By Max Hatzoglou
Braybook’s Quang Minh Buddhist Temple will be upgraded if Labor wins the upcoming federal election.
Fraser MP Daniel Mulino and opposition multicultural affairs spokesperson Andrew Giles visited the temple last year to pledge $100,000 in funding.
The proposed upgrade includes new roofing and improved accessibility for the elderly and community members with a disability.
The Quang Minh Buddhist Temple is one of the main centres for community gatherings and the expression of faith for Vietnamese Buddhists in the west of Melbourne.
Mr Giles said the investment would help celebrate and share the tradition of Australia’s Vietnamese Buddhist community.
Mr Mulino said the upgrade would help with economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by creating jobs.
“Quang Minh Temple plays an important role in the lives of many Buddhists across Fraser and the west and I am delighted that Labor’s new investment will help sustain the outstanding contribution that Quang Minh Temple and its members make to our community,” he said.
Quang Minh Temple abbot Thich Phuoc Tan said the upgrades would provide a great opportunity for more people to connect.
“Physically all the buildings will be connected so it will be weatherproof when people are moving from one hall to another but it will also mean different generations will be able to connect together,” Mr Phuoc Tan said.
“At the moment, when we hold activities we tend to localise in just one building now this connection will help them to come together but it also means that we will be able to expand our range of our activities.
“It is a very important development for the future.”
