Tuesday, 9 December 2025

 Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (12:42): I move:

That this house records its sincere thanks to community leaders across Victoria, particularly those who have stood with Victorians targeted by vilification and division arising from recent anti-immigration protests, for their steadfast commitment to a safe, united and multicultural Victoria.

I want to take this opportunity as the Leader of the House to speak on behalf of the government and give my thanks to the people who make this place possible and help us to ensure that it runs as smoothly as possible in order for us to be able to deliver for the people of Victoria. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Clerk and the Deputy Clerk for all of their work here in the house. I also want to thank the Secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services. To the entire team at Hansard, to whom we are ever indebted, thank you very much to you all for your work. Thank you to the broadcasting team, the library staff, the grounds and maintenance staff and the hospitality and catering staff, particularly for my half-serve of porridge every morning, which keeps me going – a good, hearty breakfast. As Minister for Health I feel obliged to kind of give that a little bit of a promo. I want to thank everyone there. Can I thank the security team as well for the important work that they do. You are absolutely a backbone of this Parliament.

I should also have mentioned the guides and all of the attendants for the work that they do in helping ensure that we build the knowledge and understanding of the community and so seek to grow the civic understanding of the community, which I think we could probably all agree is, rather unfortunately, not as great as it should be. That is perhaps evidenced sometimes by some of the correspondence that we might receive; nonetheless I thank them. I thank all the staff here because I think the staff, like the MPs, share a great love of this place. It is kind of special. We are part of a kind of unique group that really understands how the Parliament works, and we love it, so thank you again.

Can I acknowledge the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel. We owe them a debt of gratitude for the quality of legislation that comes before this house, and of course the clarity of the laws that we are charged with developing rests with the members of that team. We thank them for their work in helping us turn policy into legislation, so thank you.

I will take the opportunity too to thank all the electorate staff. I am sure other members will want to name their own people. I am going to take this opportunity to thank in my team Sue West, who served me for almost four years but has just recently left to take up a new opportunity – I wish Sue all the best – local legend Kate-Ida Lee, who is well known by everyone in my community as an absolutely awesome and responsive electorate officer; Georgia Garvey, who is my comms and social media guru; and we have just recently welcomed Carolyn McKenzie to the team, so I want to thank them as well.

Can I take this opportunity to thank the member for Evelyn and the member for Brighton. I have had the opportunity to work with both of them through the year. We all know that Parliament can be noisy and we disagree on many, many things, but I do appreciate the opportunity to pick up the phone to the member for Brighton, before him the member for Evelyn, and we do work cooperatively to ensure that the house runs smoothly. I am still seeking some agreement from the member for Brighton in relation to how the rest of the day is going to run. I am sure that I will get his cooperation in the interests of more members being able to get on their feet to say thank you to important people in their community and indeed to share the love across the chamber as we approach Christmas.

Deputy Speaker, can I thank you and the Speaker, obviously, and the acting speakers. It has been a very big year. A lot of important things have happened in this chamber. I wish everyone a restful and peaceful Christmas and new year period. I look forward, of course, to getting back here early February. Bring it on. I cannot wait to see you all in 2026. Merry Christmas and happy new year.

 Matthew GUY (Bulleen) (12:47): Thank you, Deputy Speaker.

Mary-Anne Thomas: You were expecting a sledge.

Matthew GUY: I was.

Mary-Anne Thomas: And now I’ve given you something really nice, and you have to work with that.

Matthew GUY: You have. Correct.

Mary-Anne Thomas: I have set the tone.

Matthew GUY: The minister has. I thought it was a motion on multiculturalism; instead it has become a Christmas felicitation. I will save that till the end. I cannot understand why we have given up the Christmas felicitations, but we used to do that. In fact when I was a member of the other place we used to have a Christmas felicitation.

But I am not here to talk about Christmas felicitations. I am here to talk about something a little bit more serious than that, and that is the motion that the manager of government business has put on the notice paper, which is that this house records its sincere thanks to community leaders across Victoria, particularly those who have stood with Victorians targeted by vilification and division arising from recent anti-immigration protests, for their steadfast commitment to a safe, united and multicultural Victoria. This side of the house certainly does not oppose people standing up against vilification under any circumstance. In fact I will go through a long list of points where this side of the house, particularly over the last two years, has been very clear about our views on this topic and our views on how, particularly in this chamber, words matter and actions matter. They matter to many Victorians and their families, who have been here for many, many decades, who have been persecuted by people in this chamber or left exposed by actions that have not been followed through by this chamber, as per this motion.

As the motion says, ‘targeted by vilification and division’ is very important in a modern, multicultural Australia. I say this as a former minister for multicultural affairs and as the son of a refugee who came to Australia from a displaced persons camp in between Hamburg and Bremen post the war, because Australia has been one of the migration success stories, particularly since World War II. I was at the Veneto Club, a big Italian club in my electorate, on Saturday night – a very, very good club and a very powerful, important and institutional part of Melbourne, not just Manningham.

The people in that club are not responsible for, in many cases, founding businesses and founding industries, they built them – their families built them – and they are examples of post-war Australia which I think we should all be looking at and appreciating more. And indeed modern migration in this country has been a huge success story. Where some migrant nations like Brazil and Argentina decided to turn off their migrant tap, this country has not, ostensibly at all, since World War II. It has gone up and down in numbers, and that debate is always had – and I would say have it in the context of population policy. You do not just talk about immigration – that is a very juvenile way of doing it – you talk about population, and it is about all of us. It is not about some of us, it is about all of us, and in a sensible discussion about what you want your state or your country to look like – in a sensible and mature way – you do not say ‘It’s these people’ or ‘those people,’ you say ‘It’s about all of us,’ and you have a sensible discussion.

As this motion says, it is about people who have been ‘targeted by vilification and division’. I wish to move an amendment to the motion, if I can, now. I move:

That the word ‘anti-immigration’ be omitted.

I formally move that because it is not just a debate about immigration and the protests we have seen across Melbourne for particularly the last two years, and I will obviously come back to why it has been those last two years. This motion says ‘targeted by vilification and division’ in a ‘multicultural Victoria’. That is what this motion says. I intend to expand upon what the motion says, because it is important. The government has raised an important point, so let us talk about it. Let us talk about what has happened in terms of vilification and division in our multicultural Victoria particularly over the last two years. Why do I say the last two years? We all know – every Melburnian, all 5.4 million of us now know – exactly what has been happening. We are all aware of what has been happening in our CBD literally every week for the last two-plus years. Melburnians are not foolish. Whether we are new arrivals to our city, recent arrivals, Indigenous – as we have seen from this morning – or others, we know what has been happening in our city. We have seen what has been happening at the front of Parliament. And all of us can see, without any shadow of a doubt, who the target of the – as the motion says – vilification and division in a multicultural Victoria actually is. It is not in some kind of hushed-tones shock that we say the target of that has been our Jewish community. It has been relentless and it has been obvious, and in my view it has been quite shameful to people whose families have been here for a hundred-plus years or more. I think it was in the Second Fleet that came out to settle this country that there were Jewish people in that group that came out. So it is not as if Jewish Australians have not been here for a long period of time. It is not as if people from other faiths have not been here for a long period of time. Obviously people of the Christian faith – people who came out to colonise and settle in Australia – and of the Buddhist and the Sikh faiths were here well before recent arrivals, and Islamic Australians, the first mosque being in Marree in South Australia. The Overland telegraph, which went between Darwin and Adelaide – with a place halfway where there was fresh water, called Alice Springs – was built by people who, literally, came from everywhere but Afghanistan but they got the name Afghans. They were Australia’s first Islamic immigrants to this country. In the 1860s in Marree the first mosque was established. The train the Ghan bears its name from the first Islamic immigration to Central Australia. So it is not as if our country has not had a multicultural past from day one. It has.

As the motion says, let us talk about those who have been ‘vilified and divided’. The government has raised it, and I want to raise what has occurred in obviously the last two years. When I was Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship, if I had seen some of the behaviour that has been happening toward our Jewish community, I would have intervened very, very early. The breakdown in relations that has clearly taken place between some elements of our community and the turning on Jewish Australians for no reason has been quite shameful.

What happened in Israel in October 2023 was the most abhorrent of terrorist incidents, and no-one has denied that – certainly not from the Labor, the Liberal or National parties. It has been felt deeply by the city that is the home to the largest per capita portion of Holocaust survivors anywhere outside Israel – that is, Melbourne; with the largest Jewish community in Australia – that is, Melbourne; with a Jewish community that was the home of people such as Sir John Monash, Isaac Isaacs and Sir Ninian Stephen, whose family originally came from here as well. As a city with such a proud cultural and rich heritage as our Jewish community, we know what has been dealt out by people to toward our Jewish community. I say this with this in mind: my Mum’s family is from the east of Ukraine. Our family has been bombed. My great-aunt was making Molotov cocktails on the first three days when we sat in this chamber and talked about quite a lot of great work where we came to oppose the Russian invasion a couple of years ago. I have seen WhatsApp messages, I have seen Viber messages, all from my family back in Ukraine about the devastation, the killing of children in childcare centres, children being taken from places like Mariupol and sent out east for re-education by the Russians. How many times has there been a demonstration out the front of a Russian ethnic facility or the Russian churches in this city? The answer is never by the Ukrainian community, and we would never allow it, because we did not come to this country to then go and protest against people who came to this country for the same reason as us, and that is to find peace and safety and security away from war-torn Europe.

We do not then bring that division, however painful it is for many in the Ukrainian community today, to watch what has happened to Kherson, to Kharkiv, to Kyiv, to Lviv, to all these cities in Ukraine. We do not, and it is shunned, particularly by our now departed and dearly loved leader Stefan Romaniw, who would always say, ‘You never, ever take these issues out on those people who are your neighbours in Australia. We’re all here for a reason.’ That is not the same attitude that some people have taken, and some of them might not be from the traditional backgrounds you would expect. That is not the same attitude that some people have adopted toward Jewish Australians, and it is shameful. To some people in this country, and I have noted them, and I see some of these people at demonstrations and they look like white academic types from the inner northern suburbs of Melbourne who have turned up to start turning on Jewish Australians for no reason. What have those families done at Adass? What have they done? What did they do to deserve their place of worship being firebombed, to have their people’s cars vandalised, to have schools attacked and vandalised in Australia in the 21st century, in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Many of those people’s grandparents, a number of who fled Europe for the same reason as mine – many in this chamber and many others – to escape war, to find a place of peace and sanctity and security in this country came here and what have they found 80 years on? They have found the same hate in some quarters that they ran away from quite rightly after the war and tried to get away from in Europe in the 1930s and 40s.

This is modern Australia, and this motion quite rightly says, ‘Victorians targeted by vilification and division’. That is this motion. I say on this motion: there are a group of Victorians who have clearly been targeted, and it has not been hidden. There was an example in 2024 of 600 Jewish Australians being doxxed. I did not even know that term: ‘doxxed’. That is someone entering a group where they are talking about sensible topics, whether it is providing cultural entertainment and others, and all their names being released to groups who want to – let us go to the motion – vilify them and target them with division. What have they done as Australians, as Victorians, to deserve such treatment being meted out? The answer is nothing. No-one deserves that treatment. Everyone should find this country as a place of sanctity and security from what happens elsewhere. We do not ask you not to bring your emotions with you to this modern country of ours, or your children or children’s children. I was born here; my sons were born here. We have been to Ukrainian rallies but never once have we held up signs that attack Russians. Why would we? Because they are in this country for the same reason as us, and their children are and their grandchildren are, and we may have to live next door to them.

So why on earth would we then target them and make life uncomfortable for them in Australia, the home of peace and prosperity, as is on Victoria’s coat of arms?

I just found it really shocking, annoying and infuriating to read in the Jewish committee report – it is a bit dated now, from 2024; it was released a couple of months ago – about the rise in antisemitic attacks in this country, particularly that 40 per cent of them are occurring in this state, which is a greatly disproportionate amount. From totalling 495 incidents in 2023, it went up to 2062 in 2024 and probably more in 2025 – ask the member for Caulfield. What has his community done to deserve that, when they have come to this country to do well; to live in peace; to practise their faith in peace; to have a Shabbat dinner with their neighbour; to have, as they do every year, an open day for synagogues for every Victorian, regardless of your faith, whether you have one or not – no matter who you are? That is what the motion says, and that is why I think it is important to put that on the record.

It goes even further. I looked at the incidents by state, and I say again: Victoria has 905 of the 2062 – 40-something per cent in Victoria. I simply just ask this: why is this problem more acute in Victoria as a percentage? What are we lacking? What have we not done in this time to protect, as this motion says, people targeted by vilification and division in a multicultural Victoria? What have we not done to protect Victorians who have done no wrong but simply exist peacefully, abide by the law and practise their faith? What have we done? Well, we had move-on laws, with respect, which could have ensured that any demonstrations out the front of Jewish schools – Jewish schools and Jewish kindergartens in Melbourne, the home of the largest per capita number of Holocaust survivors anywhere in the world outside of Israel, have to provide security for kids to go to kinder.

I went to Buenos Aires a couple of months ago – it was in the media. I tell you one thing: what I could not believe is how many synagogues I walked past, how many Jewish schools I walked past, and not a single one of them had security. The member for Narracan and I went in and asked two of them about it. They said, ‘We have no problem. There is no concern.’ That is in Buenos Aires. I think everyone will know that historically a large number of, shall we say, people from central Europe who changed their last name went to settle in Argentina after World War II. They have now got a government who will stand up for their communities. They have now got a government who says, ‘You will not be left alone. You will not be left in the cold. We will stand up for you to practise your faith, and anyone who says otherwise – out.’ And when I say out, that means – not out of the country if they were born there – there will be penalties. What have we not done in Victoria? Again, I say move-on laws were a way to disperse people who behaved like this out the front of Jewish centres.

We had a discussion about masks and masks at protests, and we brought into this chamber – I think by the member for Caulfield and the member for Berwick – powers which could then enforce penalties on people having these violent demonstrations wearing masks, because you notice that all the gutless ones have got these masks on. They have got these flags and they have got these signs – some in the past, until it was thankfully criminalised, with swastikas on them – and they have all got a mask on. They are all strong; they are all ready to stand up for what they believe in. It is a disgrace. We can do more to protect people who come to this country to abide by the law and live in peace.

I just want to talk about one issue in relation to these demonstrations, which are targeting one group of Australians shamefully and disgracefully. When I was a multicultural affairs minister under the Kennett government some decades ago we established the Victorian Multicultural Commission. It was an Australian-leading model. New South Wales copied the VMC. Other states copied our VMC. Steve Bracks kept it and expanded it, because he also recognised that the structure of the VMC was something that sat above politics, and good luck and best wishes. I mean, they did the right thing: the Kennett government established it, Bracks kept it and Baillieu–Napthine kept it. It has now been disbanded.

I was horrified that a member of the commission, Mohamed Mohideen, made comments supporting Ayatollah Khomeini, or retweeted comments that supported Hamas. This was in the media; this was not disputed. In fact he made comment on it. In other posts he called Khomeini a hero and amplified conspiracy theories accusing Jews of creating terror cells across Europe. This is a member of the Victorian Multicultural Commission. Going back to the motion, ‘targeted by vilification and division’, the VMC, as the pre-eminent body in this state charged to uphold people not being targeted by vilification and division, has a member saying this about Ayatollah Khomeini and his regime, which, I might add, the federal Labor government identified for sending out operatives to burn down a synagogue in Melbourne. He called him a hero. And he was not sacked. I would have sacked him on sight if I had found out a member of the VMC had put out such posts. He said he made the posts in his capacity with the Islamic Council, not as a commissioner. It does not matter what your faith is, whether you have one or not, to make comments about other Victorians like this, which are deeply hurtful – and you are a member of the pre-eminent body that is there to uphold our state’s multicultural values. The government did not move on this person. In fact the Premier simply said, ‘I’ll take some more information,’ when she was asked about it. ‘I’ll get some more information.’ What more information is needed? I just ask this. This motion refers to Australians targeted by vilification and division. What more information should be needed that that person should have been removed forthwith?

You ask in this chamber, ‘What would you do?’ Well, I will tell you what we would have done. I have no doubt that that person would have been removed, because we do not tolerate that kind of behaviour. I mean, look what has happened to the Jewish community since the Adass synagogue – Jewish schools graffitied, people’s homes graffitied, apartment blocks scribbled with ‘Jews live here’. This is Melbourne. We have got people on the VMC board – now departed, but he was not dismissed like he should have been – making comments like that.

As I said at the start of my comments, I find it stunning, some of these protests. I have seen them on Saturdays totally disrupting our city, totally destroying traders’ ability to prosper post COVID. Melbourne has a terrible reputation for these demonstrations which – this motion says ‘targeted by vilification and division’ – seek to vilify and divide. What I notice, and I see it in some of the documentation from the Jewish community, is the prevalence of antisemitism in what you would describe as left-wing elites. In this chamber we have seen it manifest in the form of the Greens. Never would I ever have thought, in my time in politics, that we would see a political party that obtains one in 10 primary votes – for now – running into this chamber, supporting claims, supporting conspiracy theories, attacking deliberately one group of Australians based on their faith.

Ellen Sandell: Come on, Deputy Speaker – a point of order on many grounds, but in particular that a motion is not a chance to attack another political party.

Matthew GUY: Deputy Speaker, on the point of order, the motion actually reads ‘have stood with Victorians targeted by vilification and division’, and I was pointing out a group of Victorians that I believe have been behaving with vilification and division.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will rule of the point of order: that was not a point of order.

Matthew GUY: I simply say, whatever political parties, whatever political movement, there is no excuse in this country for running in and using the protection of Parliament, by any member, to simply start attacking Australians – law-abiding, peaceful Australians – based on their faith, and that is what we have seen in many parliaments around this country.

I think our Jewish community has been, I would say, patient – maybe too patient – incredibly patient, because what has been meted out to them by many people is totally and utterly disgraceful. For the work that our Jewish communities have put into building our state – whether it is investing through philanthropy in our healthcare systems, in education or in sport – suddenly some say that they are responsible, those exact Victorians, for conflict on the other side of the world. Going back to my point earlier, no-one from the Ukrainian community is running around saying to Australians of a Russian background in Australia, ‘You’re the fault,’ because we know they are not. They are not in charge of the Russian government. We are not going to blame our neighbours. They came here for the same reason as us. Why would we attack? Why would we turn on them? It would be ridiculous, it would be juvenile and it would fundamentally undermine what our modern country is – a multicultural country of many people from around the world who have come here for the same reasons: to live in peace, to raise children, to get ahead and to abide by the law. That is the vast majority of Australians who have been here since settlement and who have come here to found a new life, particularly since World War II.

I could go on on a number of other matters, but I am going to choose not to. I think this motion, to me, has had enough said on what I believe is very important, and I again note my amendment to the motion, which is to omit the word ‘anti-immigration’, because we have seen on our streets not protests but demonisation of a group of Victorians who do not deserve it under any circumstance. No Victorian does, and I get very angry when I see this played out in this chamber.

I am sorry, but the Jewish community have their function every single year. It is the same function every single year, and every single Premier goes. Only one did not want to give the toast to the State of Israel, but all of us go down there because we support the Jewish community and believe in them living in peace, both overseas and here. We want everyone in the Middle East to live in peace; it is not about one or the other. But when we are particularly talking about Australians and we hear people using the terms ‘Jews’ or ‘Arabs’ or ‘Palestinians’ or this or that, we are Australians in this country. We are Australians, and it is the most important thing to remember. First and foremost, we are Australians, and on this side of the house both the Liberal and National parties believe all Australians should come equally under the same law. The law should apply to every Australian with the same weight, not some this and some that. We believe the criminal code and every facet of law in this state apply to people no matter what their background is and no matter how long they or their family have been here. It is an important point to note, because that is the fibre of our being on this side of the chamber, and we will stand up for people who we believe are being persecuted.

This motion says ‘vilification and division in a multicultural Victoria’. We always support multiculturalism. I have been a constant, constant supporter of multiculturalism. I have been a constant advocate for Indian communities and for South Asian communities for the near 20 years I have been in this Parliament, going to Sikh gurdwaras before many people on either side discovered what they were and actually engaging with members of these communities in India many years ago, in temples in Melbourne, in mandirs and in gurdwaras. We welcome everyone, and that is what this country is about. That is what this side of the house is about. We will always stand up for people, no matter where they are from, because we believe unequivocally in a multicultural, multifaith Victoria, and unlike others, we do not shirk that debate and we do not say it with platitudes. We say it with strength and the conviction of our actions, hence the motions we have moved in this chamber to protect our Jewish community.

 Meng Heang TAK (Clarinda) (13:15): I will keep my contribution short, because I know that we have a long list of speakers on this motion. I am proud to rise today as part of the government that recognises that whoever you are, whatever you believe in and wherever you are from, you are welcome and you are valued in this state, because diversity is one of our greatest strengths here in Victoria. We come from hundreds of different backgrounds and from all walks of life, and we are one of the world’s greatest multicultural success stories. We treasure and celebrate our diversity. It is essential to the success and vibrancy of our state. Today with this motion we have another opportunity to reflect on the amazing contribution and the amazing stories of many different Victorians and communities and to celebrate our diversity, what makes each of us unique and what makes each of our communities so proud. These contributions are significant in terms of not just culture and traditions but vital everyday contributions to the community in academia, business, industry, skills and the like. We are so lucky that Victoria is such a vibrant and wonderful place, and we are thankful for all of these contributions and experiences which enrich our state.

I would like to thank all the amazing community leaders in my electorate. The Clarinda district is one of the most multicultural districts in the state and across the country. We are an amazing example of a strong and cohesive community, and that is a testament to the work and courage of our local community leaders, our community organisations and our many volunteers, which make those organisations what they are. I am reluctant to start naming any particular community leaders or individuals or community organisations, because I know that if I start I will be here all day. There are so many amazing people in my electorate, and the strength of our community is the result of your hard work and courage, and I thank all of you. I thank you for all of your wonderful contributions over many years, and I stand with all of you in your commitment to a safe, united and multicultural Victoria.

 Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (13:17): I am pleased to rise to speak on this notice of motion as well:

That this house records its sincere thanks to community leaders across Victoria, particularly those who have stood with Victorians targeted by vilification and division arising from recent anti-immigration protests, for their steadfast commitment to a safe, united and multicultural Victoria.

I also support the amendment moved by the member for Bulleen that the words ‘anti-immigration’ be removed, because these are important issues, but we also need to be consistent in what we say in this place and as leaders in our community. I find that on the issue of multiculturalism, of faith, of racism, too often politicians but also commentators and others in our community tend to be somewhat selective in what they choose to condemn and the behaviour they choose to condemn, depending on who is undertaking that behaviour. I think it is right that the member for Bulleen’s amendment takes out the words ‘anti-immigration’, because we have seen, over the past couple of years in particular and most particularly since 7 October 2023, a number of different groups operating that are going beyond peaceful protest and that are causing disharmony within our communities.

I certainly endorse the comments of the member for Bulleen when it comes to the Jewish community. I have spoken to many of them over our time, and I reflect on the strong defence given by the member for Caulfield and also the member for Box Hill and others in this place of the Jewish community, its right to peaceful existence in our state and its right to go about its business unmolested, unharassed and not attacked. We have seen some frankly shameful activities over the past couple of years. Everyone has the right to protest on issues of concern to them, including the behaviour of the Israeli government in Gaza, but that should not be reflected on Victorian Jewish members. Again, this debate needs to be fair and equal.

The motion obviously stems from the anti-immigration protests, and I wholeheartedly and unreservedly condemn neo-Nazi activity. That is not what we are in Victoria and should never be tolerated. But I also note that there are people involved in protests who are concerned generally about the level of immigration in this country, and I think it is unfair to paint everyone with the same brush just simply because neo-Nazis or people who are racist or people who are violent have turned up to some of these events. And as I said, we have seen very clearly through some of these protests, counter-protesters who have been there to pick a fight. We note the commentary only a month or so ago from police commander Wayne Cheeseman, who specifically called out left-wing protesters, those who turned up turned up for a fight, who turned up with ballast rocks from railways to throw at police. We know that a female sergeant suffered a broken hand after being kicked and a male senior constable suffered a deep gash to his leg. And yet we still have the people behind those protests saying that somehow it was the police’s fault. The police are not there to be punching bags for protesters, hard left or hard right. They do an important job in our community.

I think from a regional perspective in particular, we have been frustrated over the past couple of years to see how resources have been taken from our communities to constantly be here in Melbourne on weekends to ensure the peace is kept in the city because of ongoing protests of any sort. Not for a moment do I take away the right of people to protest and to protest peacefully. But too often over the last couple of years, and particularly in Victoria over a couple of decades now, we have seen people who are not there to protest peacefully. Again, that goes back to some of the COVID protests, where clearly people of whatever description you might give them turned up to have fights with police. That is something that I condemn in the strongest possible terms.

In terms of our multicultural communities, it is sometimes seen as being an urban thing and that our rural and regional communities are white European by background. Whilst that was probably historically true to some degree, it is certainly not now. We have increasing numbers of Indian Australians and Chinese Australians in our communities. I think particularly in many of our rural communities the Indian communities have taken up the small business cudgels with great enthusiasm. Many of our smaller rural towns that might only have a shop or a service station have actually been picked up in the last couple of years by Indian Australians and bringing their families there. And Filipino Australians – I think of the Port Welshpool store, where Magno and Cel do a fantastic job, having taken over from long-serving proprietors there, have now become loved and treasured members of the Port Welshpool community. Those sorts of stories are repeated right around rural and regional Victoria.

I grew up in the Latrobe Valley, where compared to just down the road in Sale, where I now live, we had multiple different multicultural communities, particularly coming out post Second World War to work in the SEC and the power industry. We had Italians, Greeks, Dutch and Singaporeans, and even Japanese at a time when we had coal-to-oil plant in the Latrobe Valley. There were Maltese, Germans, many from Europe and a growing number from Asia. And of course in more recent decades, in the last decade or two, both in the Latrobe Valley and even in Sale, there is a growing African community coming to our rural and regional communities. In some contexts I know that some of our historical or traditional industries in rural areas would not survive if it were not for the migrants that have come to work – particularly, for example, in abattoirs, where the African communities have been very active; people from Afghanistan, Korea and all sorts in many of those businesses have actually helped keep our community going.

As best we can, I think we have welcomed those newcomers. I am sure they still do face challenges; no doubt they face racism from time to time. It is part of the role of this place to ensure that we continue to work to educate the community and to be clear that we welcome all comers. It is a great project, the Australian migrant project, and it is frustrating when I hear people opposing immigration, indeed often people who are first- or only second-generation Australians themselves. I do think we need to work hard to educate newcomers and to ensure that they understand our Australian values and work harmoniously within our society, but I think we actually do it pretty well.

I would argue that the left in particular likes to say that we are a racist country and that there are problems here, but if you travel the world, you will pretty quickly realise that there are few places that are as harmonious and multicultural as Australia. It can be confronting for some people, particularly older Australians who are used to effectively a white Australia, to see different peoples in our streets and communities. But we also know that those migrants of every colour, creed and race from around the world have brought great benefits to our nation. While we welcome them with open our arms to the culture and the values that we bring, we expect them to share that culture and values of tolerance, of respect and of a willingness to ensure all faiths and all cultures are accepted. I think Australia has done that well. If you look around the world, there are not too many better examples of how we have been able to do this great nation-building exercise with peoples from every land on earth we have come, as the song says. So I think it is important that we do thank those multicultural leaders but that we also note that it is not just one group that is a problem. We need to work with all as we go forward.

 Nina TAYLOR (Albert Park) (13:27): Earlier this year I had the great privilege of attending Poland, but more specifically Auschwitz, as part of a cross-parliamentary tour. I guess among all the emotions and experiences that came to life through that event, so to speak, was seeing human beings and what they can become at their worst when hate is allowed to thrive. We saw inhumane conditions, obviously a targeted extermination of the Jewish people, and in addition, of course, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. It seemed like the inhumanity knew no bounds, with the accumulating of vast quantities of human hair and personal items. It was just horrific to see such evidence of what human beings can become when we do not fight or we do not truly counteract hate.

Thankfully, though, we have many wonderful people in our community who work hard each and every day to foster the opposite of that, to foster love and understanding and respect. I started from that very serious premise because we know that when so many community groups work so hard and multifaith organisations work so hard to foster love, respect and understanding – it is not just about symbolism, though that can be important – we realise how important it is, because without that constant working with each other and fostering those good relationships, the very worst of humanity can start to emerge.

I have to say, when I was Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, the then Attorney-General at times would delegate many activities, and one of them was to attend some of the multifaith and multicultural meetings whereby the anti-vilification and social cohesion reforms were being discussed and their contributions were being taken on board. Of course for those very laws to have the meaning and to have the impact that we all wanted, we needed to have the input from so many in our community who can bring that universal understanding and kindness. I will include with that also the leaders in our LGBTQIA+ community as well, because we know that those reforms were far reaching in terms of being able to better protect Victorians all round when it comes to not fostering discrimination and some of the very worst attributes that human beings can display.

I should note we would have preferred that the opposition did support those reforms, because they are incredibly important and because of the very strident advocacy from multifaith and multicultural communities to ensure that they would provide the very basis for a more positive way forward and to really send that strong message – but also action; action is inherent in those reforms – that in Victoria, racism and hate are never welcome. They are never to be allowed to flourish. I am afraid to say we have seen aspects of deep discrimination and racism displayed by some in the community, but I know that the majority of Victorians are good people, have good will and want the best for all and want particularly future generations of Victorians to know that everyone is safe and supported, regardless of their race, regardless of their gender and regardless of their sexuality.

On that note, I would like to seek to support and foster the best of us, knowing that we have shown many times as a collective, as a culture, in Victoria that we can be very understanding and show the best love, compassion and respect, and may that continue to be the case.

 Nicole WERNER (Warrandyte) (13:32): I rise to support the member for Bulleen’s amendment to this motion, which notes:

That this house records its sincere thanks to community leaders across Victoria, particularly those who have stood with Victorians targeted by vilification and division arising from recent … protests –

omitting the word ‘anti-immigration’ and broadening the term to ‘protests’ –

for their steadfast commitment to a safe, united and multicultural Victoria.

Before turning to the broader issues raised by this motion, I want to begin by acknowledging the remarkable multicultural community groups and organisations in my own electorate, whose work strengthens our community every single day. In the electorate of Warrandyte, specifically, it is a very multicultural community. It is a peri-urban seat; however, there are pockets in Doncaster East, in Donvale, in Ringwood, in Ringwood North, even in Chirnside Park and, I would say, across the whole electorate at large that have diverse communities, one of which I am proud to be a member of. Recent data shows that 23.7 per cent of the electorate of Warrandyte comes from Chinese heritage, me included. There is a great amount of diversity in the electorate. If you go into Doncaster East, specifically, you will find some of the best dumplings that you can find in the state of Victoria – I kid you not.

It is a wonderful place, my community, my electorate, and we are home to vibrant cultural groups that promote connection, belonging and mutual respect. Their leadership is essential to the harmonious and welcoming Victoria that we all want to protect. One of my favourite things to do as a member of Parliament, in the privileged position that we get to have, is to welcome our new migrants and our new citizens, as well as people who have been here for a long time who have finally got around to getting their citizenship, at these citizenship ceremonies, which we have the privilege of attending as members of Parliament.

What I love to do is to stand up and welcome each and every one of them. Some of them will have gone through really difficult journeys to become citizens. For some of them it is a long time coming. There are all sorts of people that we get to welcome into our community each and every month in Manningham, Maroondah, Nillumbik and the Yarra Ranges as well. In all of these communities we welcome each and every one of them.

I just want to thank the Australian Iranian Senior Citizen Society of Victoria for all their work. I acknowledge the Chinese Senior Citizens Club of Manningham – they do incredible work in our community in Manningham; the Chinese Fellowship of Victoria; as well as the Melbourne badminton association in Doncaster East. I recently visited the Doncaster East Badminton Centre, and they ran rings around me in their ability to play badminton – I tell you what. In particular I want to recognise the Asian Business Association of Whitehorse, which in conjunction with the Jackson Court Traders Association just yesterday launched their very first Chinese New Year festival, which is going to take place on 7 February at Jackson Court in Doncaster East, where we will all get to celebrate, as my family is very proud to do each and every year, Chinese New Year. It is of such cultural importance to every member of the Chinese community at large, whether you are of Malaysian Chinese descent, Australian Chinese descent; whether you are from Hong Kong, whether you are from Taiwan, whether you are from –

Rachel Westaway: Thailand.

Nicole WERNER: Thailand – everyone just loves getting around Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year, as it is also called, so I give a big shout-out to the Asian business association.

Back to the motion at hand, it is pretty rich of the Allan Labor government to stand up here and talk about multiculturalism. It is pretty rich because I am the first woman to represent the seat of Warrandyte. Not only that, I am the first Asian woman to be elected to the Legislative Assembly here in the Victorian Parliament. I remember saying in my maiden speech that I am:

… the first of my community to enter this place. May there be many more.

Then I had join me the member for Prahran, who was the first Thai woman elected to represent her community here in the Victorian Parliament – the first Thai woman elected to the Legislative Assembly here in the Victorian Parliament. It only took until 2024 and 2023 – my word – and here we are. This is not to mention the member for Western Metro, Mr Trung Luu, who is a Vietnamese refugee, who is now a member of the Victorian Parliament, and a big credit to him. So it is rich of the Allan Labor government to talk about multiculturalism and talk about supporting multiculturalism when every time I have gotten to my feet in this place this year, every time I have made a contribution, I have been mocked, I have been jeered, I have been interjected on and there has been some kind of direction to silence what I have to say here in the Victorian Parliament.

I speak to young people and I speak to people of diverse communities and different backgrounds. In fact I have young people writing to me who say, ‘Thank you for standing up for us. Thank you for representing us.’

Members interjecting.

Nicole WERNER: While they continue to interject and continue to say all sorts of nonsense, we know it to be true. What does it say to every young woman of colour, what does it say to every young woman wanting to enter this place when they see the behaviour – the disgusting, appalling behaviour; the mockery from the member for Tarneit; the member for Werribee calling the member for Kew, now the Leader of the Opposition, a grub. What does it say to every young woman in this place –

The ACTING SPEAKER (Paul Edbrooke): Order! Thank you, member. While I can appreciate your passion on this, I would appreciate you speaking through the Chair.

Nicole WERNER: As I return to speaking about this, what does it say to every young woman of colour seeking to enter Parliament, seeking to have a life in public office, seeking to enter politics when this is the behaviour that comes across from the members of the Allan Labor government, who make these interjections, who taunt, who mock, who interject, who bully, who slander, who vilify and who target the first Asian woman to enter this place? What does it say about the micro-aggressions from members of the Allan Labor government, who on a daily basis here in this place get us confused – get me and the member for Prahran confused. They do it every single day. In fact it has happened from members in the chair, who have sat in the chair –

Anthony Cianflone: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, with the greatest of respect, my point of order is on relevance. The motion is actually about providing a sincere thanks to the community leaders across Victoria, particularly those who have stood with Victorians targeted by vilification arising from the recent anti-immigration protests, for their steadfast commitment to a safe, united and multicultural Victorian. I put that point of order to you as a son of Italian migrants on this side of the house as well.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Paul Edbrooke): There is no point of order, but I do encourage members to stick to the motion.

Nicole WERNER: In speaking to multiculturalism, a safe and united multicultural Victoria, this is why it is important: 75 per cent of young women do not feel that Australian politics is an inclusive or equal space for them. Almost a third, 30 per cent, of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds said they would never consider a career in politics due to their cultural or ethnic backgrounds and because Parliament is not diverse enough. I ask you: if this is the treatment that the Allan Labor government has towards women of diverse backgrounds, in the member for Prahran getting mocked for the way that she speaks and me getting interjected, interrupted and targeted in trying to send a message and speak to people in our communities – every single time that I have gotten up in this place and they have tried to silence me from speaking to our communities, being criticised for the way that speak to our communities when I am simply trying to make this place an inclusive place for women of colour, an inclusive place for migrants and an inclusive place for multicultural Victoria.

That is what I seek to do in this place, and that is what we are here for – to make this place accessible, to make this place relevant and to make this place engaging so that people do not feel excluded. This is the people’s house. This should be a place where every young person, every young woman, feels like they belong, feels like they have a place, feels like they have a voice, feels like they can enter this place without being mocked, jeered at, taunted and bullied by the Allan Labor government. Here I speak in favour of a safe and united and multicultural Victoria. That is what we believe in. That is what we stand for on this side of the house. On that side of the house – absolutely not. But on this side of the house we stand for that and we represent that. We are here representing diverse communities. I commend the member for Bulleen’s amendments to the house.

 Alison MARCHANT (Bellarine) (13:42): I also stand to support, give my commitment to and talk to this motion about a safe and united multicultural Victoria. I particularly would like to talk a little bit about how this relates to the Bellarine electorate. I was born and bred on the Bellarine. I have always found the Bellarine a very caring, thoughtful and deeply respectful community – and various communities across the Bellarine that have little pockets of their own suburbs. We are certainly, though, united in looking after each other. We are very good at listening to each other and checking in on our neighbours. We do not approach challenges that we have in our community with anger or with suspicion. We use empathy, and we use common sense, really, across the Bellarine. I think that that is what is very unique and very special about the electorate that I very proudly represent. We are certainly small communities across the Bellarine that are very connected and very much have a genuine commitment to each other’s wellbeing. That is why attempts to provoke fear or fuel division have no home and no place on the Bellarine. For our communities, we do not fall for those, I suppose, rage-bait politics and the loud tactics that thrive on conflict. We do not allow ourselves to be dragged into the noise of this manufactured outrage that we see sometimes.

The Bellarine has been built on many generations of families who have come to Australia seeking a better life, and that life has been defined by having a safe life and an opportunity to thrive and come with hope. They come to raise children in small country towns, where it is very much hard work that is valued and our freedoms are protected and every person has a chance, regardless of their background and regardless of where their story has begun, to thrive. They have enriched our communities across the Bellarine.

Those journeys, though, obviously can be marked with sacrifice and courage and belief in a brighter future. As this house has remarked today, we have seen some people in this community attempt to use fear as a tool to divide communities, to pit our neighbours against each other and turn that into this fuelling of anger and fear. But that is not leadership. Leadership is not about stoking fear. It is not about exploiting tensions. It is about resolving issues. It is not about creating enemies but building communities.

We cannot ignore, though, that across the world and indeed here in Victoria we have seen a troubling rise in vilification. Most of the time it is being fuelled by misinformation, maybe global conflicts, polarising commentary and online spaces that reward outrage over truth. Obviously Victoria has not been immune to this, and we have seen attempts to inflame those tensions. But it just reminds us that cohesion is not automatic and that it must be protected. It calls on our leaders and our community groups and government and places like this to stand firmly against any of that form of discrimination, reject extremism in all its forms and actively build a society where each person is safe and valued. It is about having leaders that bring people together. They listen before they speak. They seek solutions, not headlines. They take responsibility for calming a community, not inflaming it. And they stand with those who feel isolated or targeted and remind everyone that our strength comes from unity. In every moment we are tested. And when we have seen protests in the streets – I never thought I would see what I have seen in my lifetime in this state – many of the community leaders have stood up to show strength and compassion and courage to call that out.

We certainly, today with this motion, thank those leaders. We thank our faith leaders, our cultural organisations, our community volunteers, teachers, local advocates and everyday residents particularly who simply refuse to look away. We thank them today with this motion. It reminds us that leadership does not come with a badge or a title. Leadership is sometimes shown in the quietest of acts of solidarity and public statements of support and maybe calm voices of reason. It is a willingness to say in this state and in this community when we see these examples of vilification that we will not have that in our communities; we will not stand for that.

As we have noted, this work is not finished, and to maintain a united, multicultural community requires that ongoing effort. In speaking to this motion, I commit to working on that for the Bellarine community, where our diversity is celebrated, where racism is rejected and where division will not take hold. The Bellarine community knows that unity is not an aspiration, it is actually an action. I thank the leaders, and I thank the Minister for Health for her motion today to be able to thank our leaders for standing up.

 Rachel WESTAWAY (Prahran) (13:48): I rise to support this motion while supporting the amendment put forward by the member for Bulleen to remove the word ‘anti-immigration’ from protests, because I think the issue is much broader than that. I thank the community leaders across Prahran who have demonstrated courage and moral clarity when some have sought to divide us along the lines of race, religion and origin.

Before I speak about my community, I want to acknowledge something personal. My father came to Australia as an immigrant from Thailand of Thai Chinese heritage. His journey is the story of millions of Australians. It is the story of modern Australia, and it is the story of Prahran. Prahran is not merely tolerant of diversity. In fact I really do not like the word ‘tolerance’ because it suggests a willingness to tolerate opinions or behaviours that one disagrees with. In my view, diversity in all forms is something to celebrate and not to tolerate. Prahran, and indeed Victoria and Australia, is built on diversity and is defined by it. Walk down Chapel Street, Greville Street, Commercial Road or Inkerman Street and you will encounter different languages and cuisines, different histories, traditions and people of diversity in all shapes and forms with dreams all woven together into something that is very much distinctly Australian.

I want to speak specifically about the Jewish community in Prahran, whose presence and leadership have shaped our area profoundly. They have established schools, community centres, places of worship and charitable organisations that serve not just their own community but the broader community.

In recent months I have met with Jewish community leaders who have expressed their deep concerns about the rise in antisemitism in Australia, in Victoria particularly. They have spoken to me about their fear for their families, about the desecration of sacred places and about casual prejudice that has re-emerged in public discourse. Let me be unequivocal: there is no place for antisemitism in Prahran or Victoria or indeed Australia – simply none. The Jewish community deserves to live and work and worship and raise their families free from hatred and fear. That is not a courtesy, it is an absolute right, and I will stand with them in defending it.

I also want to acknowledge the Greek community. The Greek Orthodox Church of Sts Constantine & Helen in South Yarra, under the leadership of Fr Panteleimon, is more than simply a place of worship – it is a cultural anchor where traditions are kept alive and where language is preserved but it is also embedded deeply into the local community, helping those in need and ensuring they have got food and support when they need it most. The Greek community in Prahran has shown us what successful integration looks like. They have maintained their cultural identity while contributing deeply to the Australian story.

I want to turn now to a more difficult subject, because this house owes Victorians honesty, not just sentiment. Immigration has made Australia, and it has made Prahran. But immigration policy cannot be separated from planning policy, from infrastructure policy and from housing policy. You cannot increase population without increasing capacity, and when governments fail to do that, the consequences are borne disproportionately by the communities we claim to support. Prahran is the most densely populated and smallest electorate in Victoria. Under the Allan government’s proposed activity centres, that density is set to increase dramatically, affecting all five train stations in our local area. This policy was imposed without adequate consultation, without proper infrastructure planning and without consideration of existing community capacity. High-density development can be done well, creating vibrant, livable communities and neighbourhoods with strong public amenities and affordable housing. Or it can be done poorly. It can create the slums of the future: overcrowded, underserviced and disconnected from the infrastructure needed to support them. And the higher we go, the more we lose a sense of community, and that is a deep concern to me.

When I go to speak with community leaders, including those from migrant communities who have chosen to make Prahran home, they do not ask for less immigration. They ask for competent government. They ask for schools that can accommodate their children. They ask for childcare places. They ask for public transport that works. They ask for housing they can actually afford. They ask to be heard. Meeting them is not anti-immigration; it is pro-community, it is pro-integration and it is the foundation on which successful multiculturalism depends. But instead of delivering these essential services the Allan government has saddled Victorians with a runaway debt level and increased taxes to pay for it. Victorian families and small businesses, including the many migrant-owned businesses that are the backbone of our economy, are now facing higher land taxes, increased payroll taxes and the expansion of the congestion levy.

These increased costs fall heavily on the very communities we should be supporting. Take the Windsor community childcare centre. For decades this centre has served families across Prahran, providing early childhood education and care to children from every background imaginable. When Swinburne University announced plans to sell the property that houses the centre, threatening its closure, the community rose up. That centre is infrastructure. It is the kind of investment that makes density livable. Last night Swinburne advised that it had rejected the joint Stonnington and Commonwealth government offer to purchase the site. They have, however, granted the Windsor community childcare centre a 12-month stay of execution, and they will enter into exclusive negotiations with the parties for six months. While this is encouraging, it has not secured the centre’s future. One hopes Swinburne is not simply gaming the situation. The Labor Party’s activity centre planning changes will likely increase the property’s value, and the state election will only be months away at the end of the exclusive negotiation window. What have we heard from the minister through all of this? Nothing – zero. When a centre that embodies family support and multiculturalism hangs in the balance the Allan government, sadly, in this instance is nowhere to be found.

I also want to address community safety, because it is inseparable from the question of whether people feel secure in their neighbourhoods. Chapel Street has experienced rising crime levels and retail crime. When people do not feel safe in their streets, when businesses are repeatedly targeted and when families feel uncomfortable walking home at night, it erodes the social trust multiculturalism depends on, a safe community and a cohesive community. The government’s decision to abolish move-on laws has left Victoria Police without essential tools to manage disruptive behaviour.

Victoria stands apart from other mainland states by not requiring protest permits, despite repeated calls from Victoria Police and the opposition to introduce such a system.

I now return to the reason why we are debating this motion: the recent anti-immigration protests that have sought to scapegoat particular communities, particularly the Indian Australian community, for problems that are the result of policy failure and not migration itself. Let me be clear: we condemn those rallies and the abhorrent messaging associated with them. Victoria is a proudly multicultural, multifaith state, and we will always stand with all Victorians, no matter what their background. Rejecting the policies of division also requires the rejection of the policies of complacency. It requires us to be honest about pressures facing communities. Concerns about housing, infrastructure and services are legitimate, even when they are cynically exploited by others. We will not allow that to happen.

I want to thank community leaders in Prahran who have stood against vilification and division, leaders from the Jewish community, the Greek community and the many others who have refused to be silent in the face of absolute hatred. Prahran is rich and vibrant because of immigration. Its diversity is not a challenge to be managed. It is a strength to be celebrated and protected. But strength requires foundations and requires infrastructure.

I am deeply passionate about standing with Victorians from all backgrounds and fervently oppose any form of vilification or division. It is one of the reasons I entered politics – to have a voice on the very issues such as these. I commenced my speech discussing my father, who came to Australia just after the White Australia policy ended in the 1960s. When he arrived, he went to boarding school in Ballarat, and what a culture shock it was. He was from the bustling streets of Bangkok. He was welcomed by the most wonderful families, who would host him over school holidays. But he also encountered significant racism and targeting. Even as a child, I recall him being targeted on trams with racist slurs and being told he was a boat person and should go home.

As a child growing up in Noble Park and Springvale, I remember being told I was not invited to a friend’s birthday party because I was Asian, and so my determination grew as an adult to ensure my own children never experienced this exclusion. I worked to ensure I had a career that contributed, that I had tertiary qualifications that were actually competitive and that my English and my pronunciation were as perfect as possible, and I volunteered on boards such as the Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors in New South Wales. And yet, even now, my youngest daughter, who looks more like me than my other two children, was only six when she was at her ballet concert and was shouted at by a young boy who referred to her by colour. Even in this house, I am often confused with my colleague the member for Warrandyte, and I am assuming it is because we are the only two Asian women on our side. Whilst I would love her social media following, we actually are different. There are also comments made about how I speak.

We are in Australia, a country built on diversity, where overseas conflict should not be brought here and where our great country has been built on immigration and contributions, not on division and difference. I commend this motion to the house, with the moved amendment to remove the word ‘anti-immigration’, because my concerns are broader than simply an anti-immigration protest.

 Anthony CIANFLONE (Pascoe Vale) (13:58): With the couple of minutes or less that I have left, I am absolutely proud to be standing up in support of this motion as a member of the Victorian Labor government that stands with our multicultural community, that stands to support social cohesion and that is here with all of our cultural and linguistically diverse communities right across this state. But I am even more proud to stand here as the member for Pascoe Vale, Coburg and Brunswick West.

Sam Groth interjected.

Anthony CIANFLONE: Have you ever been there? Probably not.

Members interjecting.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Through the Chair, member for Pascoe Vale. Order!

Anthony CIANFLONE: It is one of the most multicultural communities in this country. I stand as the son of Italian migrant parents who came here with nothing but a suitcase on their back that was filled with dreams for a better future for themselves, their children and their grandchildren and who worked hard to contribute and to give a better life to their children, their grandchildren and their community too. And I am proud to be here as someone standing with our First Nations community. Here as a government, we support the apology. We support treaty, voice and truth. But the opposition came to the smoking ceremony at the front, came in here and opposed the apology and then went for lunch in Queens Hall and took the sandwiches. They have got no shame at all.

Members interjecting.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member for Point Cook is warned.

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, Speaker, just in relation to the member for Pascoe Vale’s contribution at the moment –

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I am required by sessional orders to interrupt the house for question time. The member can continue his point of order after that.

Business interrupted under sessional orders.