Page 234 - Week 01 - Thursday, 15 December 2016
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required across government to address the ongoing disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in comparison to their non-Indigenous peers. I note that a number of my ministerial colleagues have commented on this in their own portfolios.
Election commitments and ongoing work in the areas of justice, health, housing and education will be critical to delivering the key outcome of strong, safe and connected families and communities.
The government is committed to valuing and celebrating the diversity we are so fortunate to enjoy in our community. The annual National Multicultural Festival is the showcase for Canberra’s multicultural diversity. The festival continues to grow, and attendance in 2017 is expected to exceed 280,000 participants, including more than 45,000 interstate and overseas visitors.
The ACT government’s commitment to Canberra’s diversity, however, is year round and focused on engaging the whole Canberra community. Almost a quarter of Canberra’s residents were born overseas, and many families speak a language other than English at home.
In order to better understand the day-to-day issues facing people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, I will soon call for expressions of interest for a new multicultural advisory board. The board will support the delivery of the ACT multicultural framework. I will also work with the advisory board to convene a multicultural summit in this term of government to consider how we can further strengthen the bonds of cultural understanding and inclusion across our community.
In 2015 the ACT became a refugee welcome zone and we are currently negotiating the details of our status as a safe haven enterprise visa zone. As part of our commitment to ensuring that refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants are able to engage fully with life in Canberra, ACT Labor committed $1.2 million for a jobs support package for refugees and asylum seekers and $208,000 for English language programs. These investments will build on our existing work, including multicultural grants, language and training programs.
The government’s social inclusion agenda aims to ensure all voices are heard and all Canberrans are empowered to participate. The ACT government acknowledges the significant contribution of the 50,000 carers in our community—those people who support family members and friends who are frail or who live with a disability, mental illness or chronic or degenerative disease. The government has committed to delivering a carers strategy and will work closely with Carers ACT and other community sector partners in its development. I will announce the time line and process for developing the strategy in the first 100 days of this government.
The new 10-year ACT community services industry strategy recognises that the community sector makes a significant contribution to the economy and plays a central role in fostering social inclusion across Canberra. The first three-year action plan under the strategy is currently being developed, and will focus on workforce development. The government will work constructively with Canberra’s community
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