Sada-e-Watan Sydney ™
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Hon. Bob Carr was Chief Guest of Iftar Party hosted by Senator Sam Dastyari
On the evening of Saturday 19 July, an Iftar party was hosted by Sam Dastyari at Oasis Function Centre in Quakers Hill, Sydney. The Iftar party in Western Sydney was headlined by Chief Guest, Hon. Bob Carr - former Foreign Minister of Australia and Former Premier of NSW. Notable guests also included NSW Opposition Leader Hon. John Robertson MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer Hon. Ed Husic MP & Maulana Nizam Ul Haq Thanvi. Also in attendance were many community leaders from different organisations. The office of Senator Sam Dastyari was responsible for putting together the event and this was very ably done by Aisha Amjad.
The event was attended by over 200 people from a diverse range of multicultural communities. Many Australians from different backgrounds were present, including guests of Afghani, Bangladeshi, Fijian, Pakistani, Indian, Turkish and Arabic origin among others. The host, Sam Dastyari, himself is an Australian who originally migrated from Iran with his parents as a child.
Proceedings began with a Tilaawat by Maulana Nizam Ul Haq Thanvi who followed this with a brief speech. Hon. John Robertson, the Member for Blacktown, then took the stage and gave a commendable speech recognising the important contribution that Muslim Australians have made to Australian society. Host of the evening Senator Sam Dastyari was next to take the stage, he spoke about his joy at seeing so many people in attendance at his Iftar party. Senator Dastyari then introduced the Chief Guest Bob Carr, outlining the great level of respect he held for the Former Foreign Minister of Australia.
Hon. Bob Carr took the stage and immediately spoke about the recent conflict occurring in Gaza where a teenage Palestinian child was kidnapped and burnt alive to a torturous death. Mr Carr then went on to highlight the plight of the Palestinians and mention their ongoing suffering under military occupation by Israel. Bob Carr outlined the differences in policy position on the Middle East by the Labor and Liberal Parties. Mr Carr concluded his speech by thanking the organisers before leaving the stage to a round of applause.
Dinner was served and proceedings were adjourned before a range of community leaders took to the stage delivering speeches on behalf of their respective organisations. The evening was concluded with a vote of thanks by Hon. Ed Husic MP- who is the Federal Member of Parliament for the Quakers Hill area.
