, a lot of those migrants come from countries that are landlocked, African countries especially, or in Nepal where they do not have access to water. I mentioned before the beautiful oceans that we have and the coastline along Morphett. Of course, that looks very benign and safe, so it has issues when migrants want to go in. They wade in. Sometimes they do not even take their clothes off, they are that happy to get in there and cool off. They can wade along there, but unfortunately our community has experienced tragedy in this regard.

Two young boys from the Burundi nation tragically drowned a number of years ago after they got in trouble when they went into the water. There is a little drift that goes in a northerly direction from the jetty towards the rock groyne. Over time, it has carved out a trough near that groyne, so there is a quite sudden drop. It goes from being waist-level or chest-level water to all of a sudden being above your head. If you do not have the ability to swim, then that is when you suddenly get in trouble.

Unfortunately, these two boys drowned, losing their lives tragically near the Glenelg breakwater despite the best efforts of the Glenelg Surf Life Saving Club at the time. A number of lifesavers were there on hand and were able to assist, but it really was heartfelt for their families. Out of that, I think it has been recognised by Surf Life Saving, the state government and the federal government that it is really important that we provide programs to help our migrants.

If I could just mention two of those programs, there is On the Same Wave, which has been run successfully for many years. Surf lifesaving clubs along the coast help out these migrants. There is also the Sea Sure Swim School, which is a fantastic initiative to try to get not only migrants but anyone to have a better understanding of the beach. I encourage migrants, as I do at citizenship ceremonies, to take the opportunity to become sea smart, ocean smart. It is a great way for them to understand and meet new people as well, so it is a fantastic way to get involved in the community.

In the time remaining, I would like to thank the Assistant Minister to the Premier for multicultural affairs, the Hon. Jing Lee. She does a fantastic amount of work helping us as a government to understand multiculturalism. She is at so many events, with such a fantastic wardrobe as well, which I think really makes each of the multicultural communities that she attends feel so very welcome.

It gives that conduit to politicians and demonstrates that we are accessible. We want to be their representatives as well. They should feel straightaway that they are part of our community and that their issues, challenges and aspirations are heard by us here in the government. In closing, I would like to express my support for this motion and my gratitude to the Marshall Liberal government for the work they have done in the multicultural space.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (17:53): I welcome the opportunity to speak today on the South Australian Multicultural Bill 2020. Australia is a nation built on multiculturalism, from our First Nations people to the waves of new migrants over the decades who have travelled across the seas and the generations who now call Australia home.

My electorate of Torrens is truly a multicultural community, and I enjoy the presence of the families who have chosen to make South Australia the place where they will live, work, raise their family and make a valuable contribution to our community today and into the future. Like our Governor, Hieu Van Le, and his wife, Mrs Lan Le, they brought with them a suitcase full of dreams, and I hope that they will be realised.

There are many aspects to the role of a state member of parliament, and one that I truly enjoy is sharing the special day with our residents when they become Australian citizens. The welcoming citizenship ceremonies conducted by our councils are a real joy to be part of, and I thank our local government councils—Port Adelaide Enfield, Tea Tree Gully and Walkerville councils—for providing the opportunity for these celebrations.

It is the day that these people, new to Australia—some not so new; I have been at citizenship ceremonies where people have been here for 40-plus years, but generally new to Australia—pledge their loyalty to Australia, to its people whose democratic beliefs they share, whose rights and liberties they respect and whose laws they will uphold and obey.

Labor recognises and acknowledges the importance of multiculturalism in our society and is supportive of updating the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission Act. We believe, however, that amendments are needed to the South Australian Multicultural Bill 2020 before us to make it effective, to improve it.

The amendments presented today by the shadow minister for multicultural affairs, the member for Ramsay, and the work done by the former shadow minister for multicultural affairs, the member for Badcoe, will considerably strengthen this bill. These amendments strengthen the role of the proposed South Australian multicultural commission by ensuring grassroots community representation and, therefore, will provide a diversity of views.

If supported, they will ensure that those appointed as members of the multicultural commission will have demonstrated experience in at least one of a number of areas, including sports, arts, media, workers rights, youth, aged care, health services, advocacy, multicultural services, language schools, regional South Australia and services for women. Further, experience in these areas is spread amongst all the members of the multicultural commission.

Labor is, has been and remains committed to cultivating people's interest in cultural practices and celebrations, and it continues to promote people's natural interest in emerging cultures through cross-cultural understanding, and this is so important to our wider community.

This leads me to a further amendment to this bill, one that ensures that the minister will provide the multicultural commission with such staff and resources as the multicultural commission may reasonably need for carrying out its functions under the act, and that the minister will prepare a report summarising the reports each state authority provides to the minister each year on giving effect to the charter.

Cultural awareness is a sign of an enlightened society. It is important that cultural celebrations, festivals and events are attracting the interest not only of the specific community but also of the wider South Australian and Australian communities. Labor supports celebrating and strengthening cultural diversity, a great contribution to the prosperity and cultural life of our state through community life, through work, through festivals and celebrations.

I stand here today proud to be part of an inclusive and cohesive multicultural society where cultural diversity is widely celebrated. Over the years, we have come a long way and I believe these amendments to the bill before us will assist in moving forward.

I would like to acknowledge the presence here today of the Chair of SAMEAC, Norman Schueler, who I know has spent his time here throughout the debate. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the many people I have met and the many friends I have made in multicultural communities across our state. Their friendship, their involvement and their contribution to our society and to our state of South Australia are greatly valued, and I thank them for the threads they weave in the rich tapestry that is South Australia, that is Australia.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Cowdrey.


At 18:00 the house adjourned until Thursday 18 March 2021 at 11:00.

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