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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 08 Hansard (Tuesday, 3 August 2004) . . Page.. 3324 ..

MR STANHOPE: Mr Speaker, let it be said that my government—this Labor government—will not abandon multiculturalism, multicultural organisations or women in the way that the Liberal Party has. We will do everything we can to ensure that women within multicultural organisations and groups and women from a non-English speaking background receive the support that they need and deserve. It is actually a record that I am proud of; my government is proud of our support for a multicultural community.

The multicultural centre, of course, Mr Speaker, has been funded through the last budget—I think it is to the tune of $2.6 million of support—to ensure that we can develop a dedicated multicultural centre within the ACT. That is an exciting project; it is a project that the multicultural communities of Canberra have been looking to see supported by a government for some time. My government has responded to that need. The work is currently being undertaken.

To go to that aspect of Ms Dundas’s question: Ms Dundas would probably be aware that even now the Ministerial Advisory Council on Multicultural Affairs is, on behalf of the ACT government, engaging in community consultation on the form, fit-out and operational nature and aspects of the multicultural centre. I do not propose to pre-empt the outcomes of that community consultative process; it is being led by Dr Hua Wang, deputy chair of the ministerial council. The consultations have commenced. The first meeting—

MR SPEAKER: Chief Minister, would you resume your seat, please. It is becoming very difficult to hear the response to the question above the chatter and interjections from the opposition. If it continues, I will have to issue some warnings.

MR STANHOPE: Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mr Pratt: Rather than look in the opposite direction, you might—

MR SPEAKER: That goes for you, Mr Pratt.

MR STANHOPE: I will conclude on the basis that issues around the operation and nature of the multicultural centre are currently the subject of detailed community consultation. The consultations are being led by Dr Hua Wang, Deputy Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Multicultural Affairs, on behalf of the ACT government. The first consultative session was held last week—I believe, last Wednesday—at the Migrant Resource Centre. It was attended by representatives of 45 separate multicultural organisations from within the community. Those consultations, directly by the ministerial council on behalf of the ACT government with representatives of the broad number of multicultural groups in the ACT, will, of course, inform the final nature of the operations of the multicultural centre.

In terms of bricks and mortar, the multicultural centre was funded to the tune of $2½ million in the last budget. We are establishing the centre; we are negotiating directly with the community about what they wish to see the role and function of the centre to be. I am not going to pre-empt those outcomes; I am going to allow that consultation to proceed, as one should.

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