Page 152 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
the work of government but also through members of the Assembly and many community groups. I will acknowledge that it is not one group or one party that has made a contribution. I acknowledge the work of the current ACT government, but also that of past governments, and that includes Liberal governments, to the contribution that has been made to promoting multiculturalism in the ACT community—and also, as I said, the work of community groups. We have all spoken about that; we all recognise that.
There are a huge number of people who make a contribution to promoting multiculturalism and helping people who come from refugee backgrounds, who come to this country from overseas. It is not just one group of people; everybody makes a contribution, and that needs to be recognised.
The National Multicultural Festival does work to promote harmony and social cohesion in our community. The festival continues to be a wonderful representation of ethnic diversity in Canberra. However, as Mr Doszpot’s amendments point to, the festival could go further and broader. Multiculturalism is a process that is continually changing. I believe that Canberra has an opportunity to develop new pathways and build on how multiculturalism is expressed through forums, and a variety of those forums.
I believe it is a wonderful thing that we see that one of the biggest events in the ACT in terms of community participation is the Multicultural Festival, but I guess multiculturalism is more than just a surface representation, more than just experiencing food or seeing a dancing group. There is a lot more that goes with that. In order to develop through harmony and understanding our community, it is actually about getting down to those deeper levels.
That is all that we are trying to achieve through these motions, or at least that is all I am trying to achieve by supporting Mr Doszpot’s motion. It is not trying to denigrate anything that Mr Hargreaves or the ACT government have done, or anything that is in there. It is just about expanding on that and acknowledging that there is a lot more we can do. The Multicultural Festival is a wonderful thing, but we can go a lot deeper and make this a truly inclusive community. That is all that this is about today.
Although the festival was a success, it does not necessarily flow through to other parts of Canberra or other times. I have just made the point that it would be a positive move to include multicultural aspects in other festivals.
It is also, as Mr Doszpot’s amendments state, about fostering exchanges and discussions among diverse ethnic, religious and social groups. One group of programs that the ACT Greens are very supportive of and have been looking into is programs and schools which look at different religions, looking at what is different but also at the many similarities that we share. These programs have run in New South Wales and have been hugely successful in encouraging respect and understanding. This is the sort of thing that we are thinking of when we look at these amendments which have been put forward.
These are the sorts of things we need to consider in connection with the Multicultural Festival not being the only way of promoting multiculturalism in the ACT. And while
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video