Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge that today is Indian Independence Day. As co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of India and as a parliamentarian with 6,300 constituents with an Indian background, or roughly 4½ per cent of my electorate, I'm pleased to acknowledge this important day for India and for the broader Indian diaspora.

Independence Day commemorates the passage of the Indian Independence Act through the British parliament on 15 August 1947. This action transferred legislative control over the Indian subcontinent from the British parliament to the Indian people. The following day, commencing a tradition that carries through to this day, Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, raised the Indian national flag over the Lahori Gate at the Red Fort in Delhi, and gave an address to the nation. India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has recently finished participating in the same ceremony. The Prime Minister called for India to be 'bharat jodo', a united India. He said, 'We should celebrate 15 August 2017 as Sankalp Parva or the Day of Resolve. We have to take a pledge to quit uncleanliness, poverty, terrorism, casteism and communalism from India.'

Independence Day is observed all over India as a national holiday with flag-raising ceremonies, parades and cultural events. Schools and government agencies give out sweets to commemorate the sweetness of freedom. On Saturday night, I attended the Council of Indian Australians' annual Independence Day celebrations at Blacktown, organised by Mohit Kumar and Sanjay Deshwal. As part of the celebrations, the council produced a Bollywood-style video with local Indian members of the community retelling important moments from India's history, from the Indian Mutiny through to Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence to the proclamation of Indian independence.

India is of growing importance to Australia today. Two and a half per cent of Australians, or roughly 600,000 people, have an Indian ancestry. India is the world's largest democracy; it's a major regional and strategic power. India is Australia's fifth-largest export market and our 10th-largest trading partner overall. Investment has grown significantly over the past decade, as have tourist flows between the two countries. Over 200,000 Indians came to Australia as tourists last year. India is the largest source of skilled migration to Australia and the second-largest source of international students, with over 60,000 Indians enrolled to study in Australia. India is the world's fastest-growing major economy with forecast growth of seven per cent in 2017 and between 7.5 and 7.8 per cent growth to 2020. By 2030, India is projected to be the world's third-largest economy. I want to take the opportunity on this Indian Independence Day to wish my Indian constituents and friends Bharat Ki aazardi ki varsh-ghant ki Badhai—happy Indian Independence Day.