The library of the Parliament of New South Wales hosted a rare evening of cross-faith dialogue on Thursday, as Indians in Sydney convened Shared Future – Interfaith Collaboration for Peace and Prosperity, drawing the Premier, the Leader of the NSW Nationals, the Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism, faith leaders and community organisations from across the state.
The event was hosted by Warren Kirby MP, Member for Riverstone, representing the Minister for Multiculturalism Steve Kamper MP. Founded in 2007 by Nadeem Ahmed, Indians in Sydney has grown from a small community initiative into a platform that now convenes interfaith conversations at the state’s most senior civic forum.
Opening the evening, Nadeem Ahmed framed the gathering as practical work rather than symbolic ritual. “Diversity does not automatically create unity. Trust does,” he told the room. “Peace is not the absence of difference, it is the presence of respect. Every time people choose to respect before they judge, and understand before they respond, something changes.” He closed with the evening’s recurring refrain: “Many faiths, one community, one shared future.”
Premier Chris Minns acknowledged the urgency that has shaped the event since it was first proposed to him in September last year, in the wake of racist attacks on the subcontinent community. After the December terror attack in Bondi, he said, “what was a good idea became absolutely necessary.”
Mr Minns argued that Parliament House could not function only as a chamber of contest. “Parliament House can’t just be a place of debate and division. It has to be also a symbol of unity and progress.”
He drew on data to push back on narratives that frame migration as a burden. The labour force participation rate among Indian Australians sits at 85 per cent against a national average of 65 per cent, he noted, and two-thirds of the community hold advanced tertiary qualifications, twice the national figure. “This is a group of Australians who have come to this country with the sole purpose of making Australia better. We’re lucky to have you.”
Mark Coure MP, Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism, conveyed the support of NSW Liberal Leader Kellie Sloane MP and spoke of the need for more spaces for inter-community understanding. NSW Nationals Leader Gurmesh Singh MP offered a personal account of his family’s generations-long connection to Australia, a story that grounded the evening’s broader themes in lived experience.
Keynote contributions came from Steve Killelea AM, founder of the Institute for Economics and Peace; Dr Jane Fulton of the Sydney Peace Foundation; and Ahmet Polat, who spoke on the value of building bridges across cultures.
The panel that followed was moderated by Nandini Sen Mehra, Culture Editor at NRI Affairs and a representative of Hindus for Human Rights Australia. It brought together Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Sikh and Hindu voices: Gurnam Singh, Pandit Jatin Kumar Bhatt, Paul Sedrak, Dr Ali Alsamail, Rabbi Dr David Slavin, and Rev. Geoff. Melissa Monteiro of the Community Migrant Resource Centre anchored the conversation around the most vulnerable, refugees and migrants in need. Simon Chan, Chair of the Multicultural NSW Advisory Board, also addressed the gathering.
Writing about the evening, Ms Sen Mehra noted that Indians are now the largest overseas-born group in Australia, with more than 971,000 residents making up around 5.2 per cent of the population. That historic growth, she observed, comes against a backdrop of rising racist attacks and othering, compounded for minorities within the diaspora as far-right forces push ethno-nationalistic agendas.
Three themes emerged from the panel, she wrote. First, “true interfaith understanding involves a negotiation between diverse beliefs, practices, and cultures,” with honest truth-telling deepening rather than diminishing community ties. Second, the need for direct people-to-people contact, especially among young people, with food and sport as natural connectors. Third, that racism is a whole-of-society problem requiring “less judgement, more introspection, greater building of bridges, not walls.”
The evening was emceed by Radio Girl Ekta. Other MPs in attendance included Donna Davis, Nathan Hagarty, Tim James, Charishma Kaliyanda and Hugh McDermott. Local government was represented by Councillor Ashiq Rahman on behalf of Campbelltown Mayor Darcy Lound; Camden Councillor Dr Abha Suri; Ku-ring-gai Councillor Barbara Ward; and Councillor Hady Saleh representing Canterbury Bankstown Mayor Bilal El-Hayek.
Alongside the politicians stood faith leaders, multicultural organisations and community representatives from across NSW, the constituency that any future built on interfaith trust will ultimately depend on.
