Page 522 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 14 March 2007
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
“(1) celebrates the rich diversity and harmony of ACT society, the strength of which has been the successful integration of many cultural and religious groups;
(2) calls upon all Australian societies to emulate the ACT model; and”.
I want to speak on the motion in general, but concentrate specifically on the opposition’s amendment. The opposition thinks that this is a far more positive message to be putting out in the Assembly than what Ms MacDonald put forward here today. The opposition’s amended version is far more positive, realistic and useful than her motion. It should be debated. It is the message that should be sent out, firstly, to our own community and, secondly and more broadly, across this great country of ours. Australia is a society of diverse and rich background. That is the nature of the great new societies, for want of a better term—the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and the rich, diverse societies of southern Africa. These are the strengths of these societies.
The ACT has a very significant proportion of people who were born overseas or whose parents were born overseas. We have a very rich diversity of religious and cultural groups in ACT society. The National Multicultural Festival absolutely demonstrates that. It is the showcase of this rich, diverse society that we have, and it is an event which is well visited by visitors from around the country.
This rich, diverse, multicultural society that we have—a multi-religious society—is strong because it is integrated. Integration is the key to a harmonious society. No society on the face of this earth will ever be harmonious if people in its disparate groups, its divergent groups, are not integrated and do not love the country of which they are now citizens.
Mr Smyth: Hence Harmony Day is an issue with the federal government.
MR PRATT: Absolutely. I do not want to harp on the matter, but as a person who has had to work in some very interesting places around the world I have seen some terrible societies—of all religious and cultural backgrounds—which were not integrated, which were therefore not harmonious, and many of which were at war with themselves.
I am proud that Australia really stacks up well against the examples of societies that I have seen around this world. We are one of the leaders in this world when it comes to diverse and multicultural societies. We are proud of that, and we should be proud of it. Against the national background, the ACT stands out as a shining beacon of a diverse and harmonious society. Why? Because we are integrated.
I have often heard Minister Hargreaves refer in this place to the fact that Canberra is not made up of enclaves—or that, if we do have some enclaves, they are simply the result of bad governance in previous decades. The only enclaves I see in the ACT, which we ought to be addressing, are public housing complexes. But that has nothing to do with the diversity and richness of what is a multiracial society; it is another matter.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .