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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-11-22 Daily Xml
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MUSLIM REFERENCE GROUP

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:56): Will the Minister assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs tell the council what the government is doing to improve public understanding and awareness of Islam and Muslim communities in South Australia; will the recent events in the federal seat of Lindsay—where the husband of the Liberal candidate and a member of the New South Wales Liberal State Council were caught distributing pamphlets in the middle of the night for the sole purpose of inciting racial hatred—make this task more difficult; and does the minister believe that, after years of using racial hatred and wedge politics within the Australian community, maybe the federal government has gone a little too far?

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: I rise on a point of order, Mr President. I do not believe it is in order to ask any minister to give their opinion to this chamber, and I ask that you rule the question out of order.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Wortley asked a question of the minister and the minister can answer the question.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:57): Thank you for your protection, Mr President. Before responding to the question about the Muslim Reference Group in South Australia, I will say: what an absolute disgrace. Fancy using people's ethnicity and religion (because essentially that is what it was) to cause distress to those people just for the sake of really what appears to be political desperation. What a crass, racist stunt!

In relation to the Muslim Reference Group in South Australia, I thank the honourable member for his question. As I have previously mentioned in the council, the South Australian government's Muslim Reference Group was announced and first convened in late 2005. The group was formed to work out short, medium and long-term strategies for improving community relations and promoting interface dialogue relevant to Muslim communities in South Australia. The reference group highlighted the important role that the media plays in terms of communicating with the public and in fostering a balanced public awareness of Muslim communities in South Australia.

The group also recognises the need to develop a proactive working relationship with the media. It particularly expressed the need to develop 'media savvy'. To help develop a good working relationship with the media, members agreed to participate in media training. Media training was organised by Multicultural SA and occurred in the first half of 2006. Peter Manning (Adjunct Professor in Journalism, University of Technology, Sydney) delivered the training program.

Professor Manning is a recognised expert in both journalism and the relationship between the media and Muslim communities throughout Australia. Feedback from the previous training indicated that the media training had proved useful and also provided for skills that effectively dealt with the mainstream media. During a visit to the Gilles Plains Mosque, Dr Waleed Alkhazrajyn and other community members spent considerable time discussing the issue of the media.

In particular, they also mentioned that they would appreciate some more training. In response, Multicultural SA has recently organised further media training for members of the Muslim community in South Australia. The training provided members of the Muslim community with skills to manage media interviews and media relationships and detailed advice about how the media operates. The training also aimed to instil confidence in the participants and enable them to be more pro-active when dealing with the media.

A representative cross-section of the Muslim community was approached. Members of the community who were regarded as spokespeople or potential spokespeople for their communities participated in that training. Nine members of the Muslim community received the training, including people who were willing to be spokespeople for their communities.

The training was held on Sunday 28 October this year and was again provided by Professor Manning. Feedback from participants regarding the content and delivery of the media training has been overwhelmingly positive. It is hoped that this initiative will foster positive and mutually beneficial relationships between the Muslim community and the media. I am certain that we would all agree that education through the media is an important step in breaking down stereotypes, misconceptions and fear of the unknown. I am sure council members will agree that this action plan will make South Australia a better place for members of the Muslim community and for all South Australians.

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