Page 2256 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 August 2016
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welcome the discussion before us today and the attention the motion and the amendment bring to multicultural affairs in Canberra. I would like to acknowledge that I found most of Mrs Jones’s motion amenable, other than the sting at the end suggesting that the ACT government does not treat multicultural and multifaith groups with respect. That is why I am happy to support Ms Berry’s amendment to an otherwise important text, one that makes some valuable points.
The ACT government does treat multicultural or multifaith groups with respect. We are a cosmopolitan and diverse city, welcoming and considerate of people from all backgrounds. That is what happens when you have a progressive government that is in touch with the make-up of a modern community and can bring compassion and understanding to issues that may be half the world away.
I support Ms Berry’s statements about how we care for refugees and newly arrived members of culturally and linguistically diverse communities. I am proud to be part of a government that so readily puts up its hand to help those in need, most recently in relation to the unprecedented and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria.
We also not only recognise but celebrate and actively support diversity in our existing multicultural community through a range of grants, events and forums. Most members of the Assembly will have been present at one or more of these events, from the much-loved and much-cited Multicultural Festival to new citizens welcoming ceremonies and a range of sporting events for our multicultural community; the full gamut of things that happen across Canberra that really add to this city. They add to the life of this city, add to the colour of this city and generally make it a better place to be.
The crux of Mrs Jones’s motion seems focused on the need for more facilities or land for activities. As our city grows and more people are attracted to live in our community, I can understand that we are seeing more demand for a range of spaces. We are, indeed, a growing city, and it is vital we continue to invest in new facilities and spaces that can accommodate the full range of the community’s needs. This can include sportsgrounds, religious buildings such as mosques and churches, or even just meeting spaces.
I am confident that members of the multicultural community are being made aware of the processes required to access the facilities. As members now know, there is a more one-stop-shop approach to accessing government information and support through Access Canberra, and I trust this is of use to the constituents that are contacting Mrs Jones’s office. There is also the Office of Multicultural Affairs, which, as we all know, does a great job of providing information to the community on a range of matters. If anyone was unsure how to find out information, the office would undoubtedly take them to the right place, give them the right phone number, all of those sorts of things.
Specifically, in relation to support to access facilities, I will just make this observation in the debate. I am more than happy to talk further with Mrs Jones about her concerns to see if there is anything I can do in my role as Minister for Education to support increased access to school halls, for example. There are, most likely, opportunities to
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