Thursday, 20 February 2025

Ministers statements: Vietnamese community

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:47): Last Saturday I was proud to join, alongside many members of this place, Victoria’s Vietnamese community in Footscray. Of course 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of that significant movement of Vietnamese people to Australia. Every member of this house should reflect on and be proud of the fact that when those families were forced to flee war and persecution in their own homes, they turned to Australia. They turned to us here in Melbourne and Victoria to create their new homes – a place of safety and freedom where today multiculturalism is welcomed and celebrated. Vietnamese Victorians have proudly raised their families here, started businesses here and given so much back to our state.

As those of us who were there on Saturday, including the Leader of the Opposition, know, the community handed over to Western Health a cheque for more than half a million dollars, funds that they raised through donations for the brand new Footscray Hospital. They did it because they are a strong and warm and generous community. They did it because they wanted to say thank you to a country that has given them so much.

I think we also owe our Vietnamese community and all multicultural communities our thanks. We also owe them safety and security, free from hatred and division – the same ideals that brought them to this country in the first place – because it is one thing to stand on the stage like the Leader of the Opposition did and take a few photos accepting a big cheque for a project that, frankly, he had nothing to do with, and it is another thing entirely –

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier was also there having photos behind the cheque. I would ask you to refer the Premier to the sessional orders and standing orders –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Start again, Manager of Opposition Business, without the commentary at the start.

Bridget Vallence: The Premier is attacking the opposition, which is disorderly.

The SPEAKER: I do not uphold the point of order.

Jacinta ALLAN: That is entirely the point: we were there to support these communities. We were there to thank them. It is also in turn our responsibility to support them and keep those communities safe from hatred and vilification, safeguarding our strong and proud multifaith and multicultural communities.