Peppi Bueti

Director, Sunny Comms

I was born in a small country town on the South Australian, Victoria border called Mt Gambier. My parents migrated from Italy in the mid-1950s and met in Mt Gambier where they married and raised 5 children while running a number of businesses including a caravan park.

In October 2014, just four months before he passed away, my father was awarded an OAM for his services to the local Mt Gambier community.

I am a proud Australian with strong Italian heritage and while I’ve lived on the Sunshine Coast for the longest period of my life, Mt Gambier is still my spiritual home.

My work background is public relations and marketing, that’s what I studied at university, and it’s been my career since I graduated way back in 1991. I am glad I am quite good at it because I don’t have too many other skills!

After living in Adelaide and Brisbane, my wife and I moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2001 and our first son was born a year later, our second son followed in 2006. The Coast is definitely home for us, I love the lifestyle and the generosity of the local community. We live in a community where you feel compelled to get involved and help out where you can. Some friends who live elsewhere really don’t understand this and think I have higher ambitions, but I don’t. Helping others is part of our region’s DNA.

I joined the inaugural Sunshine Coast Multicultural Advisory Group (MAG) in 2018 and it’s been a great journey. I wanted to support the local multicultural community and educate myself about racism and how we can make a difference both individually and collectively. I’m particularly inspired by the work my late father did to make Mt Gambier a welcoming place for migrants and refugees and if I can play a similar role here on the Sunshine Coast then that would be incredibly rewarding.

With my role on the Maroochydore Chamber of Commerce, and operating my own business, I like to think I bring a commercial dimension to MAG by creating links to the local business community. I hope this has benefited the national award-winning Migrant Work Ready program which Sunshine Coast Council undertakes in collaboration with the Maroochydore Chamber of Commerce and a number of highly engaged local businesses.

The Migrant Work Ready program is one of the most rewarding community programs I have been involved with as it has helped transform the lives of our local migrant community and ensure they are ‘work ready’. Many have gone on to find rewarding jobs in their chosen careers which is great for them, and it really benefits our local community both socially and economically. Other programs which MAG have supported include the Welcome Hub and the Welcome Cities program.

Somewhere along the line we’ve forgotten that those affected by war, crime, poverty and now climate issues are all human beings placed in unfortunate situations. While my parents were welcomed to Australia when they arrived in the 1950s, their journey was not easy. Dad would tell us the story that despite being a qualified mechanic in Italy, his papers were not recognised in Australia so he would visit various local mechanic shops and offer to work for free for a week, sweeping floors doing whatever was required to get a foot in the door, I am sure it was a humbling experience for him, but it certainly drove him onto greater things later in life.

Migrants and refugees are the most courageous people I know. They deserve our respect and support.

Why did you become a patron for this campaign?

Growing up in a regional community of 20,000 people, racism was definitely prevalent, but we never spoke about racism at home. We were taught to be proud of who we were and where we came from and while that was challenging in my teenage years, it has stood me in good stead over the years. I guess I was partly shielded by a large local Italian population in Mt Gambier, and I was fortunate enough to be related in some way or another to the vast majority of them! We also had a big soccer and community club where we could enjoy the very things that make our community unique. I’m so pleased to see this community continue to evolve and thrive.

I believe everyone has a responsibility to become anti-racist. I’m sure over the years I’ve said and done some things that I would frown upon now. So, it’s all about public education and understanding that any form of racism is not acceptable. When people say things like, ‘I’m not racist but’ or ‘This is probably going to sound racist but’ then you know everything before the word ‘but’ is a lie! I’m all for a joke and having a good time but this type of comments is not necessary in this day and age.

I also have a simple message for all migrants which has been passed onto me by my father and reinforced by a good friend, local business leader Ferre De Deyne. These are:

• Learn the local language. This is paramount
• Get involved in the community i.e. sport, charity, school, church etc
• Keep your traditions and culture and share them whenever you can.

Australia is and always will be a multicultural country, and we should celebrate how successful migrants have contributed to our country. Have we done a good job? Yes. Can we be even better? Absolutely. It all starts with education and acceptance and that’s the role I want to play in our community.