Department of the Premier and Cabinet, $377,085,000

Administered Items for the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, $20,505,000

Minister:

Hon. Z.L. Bettison, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Multicultural Affairs.

Departmental Advisers:

Mr S. Woolhouse, Executive Director, Communities and Corporate Services, Department of the Premier and Cabinet.

Ms J. Kennedy, Director, Multicultural Affairs, Department of the Premier and Cabinet.

The CHAIR: The portfolio is multicultural affairs and the minister appearing is the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. I advise that the proposed payments remain open for examination. I call on the minister to make a statement, if the minister wishes, and to introduce advisers. I call on the lead speaker for the opposition to make a statement, if the member wishes. I call on members for questions.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Thank you very much, Chair. I would like to introduce the staff next to me: Steven Woolhouse is the Executive Director of Communities and Corporate in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, and Justine Kennedy is the Director of Multicultural Affairs. I thank them for their work leading up to today. I do not have an opening statement and am happy to go straight to questions.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I will go to questions very shortly but I think multicultural affairs is an area in the South Australian community, let alone its state budget, where the Liberal Party and the Labor Party for a number of decades have worked cooperatively with the community, I think very well, to ensure that South Australia is a leading light in the world when it comes to a harmonious multicultural community. Certainly, I thank the officers in the department who have supported that work. I am sure we will continue for many decades to come to be the envy of Australia and the world in this space.

Budget Paper 4, Volume 4, page 27, program summary: there is obviously a $4 million election commitment. Can the minister provide a breakdown of how that additional expenditure of $4 million will be allocated?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Obviously, I have a particular interest in multicultural affairs, having the honour of being formerly the minister in the Weatherill government and now the opportunity to continue that role in the Malinauskas government. Leading up to the election, I spent time talking with leaders in our community about their needs and what they would like to see in our multicultural policy. I know there was much disappointment that there was not an alternative policy from the Liberals, but it was recognised that we had spent considerable time to look at that.

The additional money—$16 million over four years, which was an election commitment that has now been placed into the budget—will go to these key commitments, including introducing the Multicultural South Australia Ambassador program. This is a particularly significant program because of the challenges and the barriers to entry into the workplace for some of our migrant communities in South Australia. Many of them are not working within their area of profession and training. They really like living in South Australia and are welcomed here, but do have some frustrations in finding work within their experience and their training.

We have the South Australian Multicultural Charter, which will be introduced and tabled in parliament by the end of this year. This is an activation of that charter. The charter will be something I am sure all of us will agree on, but I want it not just to be a set of words but to see it into action. The ambassador program will activate the charter and embed its principles within the workforce and business practices of our state's leading organisations.

Primarily, what that will mean is going out and talking to South Australian businesses about diversity and about unconscious bias in recruitment. We do know that we have a lot of small businesses in South Australia. Some have been concerned about culture and how people will fit in. It is an opportunity for us to have a 360 conversation about multiculturalism and jobs in South Australia.

I will also be introducing a new multicultural media grant stream to drive skill development and communication across the state's multicultural communities. We have some very long-established media outlets here, and I am thinking about 5EBI as a radio station in many different community languages. We have two Italian radio stations and we have a variety of newspapers as well. However, what we often see is that there is an older demographic of people who are running these outlets, many of whom volunteer their time to do this.

The media grant is something that I saw as an opportunity for us to engage younger people who are very interested in getting those transferable skills; for example, within social media, podcasts, blogs, etc. So I am very excited about that new stream. We will produce and maintain an online South Australian multicultural resource directory, and that will list organisations that offer information, advice, support and networking opportunities for our diverse community.

A key part of that campaign, and I know the member for Morialta and the deputy opposition leader and I share this interest, is our community languages schools. We have 94 registered community languages schools in South Australia. This is a significant increase in their funding: $4 million over four years to keep their languages alive among the younger generations through additional investment.

Once again, these languages schools are headed up by volunteers. They are often held on a Saturday at a host school, usually a public primary school or a high school. I have been talking at length about how we will look at that funding, particularly with the communities and languages not-for-profit association that is there. They have been doing this work for a very long time and provide great leadership. They support people through governance, capability and training, but it is time to lift it.

This money, which is a significant increase in money, will go to look at those various areas: the support that students receive, the training that teachers receive, some of the challenges and the barriers to having a location to do community languages schools. I have also had conversations with people who are new arrivals to Australia. They find there is quite a barrier to entry, to establish a formal community languages school, and we need to understand how we can make that pathway more supportive and support them doing that.

There are also languages schools that are active but are not actually registered as community languages schools. We need to understand why they have not taken that process up. For me, this is a significant part of the election commitment, and I hope at the end of the four years we will see an increase in the number of languages schools. There is a real feeling in the community that we value people being bilingual in South Australia. It is incredibly important for trade and tourism in the future. We also want to acknowledge that being Australian is equally as important to a young person as their culture, their language and their ethnicity, and to be confident that they are a person who can acknowledge both sides.

Also, we are going to support the volunteer work of the community leaders with the community boards and governance program, and we will be reinstating the multicultural women's leadership course. Many people spoke to me about that course when it was cancelled by the previous government. It played a very strong role in women developing their leadership skills, not just in their own workplace but primarily about their leadership role within their own community group.

We are also going to invest in community infrastructure upgrades, including upgrading security and community transport. It was a significant election policy, and I was very pleased when I presented it to hundreds of people. I sent it out to many more. The time Labor took to do that was appreciated, and now the budget we brought down on 2 June will mean that we can deliver on those programs.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The question was about the breakdown of expenditure. Is there a notional allocation—there were people talking to small businesses about a multicultural charter, media grants, online multicultural resource directory, community boards and governance program, the multicultural women's leadership program, security and transport infrastructure for organisations and community languages schools. Are community languages schools a separate initiative or is that out of this $4 million?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It is out of the $4 million.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: In relation to the $4 million, is there a notional allocation to each of these streams that has been identified, or is that work still to be done?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Just to be clear, as I said before, the community languages schools is $4 million over the four years, so $1 million per year.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: That is $1 million out of this $4 million; is that correct?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That is from that $4 million. We are still going through the budget allocations and scoping those programs. Obviously, it was considerable policy that we put forward, so we are doing that work now.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: In relation to the community languages schools, which have been funded through the education department for a long time, is this funding going to be provided to the education department and presumably the community languages schools association, or is that going to be provided as grants from DPC to individual community languages schools?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We are having those conversations now. This is obviously a significant increase in the funding. We have had many conversations with the not-for-profit community languages schools association. I intend to go out with a survey to the community languages schools so that I identify clearly the areas of need. That work continues to happen now.

When we spoke to them, challenges were raised of venues and location, and cost and access. It was expressed to me that there was sometimes a reluctance of public schools to make resources or time available to them, funding for schools and facilities to incentivise and to host the community languages schools.

There were challenges around the teachers maintaining quality standards, student behavioural issues, accessibility to training and appropriately supporting them in those roles. It was expressed to me that there has been increased cost due to COVID (cleaning, security, etc.) and challenges sourcing appropriate materials, including books and IT, and furniture—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order. Can I just clarify: the question was whether it was being provided as grants to the schools or whether it was being provided to Education to distribute and—

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes, and as I said very clearly we are still having those conversations.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Yes, so thank you.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I know your interests, so I thought I would talk to you about the variety of—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I have broad interests, but we have limited time, minister. I am very grateful for the support, but—

The CHAIR: Okay, let's get on to the next question, if you have finished that one.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Thank you.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Perhaps I could just finish my points here—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Well, in that case my point of order is relevance.

The CHAIR: Okay.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: You have asked me where that money will go and I said we are still discussing it, but the challenges that have been provided to me are what I have detailed here, so the registration process is considered to be complex, and the drop of engagement of older students and funding per student. So there are several areas of challenge.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Thank you. In relation to Budget Paper 4, Volume 4, page 27, explanation of significant movements, the $4 million that we have just been discussing. The Labor Party has committed, and very welcomed by the Port Adelaide Greek School no doubt, $2 million to support their development. Is that being funded out of this $16 million over four years, or is there a separate allocation of new money being provided to deliver that commitment?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes, it is funded out of that money.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Sorry, that is funded out of the $16 million?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Out of the $4 million per year, $2 million is going to the Port Adelaide Greek Community Language School?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Okay. Can I ask, in relation to—is there a list of other organisations that were given specific commitments before the election, for grants of this nature, either $2 million or less, that are being funded out of this allocation of funding?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: There were a number of election commitments made for other projects and initiatives that were considered to be a high priority that met specific community needs, and contribute to our whole community. Yes, there are other projects.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Is the minister able to identify that list, and I am interested in relation to the Greek school and any other commitments that were made as to what financial years that funding is going to be provided, for example, and the allocation to each of those projects?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Obviously, we are still working through over those four years in conjunction with the different communities about when that money will be funded. Those conversations are continuing now.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Can I go to probably the same budget line, or we will continue on the Community Languages Schools, the work of which we all value. I should apologise to Darryl Buchanan, Angela Scarino and everyone else who—

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Binh Nguyen?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Binh Nguyen was involved in the discussions as well, but it was particularly Angela Scarino who was arguing for the language change from Ethnic and Community Languages Schools to Community Languages Schools, which I was able to facilitate as minister, so I know that she will be watching this and will be very pleased to hear that new language used. Do you have a clarity on what the per student funding for Community Languages Schools will be going forward at this stage? I think it is $153 per student at the moment. Is that one of the areas where the new funding can be committed to as well?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Obviously, as I detailed in the list, there are several challenges for our Community Languages Schools. When looking at additional funding, we are looking at different areas, and that includes the per capita funding per student as one option. I am keen to make sure I have a very clear view of all of the needs and the potential areas of funding that could go forward, so at this point that work is being done. We are working very closely, as I said, with the Community Languages Schools Association to understand the formula that currently exists that is paid through the education department.

I was delighted to see that the new federal Labor government has also indicated additional funding to Community Languages Schools throughout Australia. What we see here is a commonality of recognition of how important these languages are. As I understand it, we look forward to hearing how that will be distributed as well, but at this point we have not made set decisions.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: My understanding is that, earlier this month, the Minister for Transport announced that the Labor government would be providing $500,000 funding to maintain Greek language studies in South Australia. Is that funding from Education or is that part of the commitment for Community Languages Schools?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: You said it was earlier this month?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I think it was earlier this month; I could be mistaken.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Perhaps you could provide more detail, but it is part of our election commitment and it will come from that funding.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Out of the $4 million funding for Community Languages Schools?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: The additional $16 million over four years incorporates the election policy commitments and some of those individual election commitments, and that was one of those. Obviously, there is an interest—in fact, I think you played a role in it—in looking at tertiary education and tertiary languages that looked like they were not going to go ahead. Those conversations were also had with us about sustaining them in the future and there will be funding for that.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I think I asked a similar question earlier, but can I seek a list of those funding commitments that have already been confirmed?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Our election commitments as I detailed earlier? Is that what you mean, like the ambassador program, the media grant—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The specific allocation of funding that has been confirmed.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I will take that on notice.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Thank you. On page 27, grants and subsidies: is there an allocation available for grants program funds for the 2022-23 financial year and across the forward estimates, or is that still to be determined?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: My recollection is it is $7.4 million for this financial year.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Are there any changes to the current grants streams of Advance Together, Celebrate Together, Expand Together, Stronger Together and Connect Together?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We will be making formal announcements as we go along. Obviously, we need to incorporate our election commitments, particularly incorporating the investment in community infrastructure upgrades, including security and for community transport. We will introduce a new grant line, which is the multicultural media grants.

As you may be aware, there was a process that was already in place leading up to the election and, because my focus is on supporting communities, we continued that process. That money has gone out with Expand Together and Advance and Celebrate. At this point, we will continue with those grant programs but incorporate the new grants program and of course expand those to include the community infrastructure upgrades.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Outside the delivery of the election commitments just identified, will there be any changes to the funding criteria of any of those grant streams?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: At this point, we are always going to look at the grants and see whether they are continuing to apply in the way they were expected to, so we will look at those. At no time will I intend to hold up those grants that come out. Our communities were very interrupted by COVID and the ability to come together and celebrate was incredibly interrupted. I know how much they are looking forward to, if they have not already, coming together to celebrate, and I will endeavour to work closely, but of course I am going to look at the grants and see whether they are still fitting for the purpose for which they were created in the first place.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Under the Labor government, will the grants continue to be assessed by an independent grants panel, which makes funding recommendations based on eligibility and merit?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Who will be on this grants panel, or is it the same as it has been?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It is the same panel that was established when I was a minister previously. However, I am advised that there were different panels for each of the grant rounds; it is a context of an independent SAMC and people from the department and externally.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Did the government go through the same process when allocating the delivery of the election commitments or, as has been identified by some other ministers, is it just an instruction to use that funding for the purposes of delivering on the election commitments?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes, they are election commitments.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Can I ask if the minister is able to provide a list of successful recipients across each grant stream, including any project or event that has received multicultural grants funding, perhaps one for the last financial year that we are about to finish and any that are identified—

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Would you like me to read them out?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I would be happy if you would provide it; you can take it on notice or you can—

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I think it is available publicly on the website, so I will direct you towards the website.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: If that has the detail I will be satisfied with that, thank you. Does the minister have any grant lines that are not open and competitive but rather are allocated directly by the minister?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: There is the Multicultural Priorities Fund that has always existed and that enables us to have some flexibility to respond quickly to the community needs. Perhaps I could touch on 2021-22, when there was significant funding, just shy of $2 million, in the Multicultural Priorities Fund. It was used quite extensively by the previous government. It does provide direct allocations of funding, which are considered to be high priority, to look at strong and inclusive diverse communities—it was quite significant.

Upon coming to government, I was taken aback by the significant funding within the Multicultural Priorities Fund. As you know, the Multicultural Priorities Fund does enable the government to respond quickly to community needs, but it was exceptional, one might say, to have that much funding in that fund.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I think the minister has just identified the urgent need that communities wanted to come together and celebrate after COVID, and I am sure the former government understood that. Given the need for that fund to be available for flexibility and urgent responses, is there any expectation or intention to directly allocate funding for long-term agreements in that fund, such as a three-year funding agreement? Is there anything like that?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: No.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I might ask if the member for Frome would take the opportunity to do the omnibus questions first.

Ms PRATT: Sure.

1. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, what is the total cost of machinery of government changes incurred between 22 March 2022 and 30 June 2022?

2. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, which administrative units were created, abolished or transferred to another department or agency between 22 March 2022 and 30 June 2022 and what was the cost or saving in each case?

3. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, how many executive appointments have been made since 22 March 2022 and what is the annual salary and total employment cost for each position?

4. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, how many executive positions have been abolished since 22 March 2022 and what was the annual salary and total employment cost for each position?

5. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, what has been the total cost of executive position terminations since 22 March 2022?

6. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, will the minister provide a breakdown of expenditure on consultants and contractors with a total estimated cost above $10,000 engaged between 22 March 2022 and 30 June 2022, listing the name of the consultant, contractor or service supplier, the method of appointment, the reason for the engagement and the estimated total cost of the work?

7. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, will the minister provide an estimate of the total cost to be incurred in 2022-23 for consultants and contractors, and for each case in which a consultant or contractor has already been engaged at a total estimated cost above $10,000, the name of the consultant or contractor, the method of appointment, the reason for the engagement and the total estimated cost?

8. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, will the minister advise whether it will be subject to the 1.7 per cent efficiency dividend for 2022-23 to which the government has committed and, if so, the budgeted dollar amount to be contributed in each case and how the saving will be achieved?

9. For each department or agency reporting to the minister, how many surplus employees were there at 30 June 2022, and for each surplus employee, what is the title or classification of the position and the total annual employment cost?

10. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, what is the number of executive staff to be cut to meet the government's commitment to reduce spending on the employment of executive staff by $41.5 million over four years and, for each position to be cut, its classification, total remuneration cost and the date by which the position will be cut?

11. For each department and agency reporting to the minister:

What savings targets have been set for 2022-23 and each year of the forward estimates;

What is the estimated FTE impact of these measures?

12. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, will the minister advise what share it will receive of the $1.5 billion the government proposes to use over four years of uncommitted capital reserves held in the budget at the time it took office and the purpose for which this funding will be used in each case?

13. For each department and agency reporting to the minister:

What was the actual FTE count at 30 June 2022 and what is the projected actual FTE account for the end of each year of the forward estimates;

What is the budgeted total employment cost for each year of the forward estimates; and

How many targeted voluntary separation packages are estimated to be required to meet budget targets over the forward estimates and what is their estimated cost?

14. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, how much is budgeted to be spent on goods and services for 2022-23 and for each year of the forward estimates?

15. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, how many FTEs are budgeted to provide communication and promotion activities in 2022-23 and each year of the forward estimates and what is their estimated employment cost?

16. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, what is the total budgeted cost of government-paid advertising, including campaigns, across all mediums in 2022-23?

17. For each department and agency reporting to the minister, please provide for each individual investing expenditure project administered, the name, total estimated expenditure, actual expenditure incurred to 30 June 2022 and budgeted expenditure for 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26.

18. For each grant program or fund the minister is responsible for, please provide the following information for the 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 financial years:

Name of the program or fund;

The purpose of the program or fund;

Budgeted payments into the program or fund;

Budgeted expenditure from the program or fund; and

Details, including the value and beneficiary, or any commitments already made to be funded from the program or fund.

The CHAIR: Thank you.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: You will take them on notice?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I remember a former minister once trying to catch us out. I would not have ascribed that motivation at all.

The CHAIR: You can feel free to answer that if you want, minister.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Can I go to Budget Paper 5, the Budget Measures Statement, to the operating efficiencies on page 99. There is $14 million, $20 million, $19 million and $11 million over the next four years to be saved from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. Has the multicultural affairs program within Premier and Cabinet had any of those operating efficiencies assigned to them?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: The proposed savings to be allocated to this program for 2022-23 are $126,000, about 1.3 per cent of the expenditure.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Is there an understanding of what methodology the program line will use to meet that target savings?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That is currently under consideration by the department.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: How many FTE currently work in this program area?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It is identified in the budget: 13.7, on page 27.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Is the minister confident that the $126,000 will be able to be retrieved in efficiencies without impacting on programs or services?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Can I go to page 26, the target to develop and implement the South Australian Multicultural Charter. What is the time frame for the development and implementation of that charter?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: The charter obviously is part of the new act that we debated in the house last year. It provides the opportunity to set the foundation for our multicultural direction for the future of the state. There is a three-stage engagement approach in collaboration and consultation with stakeholders across South Australia. The engagement process began formally in April of this year, and a charter working group has been established to lead the first stage of the charter's development.

The charter working group consists of Ms Jodeen Carney, Commissioner for Equal Opportunity; Adriana Christopoulos, Chair of the South Australian Multicultural Commission; Dr Jessica Gallagher, Deputy Vice Chancellor (External Engagement), University of Adelaide; Carmen Garcia, member of the South Australian Multicultural Commission; Helena Kyriazopoulos, CEO of the Multicultural Communities Council of SA; Rajendra Pandey, member of the South Australian Multicultural Commission; Erma Ranieri, Commissioner for Public Sector Employment, Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment; Associate Professor Angela Scarino, Chair of the Multicultural Education and Languages Committee; Tamara Stewart-Jones, CEO of Multicultural Youth SA; Deb Stringer, CEO of the Australian Refugee Association; Dr Roger Thomas, Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement; Quin Tran, member of the South Australian Multicultural Commission; Eugenia Tsoulis, CEO of the Australian Migrant Resource Centre; and Associate Professor Anna Ziersch, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University.

The charter group met on four occasions, completing inter-session tasks during April and May, and they collaborated and brought their expertise to develop the draft charter. The draft charter being developed is based on input from the charter working group, provisions in the South Australian Multicultural Act 2021, feedback from the Multicultural Legislative Review and examples from other jurisdictions.

The working group has drafted the multicultural principles and other provisions of the charter, as required by the act, ready for consultation and feedback from a wide group of key stakeholders. The second stage of the engagement process involves stakeholder engagement forums, multicultural community organisations, South Australian government agencies, local government, business and industry bodies. The third stage of the engagement process involves public consultation.

The working group will consider feedback received during the second and third stages to finalise the multicultural charter. It will be submitted to cabinet for approval. As outlined previously, as part of our commitment to the charter we announced a multicultural South Australian ambassador program to activate the charter, to embed its principles within the workforce and business practices of South Australia's leading organisations.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: We have established that there is a listenership of thousands to these estimates proceedings, and I noticed that one of the members was Helena Kyriazopoulos, who last week was awarded a Queen's Birthday honour and is now Helena Kyriazopoulos OAM. She is a constituent of mine and so I want to take the opportunity to say congratulations.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I had the opportunity to write a letter to Helena to congratulate her, amongst other winners.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Her letterbox is overflowing.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I congratulate Brad Chilcott as well, and several other people who were recognised for their efforts. I think we can speak proudly of those South Australians who have stood up to support our community.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The second stage the minister identified was stakeholder engagement and the third stage is public consultation before it goes to cabinet. Can the minister identify when those public consultations will take place and when it is expected that those consultations will be completed and cabinet will authorise its presentation publicly?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: They started in April of this year to develop the draft charter, and in July of this year the stakeholder engagement forums will happen. I expect a public consultation process in September.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: One of the outcomes the minister identified was the ambassador program.

The CHAIR: Still on the same page?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Yes, the ambassadors are a consequence of the charter that the minister was just talking about. When will the ambassador program be implemented? Is there an expression of interest process for individuals to apply? How many people are we talking about and what are the criteria for becoming an ambassador?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We are obviously still in some discussion about how that will operate. I am particularly pleased that the South Australian Multicultural Commission members were very interested in the ambassador program. I spoke to them in the first week of being a minister. They held one of their meetings and I went through in detail our significant election policy and the money in addition.

There are obviously quite a few, as I outlined, who are on the working group of the charter, and they are keen to do that. I would expect to table the charter to parliament at the end of this year and, after that, we will continue to look at the ambassador program. Obviously, the program will raise awareness and promote greater understanding of the charter across the wider community, showcase best practice in the implementation of the principles, advance diversity and inclusion issues in the workforce—public and private—and strengthen multiculturalism and social cohesion.

The design and development objects of the project are being scoped but we are influenced by the Multicultural Queensland Ambassador Program, a program that has been in operation for some time, but we will continue to have those conversations.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Is it expected that the ambassadors will be volunteers or staff?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I do not expect them to be staff, no. It will be businesses in general, public and private, signing up to be in the ambassador program.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: When does the minister anticipate she will be providing details about that process for people or businesses that want to become ambassadors?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: In due time. We are working on it now.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: This year perhaps?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I expect that it would be appropriate for me to table the charter first, with cabinet approval, and then have the support of the parliament before proceeding to that next stage, but work continues to happen.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Also on page 26, one of the targets is to produce and maintain an online South Australian multicultural resource directory. Can the minister outline the resources and funding allocation for that development, whether there are FTEs allocated or external consultants?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: The funding is part of that additional funding that was detailed in the budget and we are obviously having discussions about the budget and how that will go. We are going to look at producing and maintaining an online South Australian multicultural resource directory to list organisations that offer information, advice, support and networking opportunities for our diverse community.

It was raised with me, by one of our service delivery groups in South Australia, that when people come here, whether as a skilled migrant or a humanitarian migrant, moving from interstate, that it was often difficult to find services in a particular language—a doctor who speaks your language or food that you are looking for or connecting up with the community—and the idea of a one-stop shop is where the directory came from.

The way it would work particularly, rather than having significant FTE time to upgrade it, is for people to proactively upgrade and provide that information to have that best knowledge. That encourages us to have a deeper connection within the community. The lack of information in one location was certainly raised with me, and this will give us the opportunity to advertise it to our migrant community who are already here and those who are newly arrived.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: In relation to this directory, what criteria will be used to determine which organisations are listed and which are not?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We are obviously working through those details now. We will talk with members of the Multicultural Commission about how we intend to have this directory and keep it activated and up to date, and we will be guided by that. Often what we see are those people who have arrived probably in the last 10 years have a higher need of that directory and information, so that might guide where we go, but we are still open to it. As I understand, other states have a similar directory and we are looking at that as well.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I go to the same page and the line above, the multicultural media grant stream. How much funding is going to be allocated to this new media grant stream?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As I said previously, we are still working out the budget on that. That is a particular new line of grants, and obviously detailed not just in our election policy but then in the budget just brought down on 2 June. The focus of the media grants is to drive skills development and communication across the state's multicultural communities.

It also came to our attention that while there was success in managing COVID here—particularly making sure we had messages in languages and embedding someone from the Office of Multicultural Affairs within SA Health helped with that, and also I think we are on the hesitancy board—we could see how important it is to get messages out in a timely manner in different media, in languages as well. It reinforced the importance of delivering up-to-date cultural and linguistic appropriate health messages during COVID. We know that there is interest in people developing these communication skills.

As I elaborated on before, we have quite a few newspapers and radio stations that connect with their communities in language. They are looking for younger people to be involved and they are interested in those skills. My focus around that is about skills and also about the purchase of equipment and strengthening their communication skills through training. We endeavour to run it out this financial year. Obviously, we will continue to audit, review it and see if the way it is going out is working. We know that there is a great need for it and a great interest in this program.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I am interested, minister, you have identified that you are still working out how much funding is going into this multicultural media grants stream. We had the budget on 2 June and we have the election commitments, which were obviously all funded out of the global $16 million over four years, but there are many strands of work underneath that where we are still working out what the allocations are. Is there a date by which the minister expects that the 2022-23 financial year budget for multicultural affairs will be determined within DPC, in terms of how much is going to each of these grants programs and the other bodies of work and the election commitments?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I expect to have that settled in the very near future.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Alright. Well, maybe we can apply to the parliament for another estimates. In relation to the media grants stream, if the quantum of funding is not yet determined, have there been some of the details around those grants yet delivered? Do we know what the application criteria are going to be, for example?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We are working on that now. We are nearly ready to present that, so in the near future I will be making an announcement.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Are we expecting that any multicultural organisation, such as might appear on the resource directory, can apply for these funds, or is it expected to be an existing multicultural media provider or a peak body that will be eligible, or will anybody be eligible?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As I am advised, it is in line with our current eligibility.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The minister mentioned communications equipment before. Is it expected that the grants stream will provide funds for communications equipment purchase as well as skills development? Are there any other activities to which funds can be put?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes, they are the two priorities: training and equipment.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Were there any others was also part of the question.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Not at this stage. When we run it out the first time, those will be the priority areas. As I said, after that, being a new grant program, we will review it in consultation with those people who receive the grants and the people who have shown interest.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I go to the bottom dot point on page 26, 'Invest in community infrastructure upgrades including upgrading security and for community transport.' Is this in reference to a new grants stream or are we talking about a continuation of or expansion of or reduction of the Expand Together infrastructure grants program that was already in existence?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I intend to incorporate it within the Expand grant system.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Will the funding that was committed last year under Expand Together be increased, decreased or maintained under this target?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We are having those conversations now. Obviously, even with the additional funding, we have an extensive policy: lots of different programs and grants within the multicultural area. The attention that we obviously paid to our diverse community, and it was recognised during the election, is something that we will work through. I know that there was great interest in the focus and the time that we took to produce a multicultural policy for the election. We are delighted that we were elected, we have a lot of work to do, and this includes looking at how we will deliver those programs and the grants that we have there.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I refer to the following page on grants and subsidies. Does funding for the South Australian Multicultural Festival come out of this grants and subsidies budget line?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes, it will come out of that line. I am advised it comes across three lines: grants and subsidies, employee benefits and supplies and services. You might recall it was also part of our election policy, with a focus on taking it to an annual event. I have to say that I was quite inspired when I went, in November last year, to Victoria Square, where 7,000 people attended the fifth Multicultural Festival. That was held on Sunday 14 November 2021. That one-day event featured 70 community groups, highlighting more than 50 cultures. While the weather was not particularly kind I have to say, there were 30 performances, 15 activities and 30 stalls.

I thought that festival and the way it was presented was an excellent way of connecting to the wider community and talking about and sharing our diverse cultures. Thus, I was inspired to support it to be an annual event. That was part of our election policy to do so. Obviously, that is how that grant line works in order to do something of that size, and I think we are aiming to be the largest Multicultural Festival in Australia. As Minister for Tourism, I will also happen to drop that around the place from time to time. It will need support obviously to make that happen.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I agree the festival was spectacular. The weather was warm, and my family loved it. I know the Hon. Jing Lee worked very hard to improve that festival. I think it was previously in Rundle Mall, and Victoria Square turned out to be a great location. I note the minister's commitment to make it annual. This is the same set of budget lines from which there has been a $126,000 cut this year, so can I ask how much funding will the government be providing to ensure this festival is as spectacular every year as it was last year; and when is the Festival going to be later this year? Do we have a date?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: We continue to work through that budget line. Unfortunately, Victoria Square was unable to be obtained for this calendar year, so we will start annually from next year.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: It will not be taking place this year? It will be starting next year, but in Victoria Square next year?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Do we have a date?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Unfortunately, it was already taken.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Do we have a date for next year?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: November. We have put those dates and already booked them in.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Excellent. How much money has been allocated to the multicultural women's microbusiness fund, which was also promised prior to the election?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As I said, we continue to work through those processes. At the same time, the Department for Innovation and Skills has put considerable funding towards women's microbusiness support as well, so we will be working with them to talk to them about the program that they had. It has exceptionally increased funding. I do not even know if the Innovation and Skills funding existed before, so we will be looking at that as well.

There was a COVID program, which received additional funding from Good Shepherd microfinance, which actually built on previous microbusiness support programs, so it was some additional money during the COVID times. There are several programs around that have shown fantastic outcomes in this microbusiness support, so we will continue to have those conversations, but I am very confident that we will find the right fit to achieve this election commitment.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: How much of the $4 million per year funding has the minister allocated to fund the election promise to establish a multicultural chamber of commerce group, and what is the time frame for its establishment?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I am so glad you asked about that. I just recently had a meeting with the heads of the Chambers of Commerce about what they would like to do because there currently is not an umbrella body that incorporates all the Chamber of Commerce, so I spoke with them. It was a very free-flowing discussion about what they would like to see, and the reality is that they do not come together very often themselves. They are quite siloed in their approach, so we will start with some of that opportunity to come together.

The other area is, rather than having a formalised association, which is what previously existed but which no longer exists—the Council for International Trade and Commerce South Australia—at this point they do not want to go down that pathway and have that model. What they do want to be armed with is information about the great investment opportunities in South Australia. At that meeting they talked to me about hydrogen. In the past, wine has been a particular area of interest of investors who have come here. They know that investors are interested in our renewable energy opportunities that are here, but what they felt is that we could speak more effectively when an investor comes here to widen out their areas of interest.

They felt that they would like to have a deeper knowledge of the areas of priority of this government. Like I said, hydrogen was a key thing that they were quite interested in, and wanted to know more. Space was another area to understand those opportunities. So when people come to them to invest here, to connect, they want to make sure they have the most up-to-date information. Just as importantly, they raised with me the ability to connect and collaborate with each other. For example, people who are exporting to Malaysia may easily then export to Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore, and by connecting with those Chambers of Commerce here those opportunities would go on.

It was a really good conversation. I went in there with a very open mind knowing that once again you are talking to volunteers. We only have a few people in paid positions of the International Chamber of Commerce here, AmCham being one of the most established. As I understand, the British Chamber of Commerce, or the UK Chamber of Commerce, is going to get more active, but I have had quite a bit of involvement. They certainly are interested in connecting, collaborating, and having clear details about the investment areas of focus for this government.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Have you spoken with the responsible department, for managing this, and who is the responsible minister? Is it going to sit under the Minister for Multicultural Affairs and DPC? Is it going to be part of one of the other departments with a grant or is it going to be an NGO? Is it going to be like CITCSA was before the former Labor government cut its funding? Who is going to be managing it?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: At this point, I will be the lead as it was part of the multicultural—but obviously in conjunction with the Minister for Industry and Trade, and they will be providing support as we go forward. At this point, the connection and collaboration was the key focus of the groups, and that is what they talked to me about, and that is what they would like. I suspect in coming years they might want to finalise it, formalise it in a different capacity. Most importantly, they want it to happen, and I intend to make sure that it does.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I realise you said you are working on it, but is there a notional allocation of FTE from within your department or an anticipated summary of funding for this program?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: There will not be a specific FTE for this program. Obviously, of the 13.7 FTEs they generally work across the grants and programs.

The CHAIR: Thank you, minister. The allotted time is up. I declare the examination of the portfolio of multicultural affairs completed. The estimate of payments for the Department of the Premier and Cabinet and Administered Items for the Department of the Premier and Cabinet are adjourned until Thursday 23 June 2022.

Sitting suspended from 11:00 to 11:15.