EMBARGOED AGAINST DELIVERY*.
AT l. OOPM PRM MINISTER! A
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
THE INAUGURATION OF ST. CHARBEEJ'S MONASTRY AND COLLEGE
PUNCHBOWL SUNDAY 10 MARCH 1985
Premier Neville Wran, Abbot Paul Naaman, ministerial
colleagues, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It gives me great pleasure to be with you on this
important day for the inauguration of St. Charbel's
Monastery and College.
When I look around here I am impressed by what has been
accomplished in such a short time by the Maronite Order
of monks since their small beginning in Punchbowl in
1973.
Abbot Naaman, who laid the foundation of St. Charbel's
College on his last visit here in March 1982, will be
delighted today to see stage one of the college built
and operational and also the adjoining monastery
building which will serve your community well.
It is a credit to the monks and your community that
these buildings have been built in such a short time to
Join, I understand, another nine missions around the
world. It is yet another landmark in the long story of major
contributions by the Lebanese community to Australian
society. Many of you here today have chosen to build your lives
in Australia because of the tragedies which have
overtaken your homeland, Lebanon.
My Government shares your sorrow at what has happened in
Lebanon. Lebanon has been enveloped by tragedy, and has
become the focus for some of the most intense and
intractable problems in the Middle East. We have all
been witness to that tragedy, but our policy towards
Lebanon is not that of a detached and disinterested
observer. All of us here hope that warfare, tragedy, loss of life
and suffering in Lebanon may soon come to an end. We
2.
are deeply concerned that a peaceful resolution of the
conflict be found.
In this context we welcome Israel's plan for a phased
withdrawal, the first phase of which has already been
implemented. All other foreign armed forces must also
be removed, and only those remain which are there at the
express wish of the Government of Lebanon.
As I have said many times before, it will only be when
this happens that the people of Labanon will be able to
resume a normal and peaceful life. Australia, for its
part, supports fully the efforts of the Lebanese
Government to restore its authority over the entire
territory of Lebanon and looks forward to the day when,
with the return of true independence, national
reconciliation without further bloodshed will be
achieved.
2 One of Australia's greatest strengths has been its
acceptance of people from quite diverse nationalities
around the world.
Our plurality and diversity is a national asset to be
cherished and safeguarded.
We live in a society which, while supporting a common
group of institutions, legal rights and obligations,
leaves individuals free to maintain their religion,
language and customs. In this way, all the communities
such as your own, contribute to the richness and
traditions of our nation. The resulting broad racial
and social consensus is a great achievement.
For its part, the Government aims to promote a just and
equitable society that
accepts people irrespective of their ethnic or
cultural background and
provides members of the different cultural groups
and ethnic communities in Australia with the
effective opportunity to participate in Australian
society and to achieve their own potential.
Maintenance of our non-discriminatory immigration
program is crucial. Through it we aim to meet
Australia's social and humanitarian obligations while
accommodating prevailing domestic economic conditions.
Side by side with our immigration program, the
Australian Government also attaches great importance to
developing programs in the community which will assist
migrants to feel part of our country to feel
Australian,
3.
Since assuming office in 1983 the Labor Government has
moved to strengthen many of the programs developed to
address the needs of migrants. For instance we have
increased from 140 to more than 200 the number of
grants-in-aid to employ multilingual welfare
workers launched a migrant workers rights scheme
extended and strengthened the migrant resource
centre network
increased funding of the adult migrant education
program and
boosted funding for translator and interpreter
services.
Through our community relations policies we will
continue to encourage communities such as yours to
maintain and share their cultural heritage with other
Australians. In this regard it is pleasing that the Lebanese
Community Council of New South Wales was launched two
weeks ago. It should provide a framework for
co-ordinating settlement support to the dispersed
Lebanese community in New South Wales.
While recognizing the political and religious
differences among members of the Council it is
imperative that everyone involved work together for the
common benefit. The Council's work is of the utmost
importance and I wish it well for the future.
People come to this land for a home and security for
their families. High among aspirations of Australians
is access to a good education for their children.
We have a great tradition in Australia of co-operation
between government and the community to meet the special
needs of our-people. This tradition is most important
in its impact on our young people in the development of
Australia's national education system.
One feature which has impacted on our education system
has been the sacrifice that individuals have been
prepared to make to develop non-government schools in
this country.
There has been a great deal of debate about the future
of non-government schools, in particular the
continuation of Commonwealth assistance.
We as a government have grappled with these problems and
have developed a policy that ensures that our education
system copes with the diversity of our society in terms
of abilities, aspirations and needs.
Schools such as your own are an integral part of that
system.
Our new scheme of assistance recognises that parents may
choose a non-government schooling for their children,
for any of a number of reasons be they educational,
religious or cultural. Our policy acknowledges the
continuing partnership between the Commonwealth, the
States and the school community to ensure a satisfactory
standard of education for all.
It is intended to ensure that assistance should be
firmly based on the principle of need.
Although the first stage of St. Charbel's College was
built from the Lebanese Community's own resources, the
Commonwealth Government provided grants totalling more
than $ 160,000 in 1984 to assist in the establishment of
facilities at the new school, for English language
instruction and to meet general operating costs.
For 1985, your school has been placed in one of the
highest levels for any school seeking Government
support. This will ensure that the College has the
assistance it needs in future years.
The young are our hope and our pride and offer the best
chance for a secure future together. You are providing
the opportunity your children also need to preserve
their ties of family and tradition.
C For our part as a Government we will assist you in your
endeavours to build a great future for all Australians.
The paths along which we are all proceeding are, I
believe, converging to lead to an even richer and more
vibrant soci'ety in the future.