Page 2323 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 4 August 2021
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The standards themselves apply to the whole of government and whole of community. They are the fabric through which we welcome migrants and help them become socially, economically, spiritually and emotionally connected to our communities. My motion calls on the ACT government to commit to the standards, so that we know we are adhering to best practices in the sector.
A key part of civic participation is ensuring that individuals and communities are assisted to develop their knowledge and understanding of Australia’s social and political systems and reinforce knowledge of their rights and responsibilities, as well as supported to share their own stories and opinions, to ensure their voices help to shape Australia’s civic and political landscape.
In the words of former Race Discrimination Commissioner Dr Tim Soutphommasane: “Multiculturalism is a success story. But it is also a success that demands our vigilance. Those who arrive on Australian shores as migrants are not expected to remain mere guests. Rather, they are expected and encouraged to become fellow citizens of equal standing in society. Australia’s multiculturalism is based on a compact of citizenship.” This compact requires active outreach and engagement to ensure all communities can participate fully in ACT government processes and policy development.
Federal government programs primarily focus on support to attain citizenship, but there are comparatively few programs and supports for exercising the full rights of citizenship. Increasing civic participation includes: increasing knowledge of the civic engagement processes; practical programs encouraging engagement with the Legislative Assembly; translating government consultation documents; ensuring that community groups have adequate capabilities to effectively advocate for their own needs; and improving migrant and refugee representation in the government, parliament, media and other public spheres.
Gaps in this area flow through to engagement and participation in a range of democratic processes. For example, for the last four years only one multicultural group has made a budget submission to the ACT government’s budget consultation process, with many others missing the opportunity to advocate for resources and programs that would allow them to meet the needs of their communities. This is a strong sign that groups are not being adequately supported, communicated with or mentored to be able to effectively have their voices heard. I am calling on the government to commit to increasing civic participation through targeted support so that we can see these voices come through loud and clear.
Multicultural voices are also missing from government grant applications. I have heard from many groups that they struggle to write grants or they are not successful when they do. Because of their complexity and other requirements, government funding processes are frequently inaccessible to many multicultural communities. I note an exception to this, the recent community connection grants. With a low barrier for entry for a small amount of funds, we saw a significant increase in the number of successful multicultural groups. This is to be applauded and hopefully continued.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video