Page 3349 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 21 August 2018
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I am committed to working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and local organisations based on the spirit and principles of self-determination. This budget commits $150,000 to investigate suitable accommodation options for Gugan Gulwan so that it can continue to deliver exceptional services to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. After the success of the first Reconciliation Day public holiday, $200,000 a year has been allocated for the now annual Reconciliation Day event and for other activities promoting reconciliation and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.
Our city’s cultural diversity enriches and strengthens Canberra. The government will provide increased support for the National Multicultural Festival to maintain a safe and vibrant community event that celebrates Canberra’s rich cultural diversity and promotes social cohesion in the ACT. The National Multicultural Festival is a high profile government-managed event. It forms part of the cultural calendar for the ACT and serves as an important platform for community relations with the community groups participating, as well as being Australia’s biggest celebration of cultural diversity.
Mrs Kikkert asked me earlier today on Twitter whether I could clarify why the National Multicultural Festival had run at least $100,000 “over budget” for the last four years. I recognise that in using the term “over budget,” Mrs Kikkert was using a reporter’s language. I should clarify that the term the authors of the particular review report use is “operating deficit”.
In terms of the details of what the operating deficit comprises, I refer Mrs Kikkert to page 9 of the Oakton report, which is available on the CSD website. It is also linked to my media release, in line with the transparency that I aspire to across all of my portfolios. In doing so, I note that this shortfall in operational funding has been a known pressure for the Community Services Directorate. That is why the 2017-18 budget review committed $255,000 in additional funding for the 2018 festival and why this budget commits $100,000 a year in additional operational funding, plus $150,000 for staffing, in anticipation of receipt of the review.
Mrs Kikkert also talked about formal and informal consultation processes. I look forward, as I am sure Mrs Kikkert does, to the multicultural summit later this year, the organisation of which is being led and supported by the Multicultural Advisory Council that was appointed in 2017 to represent the voice of the multicultural community to the government. Our ongoing engagement with that community is extremely important to us.
The budget proudly invests in the local community sector. Self-help organisations united together, better known as SHOUT, will receive $469,000 over four years. This provides certainty to SHOUT, recognising its value as core social infrastructure and ensuring that the service remains part of our community in the years ahead.
This budget also commits $1.527 million over two years to reform and improve our early intervention response to the needs of vulnerable children and their families. Our aim is to enhance early intervention capacity to improve outcomes, particularly for
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