Page 3340 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 21 August 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
community service providers that are equipped and prepared to implement these kinds of programs, but this government does not fund them to do so.
We are, as those opposite so often like to remind us, the most prosperous jurisdiction in this nation, yet our youth and especially those who are struggling seem to be invisible to this government. They certainly do not make much appearance in this budget. (Second speaking period taken.) I fully endorse the estimates committee’s recommendation that the ACT government work with the youth sector to ensure that adequate initiatives and support programs are available, especially to those in the eight to 15-year-old cohort and to those exiting out of home care.
In fact, this government needs to work better with the youth sector across the board. Kulture Break, for example, currently have over 8,000 youth participating in their various programs each week, but they are struggling to secure the funding they need to run their risk intervention programs like man up and ladies first. They are one of many organisations that I am aware of that help young people stay out of trouble, succeed at school and so forth. This government needs to do a better job of taking young people seriously by engaging with and supporting such organisations.
I will now speak to multicultural affairs. Again the budget underwhelms. A very modest amount of money has been committed to the National Multicultural Festival for the next four years, but otherwise culturally and linguistically diverse Canberrans are almost invisible in this budget. The needs of multicultural communities are far bigger than an annual festival. As I raised in a recent motion, this government has made rather important promises through the ACT multicultural framework, many of which remain incomplete or only partially fulfilled. Where is the money, for example, that was promised to support the accreditation of additional formal interpreters for new and emerging language community groups?
The estimates committee recommends that the ACT government consider additional mechanisms, both formal and informal, for consulting with the territory’s diverse multicultural communities. I wholeheartedly endorse this recommendation. We all saw a perfect example earlier this year of what happens when insufficient consultation happens. Cultural community groups had been serving alcoholic beverages at the Multicultural Festival since the event began in 1996. Ask these community groups what kind of consultation occurred before this government banned their selling alcohol at this year’s festival and suggested that it was in response to a recommendation from ACT Policing, until we all found out that the recommendation from the police had been the exact opposite. I can assure you, Madam Deputy Speaker, that multicultural communities know when they have been taken seriously and consulted with and when they have not.
One final point is that Canberra is growing. Under this government, so are our rates and fees and so is government revenue. Canberra residents have a simple expectation that basic government services will likewise keep pace with this growth. This includes the community services that support families, young people and those who are struggling. Is this a budget that reflects a commitment to make sure that the provision of essential services is not falling further and further behind? It is not, from what I can tell.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video