Page 2367 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 12 August 2014
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and be unable to be involved in the schools where their children go, not make friends other than within their own ethnic communities and never work. And if their marriage has failed they can be left in extremely vulnerable situations, not knowing how to navigate society.
I asked the minister to take seriously the request for improved access to English classes offered by the territory and in particular to allow for at least babysitting of children while the classes are on. It does not have to be a rolled-gold solution. A babysitter in a safe classroom next door with some toys, drawing equipment and some entertainment is all that is required so that children are happy and safe while mum learns English. The images still haunt me of the women I have doorknocked over the years—and I have door-knocked thousands of homes in my time—women imploring me to get them English language education. So I will keep on about this for a long time, until I believe it has been dealt with in some satisfactory manner.
The Multicultural Festival is a good thing for our community. However, I still note that last year’s budget had an allocation of an additional $100,000 for this year’s and next year’s festivals, covering costs such as additional food safety inspectors and other seemingly necessary elements of the event. I note that this year’s allocation does not include any such additional funds for the events beyond next year, and I will continue to ask the question about how the event will be funded or how the delivery model of it will be changed to accommodate a radically reduced budget.
In conclusion, I encourage the government to consider which women they are trying to assist via the women’s portfolio and exactly what they are hoping to achieve through the services provided. I ask the minister to take seriously the needs of women of various ethnic backgrounds to have babysitting available on site for English classes so that more women can undertake the classes and have the necessary access to the society in which they live, for the sake of them, their families and their children. And I ask the minister to make sure she has the funding organised ahead of the future multicultural festivals to ensure that they are properly funded or delivered in a different way so that such funds may not be required. There are many women of various ethnicities in our city who would really benefit from such a focus and who might, as a result, be more engaged in the benefits that come from living in Australia rather than living isolated lives in the outer suburbs without transport or communication skills.
MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Disability, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Racing and Gaming, Minister for Women and Minister for the Arts) (7.40): I would like to talk on a particular line at this moment, disability. I think we would all recognise that it is an important year this year for people with a disability as the national disability insurance scheme begins in the ACT, with people starting their transition to the NDIA as we speak. This budget will continue to support the preparation for the NDIS of people with a disability, their families, their carers and service providers.
The NDIS trial in the ACT was officially launched on 1 July this year, and people are already meeting with agency staff, talking about their goals and aspirations and making plans that involve the kind of support and services that they aspire to and that
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