Page 841 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 18 March 2015
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(i) the Better Services Blueprint and the One Human Services Gateway;
(ii) high quality hospitals and community health services; and
(iii) nation leading public education and training programs;
(c) support for organisations that help Canberrans connect with their communities through life-long learning, arts and sport;
(d) commitment to the National Disability Insurance Scheme which provides the choice and control needed for people with disabilities to better participate in the life of our community; and
(e) support for diversity in our community through events and programs that help Canberrans celebrate their communities and cultures; and
(3) calls on the Minister Assisting the Chief Minister for Social Inclusion to deliver a progress statement on the Government’s Social Inclusion agenda no later than the second sitting week in May.
I would like to speak to the important issue of social inclusion and how it relates to Canberra as a city of diverse social cultures and communities. From the outset I want to be clear that this Labor government is committed to ensuring that social inclusion and equality continue to be at the heart of our policies, programs and services. This city that we call home is an inclusive city. It is absolutely true that we have diverse social cultures and diverse communities. We can see this every day as we move about our city.
However, we cannot have any conversation about culture without acknowledging that Canberra is home to people who belong to one of the oldest living cultures in the world. Recognising the links that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have had and continue to have to land is an essential part of understanding how culture is a dynamic and living element that shapes us all.
We can talk about how diverse our social culture and our communities are in different ways. The most obvious way is to look at how Canberra has been shaped by the contributions of people who have come from around the world to make our city home. I include here builders and tradesmen, thinkers and doers who were instrumental in bringing Canberra to life. The breadth and vibrancy of our cultural diversity is expressed in the life of our city and most especially through the music, food, dance, art and more that is on show during the National Multicultural Festival.
We can talk about how our city welcomes people whether they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, intersex or queer. We know that these groups have their own social cultures that are part of the wider community. We also recognise the diversity of our community in the hundreds of community groups that offer a chance for us all to find a place, to see ourselves reflected back—the same but different.
Many Canberrans might consider the original Griffin Centre as the place where the community, in all its diversity, became something real and open to all. In some ways,
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