VHP Australia State Presidents with Swami jiVHP Australia State Presidents with Swami ji

The Vishva Hindu Parishad of Australia Inc. (VHP) brought together 250 delegates representing the Hindu community organisations, media representatives, businesses, professionals, and politicians across Australia at the 7th Australian National Hindu Conference, organised at Novotel Parramatta on April 20, 2024.

The Chief guest of the Conference, Hon Chris Bowen, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy congratulated Vishva Hindu Parishad of Australia for their stewardship of the Hindu community and said that the message of tolerance and acceptance ‘World is one family’ promoted by VHP is very timely considering the unfortunate incidents in Sydney in previous week.

In his keynote address, Sushyanth Subramanian from Hindu Youth Australia highlighted that as per 2021 census, the Hindu community has more qualified and high-income earners as compared to the Australian average. He concluded that Hindus are not just surviving but thriving in Australia.

Mr Warren Kirby, MP and Member for Riverstone NSW reflected on his trip to India and witnessing the celebrations on the street for construction of Ram Mandir and highlighted the need for Australian society to adopt the Hindu principles of ‘World is one family’ and respect for everyone.

Hugh McDermott MP, the State Member for Prospect praised VHP for their work at the grassroot level, teaching language to children and supporting community during COVID.

Hon Scott Farlow MLC, who has been a strong supporter of Vishva Hindu Parishad in the NSW Parliament, also congratulated the Vishva Hindu Parishad of Australia for their leadership of the Hindu community and assured the Hindu community of his support. He cited the bipartisan support of all the parliamentarians on the dais to VHP in March 2021 when the parliament passed a resolution endorsing the credentials of VHP and defending them from unfortunate and illegitimate attacks by the Australian Greens party.

Mr. Murray Norman, CEO, Better Balanced Futures encouraged the Hindu organisations to speak up against religious bullying and NSW is coming up with a legislation to protect people from being attacked because of their faith.

All elected representatives from Federal, State and Local government and leaders of interfaith group acknowledged the positive contribution of the Hindu community in one voice and thanked and congratulated VHP for leading the conversation on how to not just coexist but ‘thrive together’.

The 8th Australian National Hindu Conference will be held in Perth on 3 May 2025 and VHP Western Australia looks forward to welcoming all the delegates to come together and collaborate in this effort to build a united Hindu community that makes Australia strong and prosperous.