Tuesday, 4 February 2025

 Sarah CONNOLLY (Laverton) (15:46): On 26 January this year I went to a Vietnamese event in the morning, I went to a Filipino event in the afternoon and I also went to a citizenship ceremony after that, and that night I celebrated Lunar New Year with our wonderful community in Sunshine, as we do each and every single year. At all of these events people were happy and they were proud to celebrate Australia Day and the vibrant multicultural society that makes up modern-day Victoria and Australia, including me. They were proud to be Australian and part of our community.

This year, more than previous years, there has been something of a cover over Australia Day celebrations – a more overt and nasty racism that has reared its head, particularly around this debate. Folks are emboldened by the racist rhetoric and cultural wars that are being stoked by people that should know better. This week I have had a slew of the most appalling racist commentary on my social media by people parroting these messages about Australia Day. In my 43 years I have never seen anything like it. This included the racial vilification of students in grade 6 in one of my wonderful local schools in Truganina, because the picture of the class that I put up was not white enough for them. This stuff is sick, and I am going to be calling it out. It is un-Australian; it is not who we are and is most certainly not who we are in Melbourne’s west. Our Labor government does not just tolerate multiculturalism, it celebrates it, including on Australia Day. It is coming together with your community to celebrate the good in this country.