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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-11-23 Daily Xml
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FEDERATION OF ETHNIC COMMUNITIES COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (14:53): Madam Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. Can the minister brief the house on the recent Federation of Ethnic Communities Council of Australia (FECCA) conference held in Adelaide?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:54): I thank the member for Ashford for her question, and I know that she has a very multicultural electorate and is very active in attending many, many functions. FECCA is the peak national body representing Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Over two days, our state hosted 375 delegates and speakers, including other parliamentarians and community leaders. The state government has a strong track record and remains committed to working closely with ethnic communities and the wider public to encourage a broader understanding of cultural and religious beliefs.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Sorry? Just making noise for the sake of it again? Just keep making the noise.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Tell us about the footed boobies. What about the footed boobies?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Norwood!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: On her travels, she discovered that human occupation has come with some problems in relation to the environment—so, 14 days in the Galapagos Islands to work out that human habitation has an impact on the environment.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: The state government was pleased to provide $60,000 to the Multicultural Communities Council of South Australia to support this conference. South Australia is now home to people of virtually every culture and faith in the world. In 2004, we aimed to take at least 10 per cent of Australia's annual number of humanitarian migrants. In 2010-11, we took more than 1,600 of Australia's 12,000-plus humanitarian migrants, a third more than our target.

Since the 2006 census, we have welcomed migrants from India, China, the Philippines, Afghanistan, a number of African nations, plus Burma and Bhutan. Most of these people have settled well into our community and have enriched our state.

We recently celebrated a fine example of this with 23 year old Khadija Gbla being named the 2011 Young South Australian of the Year at the Advantage SA Awards. Khadija, who left Africa 10 years ago, has had to deal with more in her life so far than most people would in a lifetime. Since fleeing war-torn Sierra Leone, she has fought depression and chronic fatigue syndrome, all while settling into a new country, but none of these challenges have stopped her making an enormous contribution and achieving great things in our community.

Through the contribution of people like this young woman, along with various cultural festivals and celebrations, South Australians of all backgrounds have the chance to learn about customs, and statistics show that we are embracing these opportunities. Surveys around South Australia's Strategic Plan show that around 90 per cent of people see cultural diversity as a positive influence on our community.

The Weatherill government is continually working to improve services and support for migrants, with a strong focus on the coordination of settlement services for new arrivals, aged care and community relations with police and emergency services. We have increased funding by 700 per cent to the Multicultural Grants Scheme since 2002 and we continue to back the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission in its efforts to help ethnic communities thrive in our state.

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