Grand Opening for Hindu temple in Regents Park

The Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Craig Laundy MP, has attended the opening of the Shirdi Sai Temple at Regents Park in Sydney.

The Hindu temple will be a focal point for an expected almost 3,000 devotees each week.

Speaking at the Grand Opening of the temple, Mr Laundy said he was happy to be a part of this historic occasion.

“I thank the Shirdi Sai Baba Society and Shree Shirdi Sai Sansthan Sydney for your continued efforts in promoting messages of love, patience, religious tolerance and equality within your community and more broadly,” Mr Laundy said.

“Places of worship such as the new Shirdi Sai Temple are a crucial part of maintaining our multicultural society.

“Most of the world’s religions are practised in Australia.

“All of our faiths are valued and we take pride that in Australia, our faith communities are cohesive and we do not experience the divisions that some other countries do.

“We are one of the most culturally diverse nations on earth, with almost half of all Australians either born overseas or with at least one parent who was.

“This Grand Opening, and occasions like it, demonstrate, emphatically, the freedom Australians of all backgrounds enjoy in coming together to celebrate their cultural heritage and faith.

“We respect and embrace the rights of all Australians to celebrate, practise and maintain their cultural traditions within the law and free from discrimination.”

Mr Laundy said migrants and refugees, including our many Hindu Australians, have enriched our culture and added to our national story.

There are more than 275,000 Hindus in Australia, according to the latest Census (2011).

“Hindu Australians will continue to play an important role in the social, cultural and economic fabric of our nation in the coming years and decades,” he said.