Page 2548 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 1 August 2018
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that includes specific actions and outcomes to be achieved during 2015-18. It is now time for progress on this first action plan to be reviewed and for a second action plan, one that covers the next two years, to be developed. To state the obvious, the successful development of the second action plan will depend in large part upon a candid and detailed report on each and every commitment in the first action plan.
We need to know what has been fully achieved, what has been progressed and what remains to be accomplished. In regard to commitments not yet fully achieved, we also need to know what steps have been taken, what obstacles and challenges have been encountered and what the projected completion dates are. This will be important for those who will help to develop the next two-year action plan. But it is also important for us, as elected representatives, to have this information as well.
Most importantly, the culturally and linguistically diverse Canberrans who currently look to this government to keep its clear commitments to them deserve to be treated with respect by being updated in this way. These residents from CALD backgrounds desire to be able to participate fully in the life of our community, including having genuine access to essential services. They have shared with me their concerns about language barriers. I have heard from community leaders that we need more information about essential services translated into more languages, especially those of new and emerging multicultural communities.
Fortunately, this is action No 4 from the first action plan. It was to have been a government priority during 2016-17. Only yesterday, however, a community leader told me that we still do not have enough of these essential translations available. I heard specifically of a local mum, a migrant, who cannot figure out how to navigate our educational system because there seem to be no materials in her language. Mr Assistant Speaker, I understand that as Canberra’s multicultural communities grow and diversify this task will be ongoing. But in the meantime, our CALD residents deserve to know what has been translated so far, into what languages and which translations they can expect in the near future.
I have also been told on many occasions that we need more local interpreters who are certified to assist residents from small language communities. Again, this is a need that was identified in the first action plan from the ACT multicultural framework. This government has committed to:
Identify and support suitable people who are willing to undertake accreditation as formal interpreters to build a large pool of local interpreters.
This is particularly necessary in those languages of new and emerging multicultural community groups. This action was to have been a government priority during the last financial year. Our CALD residents deserve to know what specific efforts have been taken to keep this commitment. Do we now have more readily available onsite interpreters? If so, for which languages? And for which languages is this government currently supporting suitable candidates to undertake accreditation?
The most recent ACT government languages policy was to cover the years 2012-16. Consequently, one of the priority actions for 2015-16 was a review and refreshing of
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