Wednesday, 1 April 2026

 Eden FOSTER (Mulgrave) (10:58): I would like to give a huge shout-out to AVWA, the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association, and their CEO Nicky Chung. I recently attended their Cultural Diversity Week event at the Immigration Museum. It says a lot about an organisation that it can get the Immigration Museum to co-host such an event and have the Prime Minister attend. The event explored the stories of Vietnamese Australians and showcased beautiful multicultural performances. It was a great opportunity to reflect on the challenges the Vietnamese community have faced in the past, their perseverance and resilience through these challenges and the themes that bring us all together across cultural backgrounds.

I had the honour of representing the Minister for Multicultural Affairs at the Ugadi celebrations hosted by the Melbourne Kannada Sangha. The Ugadi festival signifies new beginnings and the creation of the universe by Lord Brahma. It was another display of our wonderful multiculturalism.