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- 14 May 2004
Tamil Study Centre
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Page: 9098
Ms VIRGINIA JUDGE (Strathfield) [12.05 p.m.]: I inform the House of the annual cultural festival of the Tamil Study Centre in Homebush. It has been a great joy to watch the Tamil Study Centre develop and grow since its inception in 1987. The centre began by providing after-school hours tuition in the Tamil language and now teaches students at the Higher School Certificate level. In an Australian first, the Homebush Public School, where the centre is based, has initiated Tamil language classes as part of the normal school curriculum. The study of community languages at school is not only beneficial for children from Tamil backgrounds but also assists other students in gaining a greater understanding of people from different cultural backgrounds. The Carr Labor Government is proud to continue to support the Tamil Study Centre. Late last year the Government provided funding for the school to develop the lesson plans to assist the centre to maintain and develop the language.
At the cultural evening, students presented excellent Tamil dances. I always enjoy seeing young people take so much pleasure in learning about their culture. The teachers at the centre should be proud of the tremendous work they do. Ensuring the success of a community language school requires commitment not only from teachers, students and parents but also from community leaders, the local school, the wider community, the council and the Government. The Tamil Study Centre's committee has managed to galvanise the support of all those different elements to harness their energy and has tried to do something wonderful for the next generation. I congratulate the president, Mr V. Sooriakumae; the secretary, Mr N. S. Gowrythasan; the treasurer, Mr K. G. Bascaran; the vice-president, Mr R. Jeyamanokar; the assistant secretary, Mr S. Somaskanthan; the assistant treasurer, Mr K. Linganathan; the education officer, Mr N. M. Naresh; the cultural officer, Mr S. Suntherades; the welfare officer, Mr S. Chandramohan; the principal, Mrs K. Jrganathan; and the deputy principals, Mrs N. Dayalan and Mr T. Arulanantham.
The commitment of the Tamil community to education and achievement must be commended. Language is inexorably bound to culture: It is the window through which we view our world. It dictates the way we describe our ideas, experiences and aspirations. It informs our stories, our poetry and our art. It controls almost every facet of our lives in some way. Children who grow up learning two languages are indeed lucky because they more comprehensively understand the cultures of the community. That can be particularly beneficial for Australian-born children from families whose parents were born overseas. It can be a way of bridging generation gaps and maintaining culture. Our diverse community has a wealth of cultural and linguistic resources of which we all should be proud. At the time the 2001 census was taken, there were 1,956 people in the Strathfield electorate who reported speaking Tamil at home, which makes Tamil the sixth most commonly spoken language in my electorate. At the Homebush Public School, students with a Tamil background represent almost 50 per cent of the school's total enrolments, which is fantastic.
The New South Wales Government acknowledges that by supporting community language schools as well as fostering the study of languages as part of the school curriculum. I understand that Homebush Public School now offers Tamil. That is of enormous benefit to students, and I congratulate the school on this initiative, which I believe to be a first not only in my electorate of Strathfield but also in the nation. I am pleased that the Government supports people from different backgrounds. This nation has been built upon generation after generation of different nationalities coming to this country and bringing with them their cultures, language and traditions. Indeed, we always acknowledge indigenous Australians, who were here for so long before we arrived.
I acknowledge the hard work of Mr Vijayaratnam, Sundar Eswaran and other community organisations in establishing Tamil as a Higher School Certificate subject. It was a long project, and I am pleased to report that it has been very successful. The project was an election commitment by the Labor Party that we are proud to have delivered. The Tamil community has achieved a lot, especially in education, but the community must work together to ensure that the Tamil Study Centre can expand and flourish in the future. I thank the centre for the invitation to attend the festival. I always enjoy attending the centre's functions, which are so well organised and run. I congratulate the teachers, students, parents and everyone else involved on their truly outstanding work.
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