Speeches
Thursday, 26 March 2026
Reception for the Refugee Communities Association National Conference
Rod and I warmly welcome you to Government House on the eve of the second Refugee Communities Association of Australia national conference.
I especially thank those of you who have travelled from interstate to be with us this evening.
The Refugee Communities Association of Australia embodies an important principle: that the most authentic expertise comes from lived experience, and that genuine change is made for refugees, with refugees, by refugees.
I thank the Association for its important work, bringing together more than 70 member organisations, and through them, thousands of individuals - people whose resilience, determination and generosity have shaped this nation in ways that are both varied and profound.
South Australia has a particular story to tell in this space.
I think of the Australian Refugee Association, which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary here in this ballroom – half a century of helping people begin new lives and find belonging in a new country.
I think of the Mt Gambier chapter of STTARS - Survivors of Torture, Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service – to whom I presented a Governor’s Multicultural Award in 2023, for its advocacy work and engagement with new arrivals on the Limestone Coast.
I think of the City of Salisbury, the churches, the volunteer networks, the families who have opened their homes and their lives to refugees, and the extraordinary social capital that has, more than any single policy or programme, made South Australia a genuinely welcoming place.
What sets South Australia apart is not simply what government has done, but what community has done - the grassroots advocacy, the community sponsorship models, the neighbours helping neighbours to navigate a new country.
Work that has been undertaken by many of the South Australians here tonight, as well as my distinguished predecessor, the Hon Hieu Van Le, 35th Governor of South Australia and former refugee, who arrived in Adelaide from Vietnam in 1977.
He became the first person of refugee background appointed to a vice-regal role anywhere in Australia – and, so far as we are aware, the world.
Friends,
This reception marks an important opportunity to recognise your unique and important contributions working in or with grassroots refugee communities.
I thank the community leaders, the settlement workers, the advocates, the academics, and the service providers gathered here this evening.
Your work is perhaps more vital now than ever, in a moment where the wisdom of multiculturalism has been questioned, and community support for it has been tested.
I am heartened by the knowledge that in this room, and across this country, there are people working with conviction for a harmonious, culturally diverse society for us all.
I thank the Association for its leadership as a national peak body and for organising a conference that brings together voices of such experience and insight, including a range of outstanding speakers.
I wish you all an enjoyable evening, and I trust you are looking forward to growing your networks and expanding your thinking at tomorrow’s conference.
May your conference be as courageous in its conversations as the delegates who attend it.