Wednesday, 21 June 2023

 Colin BROOKS (Bundoora – Minister for Housing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (09:59): I rise to update the house on the Victorian Refugee Awards, hosted by the Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC), which I attended last night with the member for Narracan during this national Refugee Week. There were some truly remarkable stories of inspiring Victorians achieving incredible things over the past year. This year the theme for national Refugee Week is ‘Finding freedom’. It is a very fitting theme because, as last night’s nominees and winners demonstrated, freedom is not only a political idea; it goes to our very humanity. I will take a moment just to run through the fantastic winners from last night: for the Achievement Award, Thuy Vinh Bui, a refugee and working single mum, who for the last 30 years has helped hundreds of refugees. The Leadership Award went to Jacob Thang, a refugee from Chin State, Myanmar. Since arriving in 2012 he has grown a small gardening business into a successful commercial landscaping company providing employment to local Chin community members. The Young Leaders Award: Athraa Yousif has used her own lived experiences in Iraq’s conflict to inspire others and advocate for greater policy change and greater understanding of the need for more mental health support for young refugees. The Afghan Women’s Organisation Victoria won the business award. They support and empower Afghan women and girls from all ethnicities as well, utilising a culturally sensitive approach.

All of these people demonstrate that a person’s potential should not be a function of where they have come from or the circumstances from which they came. I want to thank the VMC for putting together this award and for its work in supporting multicultural communities.