Page 2437 - Week 07 - Thursday, 4 August 2022
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
guideline should include measures such as the de-identification of applications, unconscious bias and anti-racism training and explicit encouragement of CALD applicants to apply for the ACT Public Service jobs. It should be made available to all directorates and agencies as a guide and resource to inform their practices, and it should be used to inform the next available review of the ACT Public Service recruitment policy and guidelines, with a particular focus on strategies to ensure the management and executive levels reflect the Canberra community.
This guideline can also be disseminated to the private sector and the NGOs, as we know from the Australian Human Rights Commission report these inequalities are not unique to the public service. By taking the initiative to set a high standard of hiring practices for the ACT Public Service, this government has the opportunity to improve employment practices and representation in workplaces all across the territory.
Finally, I would like to offer my sincerest thanks to all those who contributed to my thinking on this topic and to the development of this motion. I would like to offer my particular thanks to: Nishi Puri of the Multicultural Association of Canberra, Chin Wong of the Canberra Multicultural Forum, Sandra Wright of the Settlement Council of Australia, and all those who shared their personal accounts of navigating employment with the ACT Public Service.
I will also speak now to the amendments and contribution that Mr Cain has circulated, and state that I would be happy to support those amendments because for me it is more important for a good thing to happen. I would also say that the amendments moved by Ms Cheyne in terms of the time frame are realistic in terms of achieving what is listed out in Mr Cain’s amendments to my motion and what can be achieved by the small Office for Multicultural Affairs. Thank you.
MR CAIN (Ginninderra) (4.31): It is a privilege as shadow minister for multicultural affairs to support the spirit and intent behind this motion. As Mr Braddock has alluded, I have made some suggestions—friendly ones, I believe—to amend his motion, and he has, speaking just now, supported those proposed amendments. I would also note that I am very comfortable with the amendment to be proposed by the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister Cheyne.
The Canberra Liberals support calls for better understanding the footprint of our CALD community. With immigration going to be an increasingly important part of Australia’s and Canberra’s population growth, we should have the CALD community, the newly arrived community, the multicultural community, at the front of our minds when thinking of government policy to make sure that there is no sense of them feeling alienated or treated differently in any way whatsoever.
The Canberra Liberals also know that there is community and stakeholder agreement that the way the federal government currently collects data is perhaps not as adequate as it should be. I would certainly encourage the ACT government to cooperate with the federal government in effectively improving its data collection approach.
I note that the ACT Public Service collects data on CALD representation for their own staff, and there are currently ACT Public Service policy and recruitment
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video