Page 1810 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 8 June 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
productive citizens. We are able to live in a nation where we can become members of the political party of our choosing, to join or not join a union, to worship as we see fit and, with limited exceptions, to say what we like.
My parents and many refugees have over the years become important contributors to Canberra, who all share experiences and stories of courage and initiative in their journeys to Australia, and whose contributions to their new homeland have affected quite considerably the social, cultural, scientific, artistic, business and sporting life of our present-day Australia, including our own Canberra community.
Like many other newcomers to this proud land, my parents found peace, freedom and opportunities, while their direct contribution in return were their energy, work ethic, values and traditions. As a child, my parents always impressed on me their gratitude for the opportunities that their new homeland and our democratic system provided to them and their five children. World Refugee Day should, and does, stand for all of what we have just spoken about.
I support my colleague Mrs Jones in calling Mr Hinder to account for the hypocrisy of the motion he has brought into the Assembly today. When we are in possibly the busiest week of the Assembly calendar, the member for Ginninderra has chosen the rather loose excuse of World Refugee Day, which is not even celebrated this week. Had he genuinely wanted to pay tribute to the day, he could have done it with more relevance and reverence in a speech in the adjournment debate.
On the day after his Chief Minister and his party delivered the ACT budget, did he have nothing to say about that? Let us be very clear: this so-called attempt at a motion about refugees is nothing more than a pathetic, cheap-shot opportunity for the ACT Labor Party to use Assembly time to attack the federal coalition government.
Mrs Jones has highlighted quite clearly the context in which the federal minister for immigration made his remarks. In contrast to the impression those opposite would wish to portray, Australia today has a generous immigration policy, one based on fairness and affordability.
Labor parties at all levels have almost nil economic management skills. And we know that when it comes to the Greens, they have no knowledge, understanding or appreciation of anything to do with money, other than someone else’s. In the Kumbaya land of magic mushroom economics, they believe that Australia can afford to magically spread our resources, our jobs, our land and our food to limitless numbers of people. Presumably, Mr Hinder is of the same view—that anyone who wants to come to Australia should be allowed to, irrespective of whether they have the education, the physical ability, the capacity or the opportunity to work and to contribute to Australia’s future.
Australia has been founded on the most geographically and culturally diverse peoples from just about every land on this planet. Our economy and our wealth have been grounded in the contributions that generations of migrants and refugees have made. As I mentioned, my parents and I were some of the fortunate, relatively recent refugees to Australia. Australia became my home and my parents’ home when the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video