Page 3701 - Week 10 - Thursday, 14 September 2017
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choices and stay safe. The Greens support the introduction of a pill testing trial in the ACT because it is the best way to put the health and safety of young people in our community first. As is clear in the petition I am tabling today, there is significant support for a pill testing trial across the Canberra community. The ACT has a strong track record of underpinning drug policy with evidence, and as a progressive jurisdiction we have an opportunity to lead the way on pill testing and influence other states and territories to follow suit.
I thank and congratulate all those people who have signed this petition. It is important that Canberrans who feel passionately about this issue can take action to have their voices heard and ensure that this Assembly knows that there is strong community support for a pill testing trial in the ACT.
Multicultural framework 2015-2020—implementation and outcomes
Ministerial statement
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Community Services and Social Inclusion, Minister for Disability, Children and Youth, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations) (10.09): I am pleased to have this opportunity to provide the Assembly with an update on actions implemented and outcomes achieved under the ACT multicultural framework 2015-2020 for the previous 12 months.
The ACT multicultural framework sets out the three key objectives in relation to Canberra’s multicultural communities. They are: (1) accessible and responsive services; (2) citizenship, participation and cohesion; and (3) capitalising on the benefits of cultural diversity.
The core premise of the framework is building and strengthening social participation and community connection. The ACT is currently home to more than 400,000 people. More than half of us have at least one parent born overseas, and almost a quarter live in a household where a non-English language is spoken at home. Multiculturalism is an integral component of our vibrant community life. It is who we are.
Against this backdrop the previous government established the multicultural framework, with concrete actions to deliver on its objectives. In 2016-17 directorates continued to pursue these actions to ensure that people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities are able to fully participate in the opportunities our city has to offer.
Under the first objective of the multicultural framework—ensuring accessible and responsive services—the government is delivering programs to ensure that communities who face access and equity challenges can effectively access government services to enable their full participation in the life of our city.
An example of this is the ACT government’s election commitment to establish an online venue booking system to enable community groups, including those from the
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