Australia's first Muslim senator has praised the growing multicultural nature of parliament's upper house, using his first speech to laud the system that allowed his illegal immigrant parents to settle in Australia in the 1970s.
Mehmet Tillem, Labor Senator from Victoria, praised the government of former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser that allowed his father Ramazan Tillem to settle in Australia despite being an illegal immigrant from Turkey.
Senator Tillem noted senators from all sides of politics with immigrant backgrounds, including Labor's Penny Wong, who was born in Malaysia, and Liberal Eric Abetz, who was born in Germany.
"Yet we are all Australians, sharing common Australian values, sharing common civic responsibilities, and all working for the benefit of our common homeland," Senator Tillem said.
"That's one of the things that gives me faith in the future of this country."
Senator Tillem said he was a strong supporter of community, and he would fight against religious discrimination during his time in Parliament.
"I have learnt my whole life that religious discrimination is never the answer but rather a problem," he said.
"If I disagree with any Senator here, it will be on the basis of their political arguments."
He will focus on key issues of boosting organ donations in Australia, and the wider issue of housing affordability.
"It's the dream of most Australians, not to buy a house, but own their own home. The reality for many income families is that home ownership is increasingly out of reach," he said.
Senator Tillem said it was time to review the negative-gearing tax breaks for people who invest in housing.
"Not only does this divert investment from more productive purposes, it also drives up the price of housing, making it much more difficult for young families to buy their own homes," he said.
"I believe it's time to once again have a debate about the effect of negative gearing on housing affordability in our cities."
