Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak tonight on behalf of the many Italian constituents within my electorate of Hindmarsh who have made Hindmarsh in the western suburbs of Adelaide their home. I acknowledge the member for Petrie, Ms Teresa Gambaro, who is in the chamber and who is also of Italian descent. There are more than 100,000 Italian migrants and their descendants in South Australia, and approximately 9,000 live in the federal electorate of Hindmarsh. The Italian migrant community has become an important part of the South Australian community and has played a huge role in enriching not only South Australian culture but also Australian culture.

Australia and Italy have a close and longstanding relationship that is underpinned by strong ties through trade, investment, cultural and educational links. The ties have continued to grow stronger over recent decades. In 2006, Australian exports to Italy grew by 21 per cent, to $1.82 billion, and imports from Italy grew by three per cent, to $4.49 billion. As well as the Italian community, there are 15,000 Italian citizens who are in South Australia on temporary or permanent resident visas or who have dual citizenship. Italian migrants have played an important part in Australia’s history and in forming modern Australia, and Italian migrants have contributed to our nation’s population and to the workforce—especially in the early 1950s, through the 1960s and early 1970s.

At a local level we have many Italians living in the western suburbs in Adelaide. I attended school with many Italian children at Cowandilla Primary School, and then when I continued on to Underdale High School I played soccer and football with Italian kids. Many of the children that I went to school with went on to become businessmen, academics or politicians. My own personal good friend and neighbour, Grace Portolesi, is now the Labor member for the state seat of Hartley. Her parents, who migrated to Australia from the village of Plati, in Reggio Calabria, and made their home in the western suburbs of Adelaide, were neighbours of ours for many years in Mile End. We both grew up and went on to bigger and better things. Both our parents came to this country back in the early fifties with very little education, very few skills and very few language skills—in reading and writing in their own language—and worked in factories and labouring jobs.

What Australia offered to those people back in the fifties was a sense of security in terms of equal pay, regardless of how long they had been here, regardless of their race, regardless of their religion and regardless of their gender. We saw migrants who prospered because they were able to work side by side with people who had been here for four or five generations, but the terms and conditions were exactly the same. Today we have seen a turnaround of that particular egalitarian system that enriched our country, and we see people coming in on 457 visas on lesser pay and on contracts that are nowhere near the same as the contracts of people they may be working side by side with. It is unfortunate that we have come to that.

I have lived my whole life in Adelaide’s western suburbs, and over the years I have been part of many different Italian celebrations that I grew up with. Since becoming the federal member for Hindmarsh I have attended many different functions hosted by the Italian community within the Hindmarsh electorate. Most recently I attended a feast in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Grace and the festival of Saint Eufemia. Both events allowed me to learn more about Italian tradition and the Italian community of Hindmarsh. These are feasts and days of celebration that have a long history in the Calabria region, and now those traditions have been brought to the western suburbs of Hindmarsh. I am very grateful for those great religious festivals that are held by the Italian community in Hindmarsh.

The Italian community in Hindmarsh and in South Australia has added to the diversity and cultural richness of our country. The establishment of Italian communities has exposed Australians to the foods, festivals and cultural traits of one of the most historically rich cultures in the world. The South Australian Italian community has played a great role in community building by creating partnerships between local people, government, businesses and education. By developing these strong communities, we are able to find local solutions to local problems, increase social participation and develop networks within and across communities. Australia is a culturally diverse country and it is built upon the many migrants who came to this country and the waves of migration that occurred during the early 1900s. One of the largest influxes of migrants came from Italy, many from the Reggio Calabria region. (Time expired)