Page 419 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 12 February 2013

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Foundation; George Cocker from the Tongan High Commission and other members of the Tongan High Commission in attendance.

I thank Clarence Kikolo from the Solomon Islands High Commission; Ogen Nam-Gay from the Australian Bhutan Association of Canberra; Mariette O’Connell, representing the ABS and the great work that they do for understanding and information gathering for the community; Dadi Xiong from the Australian Chinese Culture Exchange and Promotion Association, and also Wang Cunde from the same association.

I thank Liana Xirakis from the Greek Community Language School; Hselin Marsap from Gourmet Gozleme; Daniel Haymer from Fusion Brewing; Marco Balzanelli from Balzanelli Smallgoods, and his father, Jonathan Balzanelli. I thank Alex Tine from the Croatian Monaro Panthers Club; and Sonam Dagboo, Atishe Tenzin and Ngodup Gyultsen from the Tibetan Culture Centre.

I applaud Alex Lumsden, Andrew Stackpool and Malcolm Buchanan from the Scottish Australian Heritage Council, who very bravely wore their kilts to the festival and added a great deal of colour and vibrancy; Carlos Ramirez from the Peruvian street food stall; Susma Maharjan from the Australian Nepal Friendship Society of Canberra and ACT, and from the same organisation, Surya Maharjan and Sam Maharjan.

I thank Kristijan Ivancic, Ivan Peric and Ante Mrkonjic from the Australian Croatian Club; Alexandra Morozow and Glina Amelina from the Russian Church School of Canberra; Mirree Louise Bayliss from the Red Earth Gallery; Mariee Kerr from the AFS Intercultural Exchange; Haci Akgol from the Ottoman Turkish Military Band, and Engin Ibal; Mevland Cifci from the Turkish Lokma; Zheng Li from the ACT Community Language Schools; Mai Layehtaw Savannabuhmi from the Mon community food stall; Ron Hackney from the German Language School; Lisa Stephen Spielwelt from the German Parents Association; Mandy Scott from the ACT Bilingual Education Alliance, Meredith Box from the ACT Bilingual Education Alliance and Telopea Park School; Shubhra Aurita Roy from the Integrated Women’s Network; and Tom Butler from the Aboriginal art stall.

The festival runs on the commitment of these people and the various community groups that they are a part of. Thanks to the many participants. It was wonderful to see them all involved for many hours in the heat for the sake of their cultural groups, our city and our nation. I thank them from the heart for work that would have seemed unimaginable to my grandparents and my mother arriving on a ship from Italy in the 1950s. Thank you so much.

National Multicultural Festival

Pacific Women’s Parliamentary Partnership Forum

MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (5.09): I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate the minister and all those involved in the very successful Multicultural Festival on the weekend. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend. Being the ACT representative of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Women’s Steering Committee I attended the inaugural Pacific Women’s Parliamentary Partnership Forum in Sydney.


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