Vannakam
It is a joy and privilege to be here with you to celebrate Deepavali, and to be doing so at what has become such a wonderful Sydney landmark.
I’m grateful to your excellent local member, my friend Andrew Charlton, for having me along.
The Sydney Murugan Temple draws in people from all walks of life every day. And when there’s a festival, they can number in their thousands.
It is a sign of your great strength of faith. It is a sign of your great strength of culture. Crucially, it is a sign of the great strength of your community and the deeply valued place it has in the great story of modern Australia.
It also represents a wonderful growth of the thriving South Asian community that calls NSW home, particularly here in Western and Greater Western Sydney.
The Murugan Temple is a place for the practice of faith. It has been a sanctuary for our Tamil community and our broader South Asian community.
It has been a warm and welcoming landing pad for so many new migrants who have come to Australia to make their home here and take their place among all of us in the big picture.
And it has in so many ways been the glue in this great community, providing support, strengthening existing connections, and fostering the establishment of new ones.
Just as this temple has become a beloved Sydney landmark, so Deepavali has become a core part of the Australian calendar, a cherished addition to the great diversity of our society – the diversity that is our greatest strength as a nation.
Deepavali – this great Festival of Lights – is a celebration of joy. Of hope. Of togetherness.
What it adds up to is a profoundly beautiful celebration of faith and culture – one that is so deeply important to Hindu Australians, and one that ultimately lifts all of us as a nation.
With its celebration of the victory of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance, it affirms the ideals that inspire Australians across our continent.
The rituals and traditions of Deepavali are in every way an expression of community, culture and heritage.
It’s a moment to enjoy the company of loved ones, and to reflect on the extraordinary and powerful gift that is the shared inheritance of centuries of tradition.
I thank the board and the all-important volunteers for inviting us today.
May the glow of this beautiful festival light your days.
May it bring you peace and joy.
And may you all have a wonderful Deepavali.
