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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 5146 ..

MRS BURKE (continuing):

The National Australia Day website holds great information and I recommend it to members. It states:

The National Australia Day Council was formed in 1979, with state and territory councils and committees soon after. From their inception they have encouraged more 'grass roots' celebrations ...

That is the key-grass roots. We are talking community; we are talking local-grass roots. It continues:

... working with local government authorities to promote the wider celebration of Australia Day.

I will touch on that a little later. I am absolutely mystified as to why the government is so mean when it comes to celebrating Australia Day. I have heard the comments made by Ms Dundas, and I wholeheartedly agree that there always needs to be more money given to broader community events. But this is the national day. We need to stand proud and be strong as Australians. I came to Australia to be Australian, to input in any way I could with my gifts, skills and abilities. I came here to join with other Australians to celebrate this great nation. Am I in the wrong place? Is this the country I migrated to-Canberra, the nation's capital?

This government does not care about celebrating its national heritage at a local level. As I said, we must remember the good and the bad, that we are a nation of battlers. Isn't this what we are celebrating? We demonstrated this in January this year. Isn't celebrating our cultural diversity as a nation on our national day a good thing to do at a local level? What message are we sending to our community? What message are we sending to our children?

I was sorry to hear a very bitter-sounding Mr Wood. He doesn't often do that. He found it hard to celebrate Mr Howard. Mr Howard is the Prime Minister and we celebrate our leaders. The Australian of the Year awards are going to be held in our national capital, which is excellent. Any Prime Minister would be proud of that.

I think it would suit Mr Wood too to have a new competitive funding process for national day celebrations. I have issue with the fact that this group are even having to be included in a competitive funding process. It certainly lets Mr Wood off the hook a little. Surely Australia Day should not have to compete in this way. The funding of this event should be automatic, a given.

Mr Wood alluded to the fact, and rightly so, that $35,000 has been given by the Commonwealth. The NCA has also chipped in some money. If we are the nation's capital, why are we not supporting activities with some matching funding at a local level? We are penalising people in the ACT at a community level because in the government's eyes there is duplication.

We have had an incredibly challenging year. The government has chosen to axe funding this coming Australia Day, of all days. If the government were going to up the ante on celebrating Australia Day it should have done so this year. How does that leave the community feeling? Just because we are the nation's capital we are somehow hampered

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