Thursday, 16 November 2023

Adjournment

Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Housing, Minister for Water, Minister for Equality) (17:43): I move:

That the house do now adjourn.

Southern Metropolitan Region multicultural communities

John BERGER (Southern Metropolitan) (17:43): (596) My adjournment is for the Minister for Multicultural Affairs Minister Stitt. No state is better at promoting multiculturalism than Victoria, and no government does more work to promote cross-cultural understanding, social cohesion and friendship than the Allan Labor government. Just last Friday the Premier held the annual Diwali dinner, a great opportunity for the community to come together in peace and harmony to celebrate the festival of lights. It is events like this that we are supporting with our $1.3 million investment to deliver events that celebrate and showcase Victoria’s diverse cultural communities.

Just last month the minister made an announcement that continues the commitment to celebrate multicultural communities’ history, culture and tradition, all thanks to the Multicultural Community Infrastructure Fund and our $16 million investment. Grants of up to $400,000 will be available to build or upgrade places and provide safe spaces for communities to access and connect to services. To the large Chinese, Korean, Greek and Italian communities in Southern Metro, please note that there are dedicated funds for you to access, and if you need help applying, please get in contact with my office. Applications close on Wednesday 6 December.

Since 2014 we have invested more than $52 million to deliver 386 multicultural community infrastructure projects. That includes the Korean Society of Victoria in Oakleigh, who received funding to upgrade community halls. I am proud of the work multicultural community leaders do in my community. Now more than ever we need to promote unity, not division. That includes Sikh community leader Ravneet Sohi, the founder of Keenagers Club Victoria – their work is diverse, from fighting domestic violence and promoting gender equality to the weekly bus trips for seniors aimed at supporting their leisure and physical and mental health – and Kamal Ibrahim, the founder of One Ball, someone my colleague from the other place the member for Albert Park knows a lot about. Their group brings together young people and migrant communities over soccer.

Then there are the countless Jewish leaders who bring my community together, Australia’s largest Jewish community, from art and culture, like Gary Samowitz at the Jewish Arts Quarter, to religion and community, like Rabbi Kaltmann, who the minister met at the Ark Centre. We have a large community from Eastern Europe in Prahran, a large Chinese community in Ashwood and a Greek community in Oakleigh. That is why I have decided to establish a multicultural advisory group for southern metropolitan Melbourne: to listen with open minds and open hearts, to walk together and to build a better future for all of us. My adjournment is: will the minister join me at a meeting of the advisory group to speak with the community representatives that are working together for all of us?