Page 2451 - Week 07 - Thursday, 3 August 2017
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I look forward to continuing the collaborative work with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and AusTrade on future missions, in particular when I return to Hong Kong later this month to undertake further investment promotion which will follow an Australian government led delegation to our sister city Beijing that I will attend as part of this next mission. I present the following paper:
Ministerial Trade Delegation June 2017—Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan—Ministerial statement, 3 August 2017.
I move:
That the Assembly take note of the paper.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Cross-portfolio delegation to Singapore and Finland
Ministerial statement
MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Women and Minister for Sport and Recreation) (11.18): In May this year I visited two of the world’s highest performing school systems, those in Singapore and Finland. Today I am happy to report on observations that were made, lessons learned and some of the key aspects for the ACT government’s consideration from the many meetings and site visits that were reflected in our itinerary.
I also want to highlight the success of this trip in other portfolios for which I am responsible. In Singapore I was able to build on the work of the Chief Minister and the government’s international engagement strategy through a deepening of relationships in both education and the sports portfolio. Canberra has since hosted the Singapore SG Football Academy at last month’s Kanga Cup, and we hope to see teams here in future. In Finland I was also able to tap into innovative reforms in portfolios of housing, women and the prevention of domestic and family violence.
If there was one single theme across the meetings and visits we made, it is to stay on course on the key programs and policy reforms that government has made. Finland stands alone in Europe for having dramatically reduced homelessness in the past two decades, achieved most notably through a dedication to early intervention through “housing first”. Within that philosophy, different programs and financing vehicles, in particular a not-for-profit housing development model, have driven this turnaround.
In domestic and family violence, again our countries have some shared experiences. Finland has among the highest reporting rates of domestic violence in Europe. Canberra continues to see reporting increase as more people feel able to speak up and seek help. The direct response of the ACT government through the safer families
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