Thursday, 10 September 2026

 Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (10:01): I am going to use my statement a little bit differently today. There is a member of Melbourne’s Chinese diaspora community who has been maligned in the media. His name is Professor Charles Qin. He has lived here since 1991, and he became an Australian citizen not long after. He has served this country as a Mandarin interpreter and supported several prime ministers. He is a leader in his field and an Officer of the Order of Australia. So to see articles and statements from federal politicians, Labor and Liberal, questioning his allegiance to our country, claiming high-risk links, emphasising he is China born – I am going to call it what it is – is racism. I will share the professor’s words:

Australians of Chinese heritage should not have to continually prove that they belong. Their citizenship, professional record and contribution to Australia should be judged by the same standards applied to every other Australian.

I completely agree.