Tuesday, 7 February 2023

 Michael GALEA (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:35): (9) I rise to raise a matter for the Minister for Multicultural Affairs in the other place, and the matter that I seek is an update on the support being provided to the Buddhist community of the Bright Moon temple in Springvale South subsequent to the devastating fire that occurred at their premises on Sunday night.

The Bright Moon temple is a special place designed to enable the promotion of peace, tolerance and harmony and as a home for the teaching of Buddhist culture. ‘Community’ is probably the word that best describes this home of generosity and kindness, having been built as a result of community donations. The temple has also been a provider of fresh vegetarian food for those that need it in the area. Importantly, for many hundreds of families it is also a sacred place where the ashes of their loved ones have been stored. Thankfully so far it appears that most of the urns were saved from the fire.

It is pleasing to see so many people visiting the community of the Bright Moon temple at this time, including the Premier, the minister and indeed the local MP, Meng Heang Tak, who has been a great source of support and is one of the community’s strongest advocates. The member for Clarinda has also been working closely with the president and the community in relation to making sure that the urns are returned to family members where possible. Over 80 firefighters contained the massive blaze, and I would like to thank them for their work that ensured that the neighbouring houses were also spared from the fire. Again I ask that the minister update the house on the support being provided to this community at a time of great sadness and loss.