Page 458 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 21 March 2023
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Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Regulation 2017—Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Traffic Offence Detection Device Approval 2023 (No 1)—Disallowable Instrument DI2023-8 (LR, 31 January 2023).
Unit Titles (Management) Act—Unit Titles (Management) Certificate Determination 2023—Disallowable Instrument DI2023-3 (LR, 27 January 2023).
Standing Committee on Education and Community Inclusion—report 6—government response
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Manager of Government Business, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Industrial Relations and Workplace Safety, Minister for Planning and Land Management and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (3.09): Pursuant to standing order 211, I move:
That the Assembly take note of the following paper:
Education and Community Inclusion—Standing Committee—Report 6—Inquiry into racial vilification—Government response.
MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra—Assistant Minister for Economic Development, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Business and Better Regulation, Minister for Human Rights and Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (3.09): I am pleased this afternoon that the government response to the report of the Standing Committee on Education and Community Inclusion inquiry into racial vilification has been presented to the Legislative Assembly.
It is fitting that we provide this response today, on the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, within the broader Harmony Week. This day continues to be a powerful and sobering reminder for all of us of our responsibilities to denounce racial discrimination. The inquiry, and the government response to it, reinforce why it is so important.
Canberra is a proud multicultural city, and this government has a longstanding commitment to building a community in which everyone feels safe and included. The 2021 census revealed that 28.7 per cent of ACT residents were born overseas, 39 per cent are second-generation migrants and two per cent are of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent. This rich cultural diversity is one of the territory’s greatest strengths. We have seen this reflected in the celebration of last month’s Multicultural Festival, which was embraced and attended by over 350,000 people—a new record.
Despite the vast majority of our community being respectful, inclusive and welcoming, during the COVID-19 pandemic we saw a disappointing rise in racist incidents towards Canberrans of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This is unacceptable.
To be very clear, racism has no place in the ACT. There must be zero tolerance for this behaviour. We know that racism can have serious negative consequences on an
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