What we learned, Sunday 22 February
Thanks for staying with us for today’s news. We’ll wrap up our live coverage there. The wonderful Nick Visser will be back on the blog tomorrow as we enter the final week of February.
Until then, here were Sunday’s top stories:
Tony Burke revealed the government is preparing to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir. He also described Pauline Hanson’s comments about the Sydney suburb of Lakemba as a national security risk.
Dozens of teenagers went overboard as winds capsized boats in a Hobart race.
Emergency warnings for bushfires in Victoria were issued as firefighters battle the blazes..
Thousands of pharmaceutical poppies with “life-threatening” toxicity have been stolen from a Victorian farm, prompting a public health warning.
The Museum of Chinese in Australia has opened in Sydney after years of challenges and development.
The South Australian Labor party is proposing to give “empty nesters” a massive stamp duty saving of up to $103,000.
Suspicious car fires that could be tied to the mistaken kidnapping of grandfather Chris Baghsarian have prompted police calls for information.
And federal police seized 28kg of cocaine hidden in a luxury bus.
Chinese Australians open museum as division on immigration surges
In the face of challenges to multiculturalism and diversity in Australia, the newly-opened Museum of Chinese in Australia’s chief executive, Peter Cai, said Australians love stories about underdogs.
[Chinese Australians] arrived in this country, they work really hard against the backdrop of the White Australia policy, yet achieved incredible success over the time.
The Haymarket museum will open with an exhibition featuring some of Sydney’s biggest merchant families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but Mr Cai said the museum’s goal was not just to tell the local community’s story.
We want to tell the Chinese Australian story as part of the broader Australian historical development, to feature Chinese Australians as part of Australia’s modern nation-building effort.
Multicultural Affairs Minister Anne Aly said the museum shone a light on the ambitions, resilience and determination of Chinese migrants, adding:
These are stories worth remembering, because they deepen our understanding of who we are and strengthen the sense of belonging that underpins our multicultural success.
- AAP
Updated
