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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-07-15 Daily Xml
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ITALIAN CONSULATE

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. Carmel Zollo:

That this council—

1. Strongly urges the Italian government to reconsider its decision to close the Adelaide Consulate in light of the important role it plays in promoting the cultural, social and economic relationship between South Australia and Italy; and

2. Urges the commonwealth government to lobby the Italian government to change its decision to close the Adelaide Consulate.

(Continued from 17 June 2009. Page 2677.)

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (17:36): I rise to support the motion moved by the Hon. Carmel Zollo, an issue raised by the Premier in the other place and greatly supported by honourable members in the council. As the Premier pointed out in his ministerial statement, and as others have abundantly brought to our attention, we have a long and strong relationship with Italy and Italian culture. Indeed, as the Premier pointed out, our relationship with Italy is undergoing further invigoration and transformation through a number of educational, scientific, cultural and business initiatives, initiatives that are set to build upon the already strong ties that we have in this state with these Italian connections.

We are indebted to our Italian ties and our citizens from Italy who have so dramatically changed and enriched the cultural and social fabric of our country, a transformation that still continues and one that we wish to continue. It is also about preserving and building upon the ties between our citizens of Italian descent and their native country.

As the Premier pointed out in the other place, we have in South Australia some 100,000 people of Italian origin, with 14,000 holding Italian passports. As the Hon. Carmel Zollo pointed out, Italian is the second most spoken language after English, a powerful indication of a strong shared culture and interests. We have many commercial and trade connections; the cultural and artistic connections are well known; we share a sister state agreement, and the list goes on.

I for one certainly would not like to see any diminution in our cultural revolution. This motion also has the strong support of the broader Italian community and its representative bodies—as the Hon. Carmel Zollo pointed out in her speech—and the concerns of the General Council of Italians Abroad. She has also pointed out the importance and relevance of the consulate in South Australia to the wellbeing and health of those Australians of Italian heritage who have always been ably assisted by the consulate.

As we know, the consulate here and its offices have been central and immediate as a conduit for initiatives, a provider of care for citizens and a cultural bridge. We as a state and a cultural identity in all its guises would be much poorer for its closing. In conclusion, I commend the thoughts that have been expressed and strongly support the motion.

The Hon. M. PARNELL (17:39): The Greens also support the Hon. Carmel Zollo's motion. The Adelaide Italian Consulate is vital for reasons beyond just assisting in simple visa, passport and citizenship applications. Even more, it is crucial for aiding Italian communities and building and maintaining relationships between Italy and South Australia. The Adelaide Italian Consulate has played an important role in assisting the Italian community with language barriers and education, and the loss of the language education office within the consulate would make the transition for Italian migrants more difficult.

With the assistance of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry the consulate has also created ties between South Australia and Italy in terms of research, trade and economic development, and over the years they have helped to promote South Australia and South Australian products to Italy. It is these ties in particular which have created many jobs for South Australian residents and resulted in positive economic outcomes for our state. It would be nice to see these relationships continue to improve with a vibrant functioning consulate here in Adelaide.

As pointed out by the Hon. Carmel Zollo, there are over 100,000 people of Italian origin in South Australia, making them the largest ethnic group in the state. Asking this community to rely on the Melbourne consulate is inconvenient to say the least. It is probably worth pointing out that the European Union is implementing a new passport system in 2009 in which the holder's fingerprints are required for the new passport. This means that all South Australian-based Italians will need to physically travel to the consulate in Melbourne in order to renew their passport.

As the Hon. Carmel Zollo mentioned, the ageing Italian community in South Australia would be the most affected by this decision. Without direct and convenient access to the consulate, these particular community members will find even the simplest services more difficult to access. Residency or citizenship applications, which involve long and arduous processes, already as it is, would also become more difficult. To close the consulate in Adelaide would further complicate the process and may in fact deter some migrants from choosing to live in South Australia.

To remove the services of the Adelaide consulate is unjust and unfair on a community whose economical, social and cultural contributions have helped shape South Australia. For these reasons the Greens are very pleased to be supporting the Hon. Carmel Zollo's motion.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (17:42): I wish to thank all members who have spoken in support of this motion: the Hons David Ridgway, Robert Brokenshire, John Gazzola and Mark Parnell. Because of his proud heritage, I would particularly like to thank the Hon. John Gazzola for his contribution. Like me, he personally knows of the struggles of his parents' generation and understands what the lack of a presence of a consulate office means for that generation in particular.

I thank honourable members for supporting the motion on behalf of those with Italian heritage. When I spoke to this motion I was asked to name them, so I would like to do so. Besides myself and the Hon. John Gazzola, the Hon. Gail Gago also has an Italian born grandparent; in the other place, the mover of the motion, the member for Norwood, Vini Ciccarello; the member for Light, Tony Piccolo; the member for Hartley, Grace Portolesi; the member for Unley, David Pisoni, whose father is Italian born; and the member for Florey, Frances Bedford, has Italian born grandparents as well.

At the federal level the member for Makin, Tony Zappia MHR, is also proud of his Italian heritage. From memory, I think Tony was born in Italy, but I may be wrong. More recently, I was pleased to join Tony and members of the community at a forum called 'Trading Places' held in his electorate at the Campania Club. The Hon. John Gazzola was there that evening, as was the President, the Hon. Bob Sneath.

Federal minister, Simon Crean MP, told the gathering of the importance of the Italian-Australian relationship, which has been used as a springboard for the healthy trading relationship we enjoy with Italy. He also pointed out that Italy is an economic heavyweight, a member and current president of the G8, and the world's seventh-largest economy overall. It is therefore a very significant market for Australian goods and services. I understand that currently Italy is our fourth largest export market in Europe, with traditional commodity exports such as coal, wool and leather dominating the relationship.

Also present on the evening was Marco Fedi, one of our Australian-based members of the Italian parliament. Minister Crean pointed out that Mr Fedi's position is a reflection of the very strong ties Australia's Italian community maintains with Italy. Minister Crean summed it up well when he said that Australia has every reason to capitalise on our strong Italian communities and connections by working to boost our trade and investment relationship with Italy. Our communities, our associations and the Italian Chamber of Commerce are all promoted and assisted by our consulate office, with a Consul of Italy in South Australia sitting on the board of the Italian Chamber of Commerce.

Grace Grace MP, a Queensland member of parliament, was in Adelaide a week or so ago for the Australia Italia MP Forum. Brisbane is the other Australian consulate office to be targeted for closure. For the reasons I mentioned in moving this motion, it does not make any sense to see the closure of that office either. The community in Queensland is similarly incensed at the proposed closure, which flies in the face of common sense.

In moving this motion I mentioned that the community was working on a strategy. The Committee of Italians Abroad (COMITES), headed by its President, Vincenzo Papandrea, has been working hard across all associations in the Italo-Australian community for a petition to be presented to Australia's House of Deputies MP abroad, Mr Marco Fedi, in order for him to lodge the petition on behalf of the Australian constituency he represents. We have all been busy collecting signatures, with many thousands of signatures having already been collected, not just from those with Italian heritage, I am pleased to note. At the parliamentary level the member for Norwood is assisting with petitions.

Next Saturday there will be a protest at the Italian Consulate office to demonstrate the community's displeasure at the proposed closure. I will be pleased to offer my support as well. Wherever I go, I am aware of the passion felt by so many in relation to this issue. Last week the Italian Ambassador to Australia visited Adelaide, and the convenor of the Australia-Italia Forum, Mr Tony Piccolo, MP, set up a meeting for South Australian members to meet with the ambassador. Several of us had the opportunity to directly voice our opposition to the proposed closure and to reinforce to him the importance of the Italian Consulate and the significant role it plays in South Australia.

I thank members for their indications of support for this motion. Our end is to see the rescinding of this decree. All actions are important, so I appreciate the support of the chamber.

Motion carried.

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