Our Pacific Diaspora

The Incredible Contributions of our Pacific Diaspora

VIDEO

I rise to speak about the Pacific diaspora in our nation and in my electorate of Lalor and the people-to-people relationships they create for us with our friendships and place in the Pacific. In Wyndham, we are proud to be home to the second-largest Pasifika population in Victoria, with more than 10,000 Pacific Islanders across the local government area. In Lalor and in Gellibrand, the Pacific is not foreign policy; it's family.

I've seen firsthand the vibrancy of this community—its music and church on Sundays, its youth groups, sports clubs and cultural festivals on the weekends. It's the voices and energy of young people proud of who they are and determined to shape their future. For example, at the Grange prep to 12 college, that pride is on full display. Their Sports Science Academy is thriving, driven in no small part by the engagement of Pacific Islander families. It's building more than athletes; it's building confidence, discipline and aspiration. Local sisters Uneeq and Beyonce Palavi, former students of Grange's Sports Science Academy and proud Tongan Australians, recently represented Tonga at the PacificAus Sports netball series. They are not just athletes; they are cultural ambassadors and an inspiration to young people across Lalor and beyond.

This is why the Albanese government is investing in PacificAus Sports, supporting both grassroots and elite participation. I know firsthand some of the results from the PacificAus Sports program. They bring people joy in the streets of my community. We know that sport changes lives. In Fiji, women's rugby has surged from 18 to over 80 teams. In PNG, a country with over 800 languages, the dream of a national NRL team is uniting the nation. In my community, in Wyndham, clubs like the Werribee Bears and Wyndham Rhinos do more than host games. They build belonging for my Pasifika communities.

The Albanese government understands that real Pacific engagement begins with people. That's why we've expanded the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme—the PALM scheme, as it's known—with over 30,000 Pacific workers now contributing to industries across regional Australia. These workers are helping to fill critical labour shortages, especially in agriculture, aged care and hospitality.

Just last month I visited Fresh Select in Werribee South, one of Australia's largest lettuce and brassica growers, with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Julie Collins. There we met PALM workers from Vanuatu. What I saw wasn't just a workforce. It was a relationship—a deep and personal link between our countries, built on trust, contribution and mutual respect.

These workers don't just support local businesses. They support families back home. On average long-term PALM workers send home up to $15,000 a year in remittances, money that helps to raise children, fund education and strengthen Pacific communities. Seasonal workers remit around $1,000 a month. That's why Labor also took action to protect Pacific banking access when commercial banks threatened to cut off key services. What may seem like a technical policy issue in Canberra has very real impacts in places like Wyndham, Apia and Suva, where families rely on safe and affordable ways to send money home.

But we're not stopping there. Over the next four years 1,500 Pacific workers will complete formal Australian qualifications, including in sectors like aged care, construction and hospitality. That's how we deliver not just jobs but skills, dignity and long-term opportunity.

In the Pacific, stronger relationships are built on respect, trust and time—not just words but action. That's how this government is engaging with the region, and that's how we're working with the Pasifika communities here at home in Lalor and across the country. We're not just building policy; we're building partnerships. And in communities like mine we're already seeing results.

I'm proud to represent this community and proud to be part of a government that is delivering real outcomes for Pasifika communities here and for our neighbours across the blue Pacific. I just want to give a shout-out to a group of Pasifika women in my community who have established themselves as a co-op, if you like. They have had input into policy ideas in our work in DFAT for years now—a quick text, because they've all been together and said, 'You know, there's a lack of emergency services training for Pasifika.' It's these things that bring these countries together.