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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-05-01 Daily Xml
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MULTICULTURALISM

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:01): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs a question about multicultural affairs.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA: Multiculturalism has proved to be a wonderful success in our state. The government continues to support new initiatives and opportunities that foster a good relationship between the many communities that make up our society. Will the minister inform the council about progress being made in the area of multicultural affairs?

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (15:01): I thank the honourable member for his important question. I think I heard a groan on the other side, but I am sure that was not the case. This government has long held the view that multiculturalism is one of our greatest achievements. South Australia has been (and continues to be) a leader in this process, and I am pleased to say that multiculturalism has enjoyed bipartisan support in our state since its inception.

Recently I attended two functions that reinforced this very important message. The first was a reception held by the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission (SAMEAC) which brought together members of the commission's Women's Advisory Committee and Youth Advisory Committee. The second was the launch of a community harmony project organised by the Australian Refugee Association.

During the SAMEAC reception, I took note of the words of the chairman, Mr Hieu Van Le, who is also Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia. He is providing outstanding leadership in the commission. Even though the commission includes many dedicated experts, they recognise the need to listen to others for specialist advice. That is why SAMEAC works closely with the women's and youth advisory committees.

Mr Le wants to break down the misconception that multiculturalism is for people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, and he has asked Multicultural SA to ensure that multicultural events are accessible to all South Australians. The exposure of cultural diversity is going far beyond the ethnic cultural events which predominantly have ethnic audiences.

Multiculturalism has been featured in the Christmas pageant, the Australia Day parade, the ANZAC Day Eve Youth Vigil, and the International Police Tattoo in the Marion shopping centre and Rundle Mall. I understand that the multicultural forum held in February was the most successful ever. It was attended by an eminent group of South Australians who came together to focus on multicultural issues.

The event at Cowandilla Primary School, organised by the Australian Refugee Association, was to launch a community harmony project involving Clarendon and Cowandilla Primary Schools and the St John Bosco and St Andrew's Schools.

As I said at the launch, the success of multiculturalism depends on people from different backgrounds getting to know each other and sharing their different traditions. The community harmony project is bringing together young people, teachers and parents from diverse backgrounds so that they can find out about each other's cultures—the way they do things; their arts and crafts, foods, histories and languages; attitudes to school and work; sport and recreation; and their traditional stories and beliefs. The more we find out about each other, the more we find out about ourselves. This project will contribute to the community because our youth will be able to understand and appreciate different cultures, rather than feeling uneasy about them because we do not understand others around us.

I commend the Australian Refugee Association for the important range of services that it provides to refugees. I am sure council members would agree that the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission and organisations such as the Australian Refugee Association are the crucial players in making multiculturalism so successful in South Australia, and they deserve high praise.

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