Page 2249 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 August 2016
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I am pleased to stand today to speak to the motion in my name on the notice paper. In February this year I brought a motion about multiculturalism, recognising the important contribution made to Canberra by people of various different ethnicities, faiths and cultural backgrounds. I recall at the time Minister Berry stated she was in mad agreement, and Mr Rattenbury also supported the motion noting that Canberra is an inclusive and multicultural city with a rich and diverse society. I hope I have the same level of support for this motion today.
I have spoken to many multicultural and faith groups that have struggled with the government and the lack of clarity when applying for community land and being able to access several facilities to establish their cultural homes. It seems this government does not really care about some of those groups to the same extent as their rhetoric would have us believe.
These people at times experience significant persecution within their own countries and they come to Australia in the hope of making a better life. Often our multicultural and multifaith communities are at a disadvantage in navigating governmental processes as English may not be their first language—it maybe their second or their third—and there are also understandings of how culture works and how government processes work that they need to get familiar with.
These groups at times can be nervous about dealing with the authority of government and tend not to want to rock the boat. So they seem to quietly put up with being shunted around and left waiting and waiting in order to get to see if they might be able to access suitable land or facilities.
The government has a track record of showing a lack of respect for these sometimes vulnerable groups. Back in 2009 the Canberra Muslim community was in the process of buying land at Nicholls. However, by December that year, because the government had not bothered with community consultation and neither had they assessed the issues of parking and traffic, the Canberra Muslim community were forced to look for another block of land. The government had not bothered to consult with the community, which showed absolute contempt for residents of Nicholls as well. When consultation was finally cobbled together, nobody in Nicholls even knew it was happening. The consultation was carried out in the middle of the day in a suburb removed from the community.
You would think that the government would have learned from this experience and that they would have looked at the requirements for community groups, such as the size and location of land, is it sufficient for the needs of the community, is there adequate parking, will traffic be a challenge, is the location accessible by public transport? However, it seems that seven years later the ACT Labor government has not learned a thing. They continue to show a complete lack of respect for community groups seeking land and contempt for the residents where facilities are to be built.
Most recently we have seen this lack of respect apply to the Amadea Muslims. The Amadea Muslims are a group who have experienced severe persecution in other countries, particularly Pakistan. In Bangladesh they have been targeted and have
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