Marion Scrymgour:Celebrating Alice Springs’ rich cultural diversity

Our shared cultures connect us and drive our appreciation of the many benefits diversity offers our community, our workplaces and economy, writes Marion Scrymgour.

Despite its remote location, Alice Springs is a culturally rich modern town.

Known by its Arrernte name, Mparntwe, Alice Springs has a strong Aboriginal presence and history.

The Aboriginal Central and Eastern Arrernte people are the traditional custodians of Alice Springs, having lived here for tens of thousands of years.

At the 2021 Census there were 5343 Aboriginal people living in Alice Springs.

They represented 21 per cent of the total Alice Springs population, with the main language and cultural groups being Arrernte, Warlpiri, Western Arrarnta, Pitjantjara and Luritja.

Migration has also played a huge role in shaping Alice Springs.

One of the first migrants to Alice Springs were people travelling from the Middle East, hired as cameleers.

Multicultural Community Services of Central Australia committee and staff, left to right – Vanessa Pannan, Joy Taylor, Hilda Reeder, Josefina Wahing, Gagandeep Rahl, Gunalan Sivachelvan and Navin Bhatnagar.

Today, according to the 2021 Census, 6797 people live in Alice Springs who were born overseas, making up 22 per cent of the total population.

Of these, 31 per cent had arrived in Australia in the past five years.

Outside the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand, the most common countries of our overseas born are India and Philippines, followed by Nepal, China, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Like many parts of Australia, Alice Springs suffers from labour shortages that act as an impediment to business and economic growth.

Skilled migration, particularly employer sponsored temporary and permanent migration, offer businesses in this town greater workforce stability.

Marion Scrymgour MP, Federal Member for Lingiari

It also fills significant labour gaps with workers who cannot be recruited locally.

Many of our migrants go on to become Australian citizens.

Over the past 12 months 138 new citizens were conferred in Alice Springs.

I acknowledge the importance of this step, and I thank them for their commitment to Australia and our values.

It was my great pleasure to join the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, and the Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Julian Hill, in a multicultural celebration held in Alice Springs on Thursday, October 18, 2024.

Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator the Hon. Malarndirri McCarthy, the Hon Julian Hill MP Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Marion Scrymgour MP Member for Lingiari.

This event was hosted by the Multicultural Community Services of Central Australia, which has been supporting people coming to Alice Springs from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds since 1985.

The event was well attended, with over 80 guests, entertainers and community leaders.

We thoroughly enjoyed meeting these proud Territorians who now call Alice Springs home and joining in with them to celebrate their rich cultural diversity.

Traditional Lion Dance.

I congratulate the Multicultural Community Services of Central Australia for its exemplary work and leadership as the only organisation helping people from all backgrounds make a life for themselves and their families in Alice Springs.

I embrace the deep multicultural layers that make up modern Alice Springs.

From the Arrernte people as traditional owners of this land to the many other Aboriginal people and families visiting or living here, we join with our newly arrived migrants to celebrate the richly diverse, inclusive and welcoming society Alice Springs has become today.

Our shared cultures connect us and drive our appreciation of the many benefits diversity offers our community, our workplaces and economy.

Marion Scrymgour is the Federal Member for Lingiari