Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services CEO Sonia Di Mezza departs

Ms Di Mezza, a human rights lawyer who has worked in legal aid projects across the world, started in the role in 2021, temporarily moving away from her family.

The daughter of two Italian migrants who moved to Australia in the 1950s, said she has used her lived experience of multiculturalism to help newly arrived residents, mostly South Sudanese, the Hazaras and Karen people, to feel at home.

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"The largest speakers of another language used to be the Italians, but now it's the Karen and it's wonderful the Karen are coming here," she said.

Ms Di Mezza said everyone had a contribution to make, and could become part of Australia while retaining their culture.

"The Italians and the Greeks are further on in that journey, some of the recently arrived people will get there too and it's up to us to share our experiences and our knowledge," she said.

The issue Ms Di Mezza said Bendigo's multicultural communities would continue to face is where governments put money.

"Government will look at where the communities are concentrated," she said.

"They'll look at south-west Sydney and they'll look at Melbourne, and they'll look at a place like Bendigo, and the numbers will not be there, so the funds will go to those other areas.

"But the issues that our communities have is the number of services, as a result, is low and they become more isolated."

Ms Di Mezza said multicultural communities were affected by crises, such as housing, more than native residents.

"Housing is a crisis in Bendigo and if you come from a background where you don't have a rental history, you speak another language, you are further down the track in terms of getting something," she said.

She said she had spoken in Canberra on multiple occasions about the importance of the federal government providing grassroots support to communities.

"The federal government will give you five points on your permanent residence visa application if you move to the regional Australia, but for that to happen we need to put more supports in," she said.

"We can't move people into a place of homelessness... we need the supports and services for the diverse communities if you want them to stay here."

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Ms Di Mezza said she was proud to have led the organisation through a massive vaccination program during the COVID-19 pandemic, translating information and supporting migrants and refugees to get vaccinated.

She said she was happy to see was the reemergence of the Zinda Multicultural Festival, an annual celebration of music, dance, food and art from growing and vibrant cultures.

"Down in Melbourne, you can easily find your community and events and things like that but here it's harder because they're more isolated," she said.

She said being able to go to the Zinda Festival and embrace their own cultures "fostered belonging and acceptance" for new arrivals.

"It is possible to be Australian and to still celebrate your culture," she said.

"I think we're moving away from a thing where to be Australian, you've got to speak English and forget who you are."

Ms Di Mezza would start as the interim chief executive of Migrant And Refugee Settlement Services in Canberra, and was excited to no longer have to drive seven hours to see her partner and children.

At LCMS, the mission was the same, she said; to provide wraparound support to newly arrived residents and support the human right of self-determination.

LCMS operations manager Deanna Neville has stepped into the interim chief executive role while the organisation's board searches for a new chief executive.

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