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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-06-19 Daily Xml
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World Refugee Day

The Hon. T.T. NGO (16:04): I move:

That this council—

1. Notes that World Refugee Day will be held on 20 June and that the Refugee Week will run from 16 to 22 June inclusive;

2. Notes that this week focuses on developing understanding amongst communities about who refugees are, the many challenges they face and the contributions they make; and

3. Celebrates the contribution of refugees to South Australian community life and to our economy.

As a former refugee, I am moving this motion in this chamber to recognise World Refugee Day tomorrow. I also take this opportunity to recognise the opposition shadow minister for multicultural affairs, Katrine Hildyard, who is moving the same motion in the other place. World Refugee Day was formally established on 4 December 2000 when a United Nations General Assembly Resolution decided that 20 June each year will be celebrated as World Refugee Day. In this resolution, the General Assembly noted that 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2017, 65.6 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide because of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations alone. This is a number of people close to three times Australia's population. The top five countries of origin that make up 68 per cent of the world's refugees are Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar and Somalia. Of the 3.5 million refugees who had their status recognised or were successfully resettled in 2017, a mere 23,111 were assisted by Australia, or 0.65 per cent of the total people. On this measure, compared to other countries, Australia was ranked 20th overall.

As I said, I was once one of those people and everyone here knows my story. World Refugee Day and the events that occur during Refugee Week are an opportunity for many different communities and individuals to share their unique stories. Refugee Week takes place in the week of 20 June each year. It is regularly used as a platform for holding hundreds of arts, cultural and educational events. This year, Refugee Week starts from Sunday 16 June to Saturday 22 June.

Refugees all have their own unique reasons why they had to leave their motherland and how they came to settle in this country. Regardless of this, we are all united as Australians. As South Australians, we should be proud that our own Governor comes from a refugee background. His Excellency the Hon. Hieu Van Le's story has been well documented and should be a source of inspiration for all refugees who have settled here.

I also take this opportunity to mention Mr Anh Do. He is also known as the happiest refugee, as he refers to himself in the title of his autobiography. Anh is a renowned Australian comedian. He is a boat person like myself and has gone on to have an amazing career in stand-up comedy and has featured in numerous TV shows like Pizza, All Saints, Dancing with the Stars and the NRL Footy Show. His comedy has endeared him to all different types of Australians.

Research has shown that people who have come to Australia as refugees are more likely to set up businesses than other groups. Many of them are the mum-and-dad businesses that you might find at your local shopping centre or corner store. But there are also examples of refugees setting up businesses that become multinational empires.

Perhaps Australia's most famous example is Sir Frank Lowy, a businessman of Jewish/Slovakian/Hungarian origins. Sir Frank Lowy was forced to live in a Nazi-established ghetto in Hungary during World War Il. Lucky to survive the war, Sir Frank Lowy fled Europe after the war and made his way to Australia through Israel. He came to Australia to join his family who had come here directly from the perils of postwar Europe.

Sir Frank Lowy would become the mastermind behind the creation of the Westfield Development Corporation, commonly known as Westfields. This multinational had its origins through Sir Frank Lowy's development of his first shopping centre at Blacktown, in Sydney's highly ethnic western suburbs. From those humble beginnings grew a multinational shopping centre chain that spread its web all over Australia and in different parts of the world, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe.

Refugees are Australia's most entrepreneurial migrants and are almost twice as likely to be entrepreneurs as the wider Australian population. Entrepreneurs with a refugee background can play an important role in facilitating the development of trade and other industries through links with their countries or regions of origin. In the case of Sir Frank Lowy that is clearly evidenced in the political muscle he was able to provide soccer in this country when he took over its national governing body back in 2003. Under his stewardship the game in Australia has grown at a rapid rate.

The refugees I have named here in my contribution are simple examples of some of the people in Australia who have contributed to our society. As refugees they were given a chance and are now well respected by us all.

I would like to briefly talk about some of the events that coincide with Refugee Week. Nationwide, the Refugee Council of Australia is running with the Refugee Week 2019 theme of #WithRefugees, with 2019 bringing a fresh focus to celebrating through sharing food and stories from around the world.

In SA, the Australian Migrant Resource Centre (AMRC) has been the convenor of SA Refugee Week since 2001. Under the strong leadership of Eugenia Tsoulis OAM, I can honestly say that the AMRC in South Australia has gone from strength to strength. I would like to use the opportunity in this council to thank her for her hard work and leadership. Each year, the AMRC brings together over 100 organisations as well as thousands of individuals to present multiple events to coincide with UNHCR World Refugee Day on 20 June.

Refugee Week promotes and celebrates the contributions of refugees to South Australia; raises awareness of the issues encountered by refugees on a local, national and global scale; and encourages community engagement, partnerships, understanding and cultural harmony.

I am well aware that Refugee Week in South Australia receives significant support from volunteers, donors and sponsors from participating organisations. Whilst the AMRC acts as the umbrella organisation for refugee advocacy, there are many other organisations that I have come across in our community who are doing the very same work. I congratulate them all.

Participants in Refugee Week events include schools, universities, TAFEs, local governments, churches, service organisations, welfare and charity organisations, and arts, cultural and advocacy groups. I take this opportunity to thank these organisations and their volunteers. As convenor, the AMRC coordinates the official launch of the SA Refugee Week calendar of events. This involves the launch of a youth poster exhibition and awards, and the launch of SA Refugee Week on 17 June.

The Refugee Week student poster awards are hosted by the AMRC in partnership with the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, the University of South Australia's School of Art, Architecture and Design, and the department of education and child development. It is now in its eighth year, and provides students from primary, secondary and tertiary institutions with the opportunity to raise awareness, through creative design, about issues affecting refugees and the valuable contributions of refugees to Australia's social, cultural and economic development.

An exhibition of the finalists' posters is showcased at the Kerry Packer Civic Gallery, with participating students and their schools receiving awards and certificates at the launch of the exhibition. I understand the exhibition is available to tour to community galleries and spaces upon request.

Last year, Ziying Pan from North Adelaide Primary School took out the best poster in the primary school age category, and Samira Ahmadi from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College won best poster in the secondary school age category. Her poster was emblazoned with the words, 'No-one puts their children on a boat unless the water is safer than the land'. Wise words, Mr Acting President.

Finally, from the TAFE sector Victoria Highet won the best poster in the tertiary age category. I congratulate all the winners and finalists on their artwork, and look forward to seeing some great artwork at this year's launch. I commend the motion to the council.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

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