Page 178 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 10 February 2016
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with huge pride and cleaned often, although I do not think he ever used it. It meant a huge amount to my grandfather that he was valued by Mr Davies, and such actions are truly transformative. You do not even have to have a common language; people understand the international language of a home-baked cake or a cup of tea. It might sound minor but it actually is not; it can be life changing.
Today, in light of the Multicultural Festival, I again implore Canberrans to realise you hold so much power in your hands to value the culturally diverse Australians who live near you, to make an effort to reach out and say to newer migrants in your ambit or living in your street, “Hello. How are you going?” I think this story is indicative of the community-led approach which is responsible for so much of the success in our multiple cultures here in the ACT and in our country in general.
Another example of how this approach can be a success is through ClubsACT. There are nine ethnic clubs here in Canberra. ACT community clubs support over 1,000 community groups across Canberra every year, including over 50 cultural and religious groups. ClubsACT plays a strong role in providing inclusive social environments for people in our community. They grow our city’s vibrant social, cultural and economic fabric in addition to supporting over 50 cultural and religious groups. By supporting these different clubs and cultural groups this organisation demonstrates a community-led approach to multiculturalism.
It is also vital for the government-led approach to multiculturalism to be just as successful as the community-led approach. Therefore, I call on the ACT government to assess the adequacy of the accommodation provided by government at the Theo Notaras building for multicultural groups. Theo, as it is commonly known, is a much-used facility, but with the changes to the Assembly building I fear conditions over there are not improving and it might become more cramped.
As I have already mentioned, the sponsorship of multicultural events in the ACT is a key ingredient to achieving success in the multicultural space and is a tool used by different cultures to educate the public about their different cultural beliefs and practices through small groups, events and meetings as well as the big showcase of the Multicultural Festival. I also call on the ACT government to assess funding levels and support available for groups serving the multicultural community and the effectiveness of such funding in removing barriers to access of equality of opportunity to culturally and linguistically diverse community members. If our investment is not removing barriers, perhaps that should be measured for future harmony.
If these community members are not given equality of opportunity, they cannot truly function in the multicultural society because it should not take two generations for a new Australian and new Canberran to be able to reap the benefits of the new country and city they have joined. This is especially vital for women who are often isolated from English speakers while working in the home as wives and mums in the first generation after arriving. I ask that the ACT government assess these areas and report back to the Assembly by the last sitting day in May.
Finally, I call on the ACT government to acknowledge that there are many different people in Canberra with different ethnicities, faiths and cultures. I call on the government to acknowledge that the success of these different groups relies heavily
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