The Hon. Michelle Rowland
Federal Member for Greenway
Minister for Communications
The Hon. Andrew Giles
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs
Federal Member for Scullin
Wednesday, 26 July 2023
MINISTER GILES VISITS NSW’S MULTICULTURAL CAPITAL
Today Australia’s Federal Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon. Andrew Giles MP, visited NSW’s most multicultural suburb – Blacktown – with local Federal Member, the Hon. Michelle Rowland.
The North West Sydney suburb of Blacktown has a total of 133 nationalities, the highest in the state of NSW and the third highest nationally.
In NSW, Blacktown also has the highest number of different languages spoken at home (72), followed by Liverpool (69) according to the ABS.
During Minister Giles’ trip to the North West Sydney suburb, he used the opportunity to discuss issues concerning local multicultural communities. This includes the Albanese Government’s action to tackle migrant worker exploitation, and our success in bringing the Citizenship backlog to its lowest in six years.
Ministers Giles and Rowland visited community leaders at the following locations:
- Saint Abanoub and The Holy Apostles Coptic Orthodox Church, Blacktown;
- Shree Swaminarayan Mandir (ISSO) Temple, Blacktown;
- Gurdwara Sahib Temple, Glenwood; and
- Baitul Huda Ahmadiyya Mosque, Marsden Park.
Additionally, they visited Blacktown’s popular Indian Restaurant, Radhe Chatpata House in Blacktown for lunch.
Quotes attributable to the Hon. Michelle Rowland, Minister for Communications and Federal Member for Greenway:
“The multicultural diversity here in Blacktown is our strength – it’s what makes this part of Australia so special.
It was a tremendous pleasure to welcome Minister Giles to our electorate, and connect him with a handful of our region’s community leaders from across the board.
The Albanese Government is committed to embracing cultural diversity and fostering mutual respect across this country.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles:
“It’s great to be back in western Sydney, and I would like to thank Minister Rowland for her invitation and her strong advocacy for multicultural communities.
“Western Sydney is a vibrant and diverse region that brings together people from various tradition and customs, creating a unique tapestry of experience and cultures.
“The Albanese Government takes pride in fostering and strengthening multiculturalism and supporting the need of the diverse communities and there’s no better place to celebrate this than in Western Sydney.”
[ENDS.]
