I spoke in Parliament about the barriers faced by many of my constituents in gaining meaningful employment. I focused on those constituents with Iraqi and Syrian backgrounds who have settled in Calwell on the special humanitarian visa. This is a very highly skilled cohort with extensive work experience in their professional fields.

In June this year, a very important health advocacy group was launched by my constituent Agnes Nsofwa and I was absolutely honoured as the Federal Member of Calwell to officially launch the Australian Sickle Cell Advocacy Inc at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Citizenship under this government is one of almost selective discrimination. It's either incompetence or it's deliberate, but the actual slowing down of the process has marred the citizenship process.

Many of my constituents are frustrated by the delays in the citizenship process. Some of them have been waiting for as much as 35 months. Many of them have fled war-torn countries. They're grateful to be here in Australia. They're grateful for the safety and the security that settling in our country offers them. They're grateful for the ability to live in a democratic country and for the opportunities afforded to them.

They want to be able to share our freedoms and obligations in a way that's equal to the other people in the community as an Australian citizen.

Thank you to Tony Zappia MP for raising this important motion on citizenship delays in Parliament.

I congratulated the Tullamarine Men’s Shed in my electorate of Calwell, on the opening of their new and upgraded facilities, which are vital in my electorate in Parliament.

The Shed received funding from multiple partnerships, so I want to thank Hume City Council, Josh Bull the State MP for Sunbury with the Victorian Labor Government, and the Federal Government for making this long-sought upgrade possible. 

 It was with great pleasure I was given the opportunity to second the nomination of the Member for Casey, Tony Smith, as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 46th Parliament. I had the opportunity to work with the Member for Casey as a Member of the Speaker’s Panel in the 45th Parliament and it was clear to us that he was determined to ensure that the integrity of the office of Speaker, and indeed the integrity and dignity of the House of Representatives chamber was upheld at all times.

It is now 45 years since the division of Cyprus -   its Capitol Nicosia the last remaining divided Capital City and in the 45 years, the reunification of Cyprus, is still an outstanding issue.

Commemorative events marking the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey on July 20th 1974 were held across Cyprus and across its diaspora, including Australia. 

Education is the building block to every Australian's life. It's what gives us the ability to function and contribute in our modern society and to build or nation's social cohesion and prosperity. Without access to an affordable and relevant education system, my generation, at a critical time in our post-Second World War nation-building, may never have realised its full potential and therefore gone on to make the contribution it has made. Affordable education and the opportunities it affords were vital for my generation, and it's absolutely important and vital to our generation today.

For my community of Calwell - those of Muslim faith and indeed those of the significant Pacific Island and New Zealand Maori community - the massacre in Christchurch of 50 innocent people, while at prayer at the Al Noor Mosque and at the Linwood Mosque on Friday 15 March, was terrifying. The shock and disbelief they felt was heart wrenching.