Page 2974 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 15 September 2015
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Canberra is a city with a proud history of offering welcome and refuge to people escaping war and persecution. Refugees and asylum seekers have always been part of Canberra’s social, cultural and economic life. They have been welcomed, supported and included by communities across the territory and many of the thousands of refugees we have settled since self-government have gone on to change our community for the better. This includes nearly 2,000 humanitarian entrants since 1997.
We welcomed people fleeing violence in Latin America and soon after a resettlement from Kosovo. We have since welcomed people escaping persecution in Myanmar and Thailand, particularly the Mon and Karen communities; Sudanese families fleeing conflict, including many who have now become an important part of the community in my own neighbourhood of west Belconnen; and people fleeing ongoing violence in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. They and many others have all found a safe place to live here in the ACT.
With this proud record in mind I was very pleased to declare the ACT a refugee welcome zone in June. Becoming a refugee welcome zone was a symbolic gesture acknowledging the way Canberrans all over this city have welcomed waves of refugees fleeing violence and persecution to their neighbourhoods, schools, sports teams and workplaces. It is worth noting this is not the first such declaration. In 2003, and in the face of divisive federal politics, this Assembly declared the ACT a refugee friendly city and has over the past decade worked to improve both our services and the culture of our city to live up to that aspiration.
That work has paid off. We are now a national leader in our approach to settlement and services for the newest members of our community. The ACT government plays an important role in providing services to support and assist refugees and asylum seekers to settle in our city. Along with access to our world class public health and education systems, the government runs programs aimed at helping refugees build successful lives in the Canberra community. Language and employment are key requirements for this to occur.
Getting into the workforce is important for refugees to successfully settle into our community but also is very difficult for people who often come with limited English. Depending on their situation, refugees are able to access English language programs through CIT or through ACT library services. Even once they have completed programs many migrants and refugees continue to attend conversation classes at our libraries long after their initial settlement as a way of staying connected in the community.
To support entry into the workforce the ACT government runs the work experience and support program, commonly known as WESP. WESP participants are offered four weeks of formal office skills training plus an eight-week work experience placement with the ACT public service. Successful WESP graduates will receive a nationally recognised certificate II in business. For those who already have a qualification the government offers an assessment of overseas qualifications services. By helping refugees negotiate the sometimes difficult process of having their external qualifications recognised we help people to get settled more quickly. There is also a collective benefit in this work, as we seek to limit the lost opportunities of ignoring skills of those who can contribute to our workforce and community life.
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