By Revatha S. Silva Living in a different country tens of thousands of miles away from your motherland, you would certainly feel nostalgia and isolation. It’s in such a forlorn situation that the Government of your “new home” should become your greatest friend and saviour. Sri Lankans living and serving in Australia, particularly in Melbourne, have that “fortune”; one of their representatives at the Australian Parliament strives to make them feel like they’re a part of the large, multicultural Aussie family. His name is Jason Peter Wood, the MP of the Australian House of Representatives for La Trobe, one of the electoral divisions in the State of Victoria located in the east of Melbourne. Wood was re-elected last May as the La Trobe MP from the Liberal Party in Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s new Government. Renowned for his efforts in creating racial harmony and understanding among communities in the region of La Trobe for almost 15 years, Wood first became MP in 2004 and since then won all six elections, barring one (2010). Throughout his tenure as an MP, Wood was seen as one of the closest friends of all Sri Lankans living there. “I’ve been living in Australia for almost three decades. I can say that Jason Wood’s relations with the Lankan community in Victoria are phenomenal,” said journalist Vernon Tissera, who hails from Chilaw and presently lives in Melbourne. “Building bridges and fostering multiculturalism are his forte,” affirmed Tissera, talking further on Wood, who first began his career as a police officer, once serving as a senior sergeant of the Victoria Police Counter Terrorism Unit. During early days as a politician, Wood earned a name for his activities as an environmentalist serving in “the parliamentary standing committee on environment and heritage”. “He recently accompanied present Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to the famous Sakyamuni Sambuddha Vihara, the temple of the late Gangodawila Soma Thera, situated in Berwick. It was one of the most memorable occasions for the Lankans who were present there that day. The humility and generosity the two leaders displayed were truly heart-warming,” Tissera told The Sunday Morning. “Wood’s continuous electoral victories are owed largely to his close relations with the Indian, African, Sudanese, and Afghan immigrants living here in the thousands. But his ‘first love’ seems very much towards the Lankans,” explained Tissera. Wood is, rightfully, the present Scott Morrison Government’s Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety, and Multicultural Affairs. By working hand in hand with the Sri Lankan community, Wood strives to turn the Government’s eye to address their inherent cultural needs. According to Tissera, Wood’s philosophy is: “Everyone should feel proud about their own cultural roots and their language. The government is there to encourage that feeling.” Tissera went on: “You may be a Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, or Burgher having various religious and cultural backgrounds, but in Australia, and mainly in La Trobe, you feel as one – an equal part of a vivid, multifaceted society. MP Wood has served remarkably for years to get us that understanding.”