Page 3586 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 8 December 1992
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Madam Speaker, I stress "all" because I believe that 20 years later this has not occurred. The traditional owners of this continent are subject to blatant discrimination and are made to feel strangers in their own country. We all saw on the Channel 9 program several weeks ago the deplorable way in which Aboriginal people were treated, so we realise that racism is alive and well in Australia.
Madam Speaker, it took until 1967 for the Australian Constitution to be amended to accord the original inhabitants of this continent a status as citizens with all the rights and obligations that go with such recognition. We must never forget the original people who owned this land before the white settlers came. We must remember their rights to their culture and heritage, just as we also have our rights to our culture, language, traditions and heritage.
Madam Speaker, Australia is a country of migrants and will continue to be for many years. They have brought many different backgrounds with them and also a sense of history and culture that has become part of Australia. Many cultures make up Australia today. Immigrants have given up their homeland to build a new life, with hopes and aspirations, and they all contribute to a better Australia. When these people become Australian citizens it does not mean that they must cast aside their affection and love for the land of their birth. However, too many Australians believe that this is exactly what must occur for these people to be counted as good Australians. You can be proud of the country you came from as well as proud of being a good Australian. We are all responsible for contributing to making Australia a better and more tolerant society. This in turn makes Australia a better land for all.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I have seen many of the members here attending the ethnic food fair and we have all seen different groups put on their costumes and perform the dances of their countries of birth. But this is not what immigration is all about. Far too many times do we believe that this is what it is all about. Immigration contributes to making this country a better place for every single person who takes the mantle of Australian citizenship, and they have the rights of every citizen no matter where they come from. There is a very nice sign on the Christmas cards that we send out from our family which says, "Nice people come in all colours, races and religions", and I firmly believe this.
Mr Deputy Speaker, in the 1950s Ben Chifley was told by John Dedman, then the Minister responsible for the armed forces, that bringing all these new migrants to Australia would lead to a lot of trouble. In the late forties and early fifties we were still bringing troops home from overseas. Housing was at a premium. It was very difficult to find housing, whether you were coming back from overseas as a member of the armed forces - a returned soldier, sailor or airman - or whether you were a citizen living in this country. However, Chifley's answer was, "You do not build a nation without trouble". This indicated his belief in the need for Australia to expand. Australia could expand only by bringing in people from other lands.
In these troubled times unemployment is not only an Australian disease; it is a worldwide problem. I was in London in July and was told that there were 37,000 young people unemployed in London alone, and 20,000 of them were homeless. Thank God we do not have a problem like this in the ACT. While in San Francisco I saw queues at soup kitchens that went eight blocks.
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