New n Old 2018

Q&A 2.0
NCV residents ask the hard-hitting questions – again!
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NCV
COMMUNITY
On Monday 16 April, NCV residents Hayley
Pollock and Ahmed Zafar Iqbal attended the
studio filming of Q&A, with host Virginia
Trioli. The episode’s panellists were Ken Roth
(International Executive Director of Human Rights
Watch), Mitch Fifield (Minister for Communications
and the Arts), Missy Higgins (Australian singersongwriter),
Grahame Morris (Liberal Party strategist
and former Chief of Staff to John Howard), and
Amanda Rishworth (Labor Party frontbencher). The
episode touched on topics as diverse as privacy,
missile strikes, refugees and celebrity activism.
Hayley and Ahmed both had the opportunity to
put questions regarding Syria forward to the panel,
which can be found by searching for the April 16th
program at www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda .
Ahmed asked: “In light of the recent war in Syria,
including the alleged chemical attack on Syrian
civilians and the military response, it’s obvious
that we face a surge of refugees that are fleeing the
region. Should Australia be granting more refugees a
safe haven than it currently is, given especially that
Australia now has a seat on the UN human rights
council?”
Sharing about his experience afterwards Ahmed
said: “Being on Q&A was an amazing experience
and my family back home in Pakistan was
especially pleased after seeing me on the show. I
was really pleased by Ken Roth’s response to my
question, and his response to Grahame Morris.
I agreed with him 100%. Missy Higgins came
through on the answer in a very emotional and
impactful way. I was disappointed with Grahame
Morris’ response and wonder how he would feel
if, through an accident of birth, he was the one
fleeing bombs and war?”
In 2015, the Australian Government announced
that it would make an extra 12,000 humanitarian
places available in response to the conflicts in Syria
and Iraq. These 12,000 places were filled in addition
to Australia’s Humanitarian Program, which totalled
13,750 places for the 2015-16 financial year. The
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) currently estimates there are 65 million
refugees globally.
As always Q&A provided an opportunity for
divergent views and ideas to be explored in a melting
pot, reflecting a range of issues being grappled with
by society. NCV is similar a melting pot in which a
diverse range of ideas are explored in a community
representing over 40 nationalities and communities
from all over NSW and across Australia.
New’n’Old 2018
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