Page 1197 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 10 April 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The most recent census tells us that more than one in four people living in the ACT were born overseas, and for about a third of Canberrans both parents were born in another country. More than one in five Canberrans speak a language at home other than English, including Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Hindi, Spanish and many more.
The ACT government is committed to ensuring that Canberra remains a socially cohesive and inclusive place to live. That means actively supporting culturally and linguistically diverse Canberrans to engage in the city’s social and economic life and, importantly, share their culture and their heritage with the rest of us and pass it on to future generations.
The ACT is home to the biggest celebration of cultural diversity, the National Multicultural Festival. From humble beginnings as a one-day community event, the festival is now a highlight on the Canberra calendar, bringing Canberrans from all walks of life together to celebrate what makes this city great: the diversity of its people.
The heritage and culture of our non-Indigenous community is also celebrated through this year’s heritage festival, as we have heard from others already. Just in my electorate of Kurrajong, the Macedonian Orthodox Church will open its doors, as will the Irish Embassy.
The ACT government also supports our multicultural community through grants. In 2017-18, more than 100 ACT multicultural organisations and groups have benefited from the 2017-18 grants, which give organisations and groups the opportunity to celebrate and promote their culture and heritage. Recipients included the Pearl of the Pacific Samoan cultural and dance group, the Canberra Punjabi Sports and Cultural Association, Bangla Radio Canberra, and the Chinese Language and Cultural Association.
Canberra is lucky to have such a rich and diverse culture, and it is because of the heritage and traditions that people have brought with them. It is exciting to think about how our city will change into the future as new neighbours arrive, bringing with them their culture and traditions. It is also important that, as we move into the future with new developments, we reflect on our history, on the culture and heritage that have come before. I encourage everyone to have a look at the heritage festival online. I am sure that there will be events that catch people’s interest.
Madam Assistant Speaker, it is a particular privilege to represent, as you do, some of the oldest built areas in Canberra. Within Kurrajong’s boundaries you can appreciate the monuments of the nation: new Parliament House and Old Parliament House; the national cultural institutions; the memorials along Anzac Parade, and the War Memorial itself; AIATSIS; and our Australian National University.
At a local level, farm buildings from the Duntroon estate and heritage houses with their humble footprint in the inner north and inner south through to historic buildings like the Ainslie School in Braddon and the Australian Forestry School in Yarralumla
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video