Meet Nalliah Suriyakumaran for Darebin
Central Ward
If you are a voter in the Central Ward of Darebin, this is why you may consider to vote for Nalliah Suriyakumaran
If elected, Nulliah’s priorities will be:
- Darebin Council commitment to multiculturalism is very superficial. Push the Council to showcase and celebrate the rich and diverse migrant cultures in the community.
- Ensure Council services are designed to meet the special needs of migrant communities.
- Ensure number of migrants accessing Council services are consistent with their population in Darebin.
- Push the Council to offer voluntary positions for recently arrived skilled migrants seeking Australian experience.
- Push the Council to pay a symbolic rent to the First nation people.
- In the post covid environment, we are witnessing increased rascim towards the ” other ” (Africans and Asians )
- To minimise rascim of the ” other ” , the Council must articulate a narrative that all of us ; First nation People , and migrants from around the world are ” fair dinkum ” Australians.
- The unstated narrative is that the British migrants are not viewed as migrants. Asians Chinese and Africans are viewed as migrants.
Do you think your local council is appropriately representative of your community and its interests?
My experience of migrant communities engagement in political space as a chairperson of Darebin Ethnic Communities Council is unfortunately limited to their narrow community issues.
We need to push the Council to create space and opportunity for migrants to engage in social and political issues faced by the broader community.
Nulliah’s pitch to potential voter is:
Dear voter,
Please read my priorities and my candidates statement.
if my political assesment is valid , please vote for me.
Do you think migrant communities are appropriately looked after by the mainstream political parties in Victoria?
Main stream party policies are not framed to meet the needs or concern of migrants. Unfortunately migrant needs are invisible to policy makers of main stream parties. Migrant failure to engage in significant numbers reinforces the invisibility.
What do you miss most about your country of origin here or what do you fondly remember?
I’m a Tamil from Sri Lanka. My beautiful childhood memories were tarnished by the terrible experience of ethnic violence.