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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-06-18 Daily Xml
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Mount Gambier Migrant Community

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:53): My question is to the Minister for Tourism. Can the minister inform us about her visit to Mount Gambier and the Migrant Resource Centre, and all that it stands for in our region?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Tourism, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:53): Thank you very much to the member for MacKillop. This week is Refugee Week; it goes from 16 to 22 June and the theme is 'Finding Freedom: Family'. In fact tonight I am hosting, alongside the Migrant Resource Centre, 50 people who are coming here to recognise Refugee Week.

When I was down in the Limestone Coast, I had the opportunity to visit the Mount Gambier office of the Migrant Resource Centre. It's a particularly unique opportunity when people come to a specific region. The current community from Myanmar, Congolese and Yazidis have been settled in the Limestone Coast region. Now, of course, this is alongside of a very vibrant Afghan population in Naracoorte and at Bordertown as well. Can I thank the Migrant Resource Centre for the work that they do when people come here for settlement.

I also had the opportunity to speak with STTARS, which is an abuse counselling service for survivors of torture and trauma. We had a very deep conversation about the work that people do, particularly when they have come from persecution and fear about governments and even police, and how building that trust in authorities sometimes takes time. And, of course, people have been in survival mode for quite some time, so as they develop their life here in Australia, in South Australia, and particularly the Limestone Coast, they need to continue to interact with people and understand the issues that they have to live with. It was a really special moment to speak to both of those organisations.

When we think about Refugee Week, we remind ourselves that more than a hundred million people are displaced around the world. In fact, the numbers are higher than ever before, whether it's the invasion of Russia into Ukraine, whether it's the military in Myanmar and, of course, in other areas. Here, in South Australia, we have supported quite a few different groups over the past 18 months, including people from Gaza, Sudan, and many other regions. We continue to do that to support people here, which is why we had such a strong election commitment for our multicultural community. Twenty-five per cent of South Australians are born overseas.

Of course, not everyone comes as a humanitarian migrant. In fact, a lot of people come as skilled migrants or international students, or maybe on a partner visa to settle their life here. Refugee Week is a time for us to reflect on people who were forced to flee. It was not a choice of their own, and for some of them it happened very suddenly. They had to pack up and leave. They left behind loved ones. They left behind death and destruction, and they came here to rebuild their life again. So I want to thank very much the Australian Migrant Resource Centre in Mount Gambier and STTARS for their work; they do a great job.

Before I was talking about tourism, and it was remiss of me not to thank Kate Napper, the regional tourism manager. She was intrinsically involved in organising my trip down to the Limestone Coast. She is from the area. She grew up in Keith, spent some time away, and has come back because she wants to give back to her local community. It was wonderful to be there. I really enjoyed my trip seeing stakeholders from both sides of my portfolio. What we see is a lot of energy, we see a lot of commitment, and a lot of love and connection to the area, and people want to share it, whether it is new migrant communities who are looking for work and wanting to work there, or for tourists who come and want to spend time in the Limestone Coast.

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