Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .
Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 2116 ..
MS REILLY (continuing):
our overseas aid program is very small, and the thought of cutting it further is horrifying. It would not do Australia's reputation any good at all if we cut that program, if we cut overseas aid, if we cut our assistance to refugees. I hope that we will all bring it to the attention of our Federal colleagues and remind them of Australia's responsibilities to the rest of the world.
One of the positive parts of having things like Refugee Week is that it put the focus on the plight of refugees. It is an opportunity to educate and inform people in Australia of the realities of the day-to-day lives of people living in camps, living in areas where they may not choose to live, having to put up day after day with the grinding poverty, the lack of access to services, even the lack of basic things such as water and shelter. I think it is important that this week focuses on things like that; that it focuses on the needs of those people who are not in our sight, who do not live in Australia. We still have a responsibility to assist those people in some way or another.
The unfortunate part is that, as a people in the world, we cannot seem to stop the various internal strifes that go on or stop the various wars. The number of refugees continues to increase and the number of people who are on the move - in other words, trying to find a place to live where they can be safe and secure - continues to rise. I think, as Australians, we have a responsibility, because we are rich enough - both in sheer money terms and in political terms, through our freedoms - to assist these people. There are various ways in which we can do that. Obviously, one way is by giving donations of various types. But, as a government, it is also possible for us to provide assistance to those people. Obviously, with the program that Mr Kaine read out, there are opportunities for people to be part of Refugee Week and to provide assistance to those refugees who are overseas. It is also an acknowledgment of the people who live in the ACT who have joined this community after coming from various places.
As an example of this, I would just like to mention Mr Victor Marillanca from the Chilean community, who this week is giving his twentieth anniversary broadcast on 2XX. Throughout all the years since he came to Australia, having escaped from political torture in Chile, he has been maintaining the links and maintaining the flow of information to other Spanish-speaking people, particularly Chileans, in the ACT region. I think he is to be congratulated for the work that he has done. It is a recognition that you leave a country, but you cannot leave everything that you grew up with. You cannot leave your own culture. He has settled in Australia and has participated in the Australian community; but he still maintains those links. I think that is an important example of what can be done and what we should encourage within the community in the ACT.
In conclusion, Mr Speaker, I would like to support the motion and acknowledge the valuable contribution made by refugees to the ACT community and to Australia as a whole, as they enrich the whole of our community through their participation.
MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training) (5.19): Mr Speaker, I listened with interest to what both Mr Kaine and Ms Reilly said. Ms Reilly indicated that there is a large number of refugees in the world. I recall seeing some figures which indicated that the number of refugees in the world is much greater than the Australian population. That is a rather horrifying statistic. I think it is very appropriate that Mr Kaine moved this motion this week, because refugees and migrants generally have
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .