Page 2260 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 28 August 2007
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$125,000 in the first year and $250,000 in the outyears—includes funding for the multicultural festival. Is the minister confident that the multicultural festival will be well funded this year to ensure that it is as successful as it has been in the past?
MR HARGREAVES (Brindabella—Minister for the Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Housing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (8.43): I will respond to a couple of issues raised by Mr Pratt. Within the context of the budget papers I observe that Mr Pratt was referring to the wrong department. Largely, from a government perspective, multicultural affairs comes under the Office of Multicultural Affairs, which is part of the Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services, an issue that will be debated more substantially later. Mr Speaker, I sincerely hope that you do not age visibly while we are waiting for that to occur.
When I was upstairs listening to the debate I wondered why somebody would refer, wrongly, to an issue but then ask what seemed to be reasonable questions. I observe that, as a lunar eclipse of the moon is occurring at this time, I can only surmise that it has had an effect on our good friend Mr Pratt. I would not be surprised if it has because in ancient times, lunar, a Roman word, was heralded as a reason for lunacy.
I will specifically address Mr Pratt’s questions and take them in reverse order. Mr Pratt touched on a couple of very serious issues and I will respond to him in a very serious vein. He is quite right when he said that it is not the government’s responsibility to reasonably influence the donation of funds by three embassies, or the application of funds to the mosque or to officials within the mosque. It is beyond our powers of interference.
But I am aware that there are tensions on both sides of the Islamic community about the application of those funds and I am aware that there are investigations as to the application and the acquittal of those funds. However, I advise the chamber that we need to tread delicately because of the delicate balance that exists in the diplomatic community. We are talking not only about external funding for a religious institution, which carries with it its own dangers; we are dealing with the diplomatic community, and we need to be particularly sensitive.
As such, when these issues came to my attention some time ago, I made the deliberate decision to stay well away from influencing the application and acquittal and bringing to account of those funds, but I made myself aware of what effect the contribution of those funds and their destination were having on two communities that are at odds at the moment. I am aware of allegations in the newspapers of inappropriate activities but, as Mr Pratt quite rightly pointed out, these are newspaper allegations and they need to be substantiated.
However, I believe that those sorts of matters are the province of proper authorities such as the police and, in some cases, ASIO. I have confidence that those agencies will move if circumstances or evidence is presented to them, and they have our full support. Those agencies are unlikely to inform me because I do not have an involvement with those religious communities any more than I have an involvement, for example, with the Catholic and Protestant churches—if we were talking about Protestant-Catholic issues around Ireland and the provision of funds to the IRA—nor
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