Page 3601 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 27 October 2015
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reference group report contains 20 practical initiatives from the one Canberra symposium held in October last year to strengthen our already socially inclusive city. Members will recall that the one Canberra symposium held on 30 October 2014 followed several meetings held between the then ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Joy Burch, and local faith leaders. The symposium was organised to speak with community leaders about what we could do to strengthen our social cohesion and how we could gain a better understanding of other faiths and cultures in our community by building closer links with the people who practise those faiths and cultures.
This was at a time when some Canberrans may have been feeling vulnerable following heightened police activity around the potential terrorist targets in Sydney in September 2014. While I am excited to be able to table this report, I am saddened to see that now in 2015 we are seeing similar police activity and behaviour from some members of our community that seek to marginalise and persecute people for their religious and cultural beliefs.
The unfortunate reality is that racism exists, but as the reference group members know and have shown, the best way to respond to this intolerance is through positive action to create understanding and belonging for all Canberrans. I am heartened by the fact that Reclaim Australia rallies held around Australia were not widely supported here in Canberra and that counter-rallies promoting inclusion, understanding and a more welcoming community have been much stronger. But that does not mean we should be complacent, and that is why this report is so important.
While the federal government is only now starting to respond to the intolerance and divisiveness we are seeing in our community, we knew we had a responsibility in 2014, so we acted. This report is a wonderful example of this effort and collaboration within our community. The one Canberra symposium was supported by Canberrans from a wide range of organisations, including the human rights and discrimination commission, community councils, ACT schools, the Australian Red Cross, many local faith organisations, community service providers, government agencies and educational institutions.
This engaged and strong leadership from Canberra’s many community organisations and faith communities is essential to its relevance as we work to support its actions and ideas. These representatives contributed many ideas and provided insights which were summarised as 20 concrete actions to be taken forward by an appointed reference group. The reference group was led by eminent Canberrans John Hargreaves and Azra Khan, and was ably supported by the following key members of the Canberra community: Jeeven Nadanakumar, a community member; Dewani Bakkum, CEO of Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services ACT; Adongwot Manyoul, a young local community member; Ahmad Hendricks, another young community member; Hongsar Channaibanya, project officer at Companion House; Dean Sahu Kahn, ACT Interfaith Forum; Mr Burhan Ahmed, Canberra Muslim community; Ms Wenda Donaldson from the Red Cross; Harry Oppermann; and Mr Mohammed Ali.
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