Page 181 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 10 February 2016
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I am pleased to inform the Assembly that the implementation of many of the recommended actions has commenced and in a number of cases has already been completed. This includes the Islamic centres around Canberra who now open their doors to the community each year as part of Ramadan observations locally and nationally. These types of events are not new to our community. However, more opportunities being provided for interfaith interaction are certainly encouraged right across our city. We invite the broader community to participate and to gain an understanding of other faiths and cultures and, more importantly, the people who practise those faiths and cultures.
The ACT government plays an important role in providing services to support and assist refugees and asylum seekers and culturally and linguistically diverse communities to settle in our city. Again, we do not do this on our own. We are proud of those organisations and leaders in our community who share our passion and commitment to help every person reach their full potential. Through our work, we are showing that we stand for unity and inclusion. There is no better physical embodiment of our work than the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre which stands in the heart of our city.
The Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre was officially opened in 2005. Since then it has served a significant number of ACT multicultural groups as a venue for a variety of functions, including cultural celebrations, religious purposes, multicultural art exhibitions, citizenship ceremonies and multicultural cooking classes. If anyone has been over to the multicultural centre in the past couple of months they would have seen those beautiful red curtains which were made by a multicultural sewing group, which was put together by the Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services out at their hub in Wanniassa. It is great to see a group of mostly women coming together from all different backgrounds and nationalities to put together those beautiful curtains which we now get to enjoy during all these different celebrations over at the multicultural centre.
The government acknowledges that particular multicultural communities have had a significant increase in their numbers over the past decade, and the centre’s resources continue to accommodate this growing need. There are certain multicultural groups that conduct meetings that involve numbers of members that go beyond the capacity of the centre. In these circumstances these groups have been assisted to identify other venues that could be suitable to meet their needs. The government is pleased to advise the Assembly that since 2005 we have been able to accommodate many multicultural community tenants and several peak multicultural groups in the building. These groups are assisted with a community rent subsidy, providing them with office space in the city precinct with full access to all facilities and amenities within the centre at no extra cost. All multicultural groups serving the multicultural community have access to the ACT government’s grants programs and other funding initiatives which are also available to the ACT community more broadly.
In relation to other support for multicultural community groups, I advise the Assembly that the ACT government provides a number of specific grants that advance the interests of local multicultural communities. These include the participation—
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