Page 4933 - Week 11 - Thursday, 21 October 2010

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Question so resolved in the negative.

Amendment negatived.

Debate (on motion by Mr Corbell) adjourned to the next sitting.

Adjournment

Motion by Mr Corbell proposed:

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

Hungarian revolution—anniversary

MR DOSZPOT (Brindabella) (5.54): This Saturday, 23 October, marks the 54th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution. It is a day that changed the course of the life of my family as well as around 100,000 other Hungarians who fled the communist regime that had taken power in Hungary again after the revolution. After the revolution, my family became refugees.

In 1956 in Hungary, economic collapse and low standards of living caused by the reorganisation of the economy under the Soviet model provoked working-class discontent which gradually spread to the agricultural industry, the intelligentsia and university students. There was also growing opposition to the military occupation of Hungary by the Soviet Union.

On 23 October 1956, Hungarian students protested against the Soviet occupation of Hungary, which led to a spontaneous popular armed revolt that lasted until 4 November 1956. The revolution, led by former Prime Minister Imre Nagy, deposed the incumbent Soviet-backed government, disbanded the unpopular state police and forced the withdrawal of the Soviet military presence, giving Hungarians a few precious days of freedom, a “Budapest Camelot”, before being subsequently crushed by the ruthless Soviet military machine, with a great loss of life.

Against this background, my family made plans to escape. My father had already been imprisoned for two years by the communists in 1948 for being a Catholic youth worker, and he was now targeted again. We became refugees from religious and political persecution in Hungary.

I would like to recognise this anniversary today and recognise two commemorations held in Canberra. The first one was this afternoon at a special function at the Hungarian Embassy to commemorate the anniversary of the 1956 revolution in Hungary, and was hosted by His Excellency Gabor Csaba, the Hungarian Ambassador.

The second function will be on this Saturday afternoon, 23 October, when the Canberra and District Hungarian Cultural Association will hold a commemoration at Monash of the 1956 Hungarian uprising and freedom fight. I would like to offer my congratulations and thanks to the President of the Canberra and District Hungarian
Cultural Association, Mr Attila Ovari, for the work that he has done and continues to do on behalf of the Canberra Hungarian community. This function is but another


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