Page 4822 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 27 November 2018

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We are now halfway through the 2015-2020 ACT multicultural framework and while much has been achieved there is still more work to be done. And our vision for Canberra is for the city to be an inclusive and cohesive place which draws on our diverse social, economic and cultural heritage, and that is not limited to the immediate actions under the framework.

The Multicultural Advisory Council and members of the culturally and linguistically diverse community in Canberra have been provided many opportunities to engage in discussions to develop a vision of a city for all Canberrans throughout 2018. One of those was held last week when the council partnered with the ACT government to deliver the ACT multicultural summit, which was the platform to inform our ongoing commitment to multiculturalism and was a commitment that Labor brought to the last election and was reflected in the parliamentary agreement.

As a precursor to the summit, a series of community consultation roundtables was held. Feedback from the roundtables contributed to a final discussion paper and formed the basis of the breakout sessions that were held at the summit. A significant outcome of the summit will be the development of the second action plan from 2018-2020. This inclusive approach to policymaking is in line with the governance approach to engaging with the community including providing a framework to ensure that Canberrans from all walks of life are included in informing policy decisions and service delivery.

I present the following paper:

ACT Multicultural Framework 2015-2020—Implementation and outcomes (First Action Plan 2015-2018)—Third update—Ministerial statement, 27 November 2018.

I move:

That the Assembly take note of the paper.

MRS KIKKERT (Ginninderra) (11.40): I thank the minister for the update provided on the ACT multicultural framework’s first action plan 2015-2018. As the shadow minister for multicultural affairs I have frequently been asked about the progress in implementing the specific actions committed to under this action plan. As a consequence, in August this year I moved a motion calling on the ACT government to provide detailed and frank reporting on the progress of each action therein.

This is important because for many culturally and linguistically diverse Canberrans these are not just interesting ideas to talk about. These residents are eagerly awaiting the completion of these actions in order to fully access basic government services and fully participate in community life.

When I spoke in August I shared concerns raised by multicultural community leaders amongst others regarding lack of adequate translations for basic government publications and lack of accredited interpreters especially in new and emerging


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