Multicultural Communities

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-126465

Hansard session: Fifty-Seventh Parliament, First Session (57-1)

Multicultural Communities

Mr RAY WILLIAMS (Castle Hill) (15:24:48):

My question is addressed to the Minister for Multiculturalism, and Minister for Seniors. Will the Minister update the House on how the Government is securing a brighter future for our multicultural communities?

Mr MARK COURE (OatleyMinister for Multiculturalism, and Minister for Seniors) (15:25:20):

— I thank the member for Castle Hill for his question and acknowledge his outstanding support for diverse communities across the State, as well as being a former Minister for Multiculturalism. I also thank the Treasurer. The latest budget included a record investment in multicultural communities in New South Wales: an additional $28 million over the next two years—which takes the budget to just under $70 million—for community engagement, festival events and language services. We wasted no time in getting that money to community groups to help them celebrate their unique cultural identity through festivals and events. Recently I announced that more than160 groups had received a share of just over $1 million to host festivals and events in their communities. Our investment is about supporting community groups to share and promote their cultures, and to create a stronger, brighter future for the State. This was the first time the Government had funded so many local events at once.

The Government also stepped up its support for our State's most vulnerable communities. Earlier this week I announced that 15 non-government organisations had received a share of $4.2 million to support temporary visa holders, in particular asylum seekers through organisations like the Asylum Seekers Centre in the electorate of the member for Newtown. That funding will fill the gap for those NGOs to continue to provide emergency relief essentials and medical support. This Government stepped up its support to help temporary visa holders and asylum seekers. We are making sure that no-one is left behind. But it does not stop there.

Minister Henskens and I recently announced that the New South Wales Government has invested $11 million to create a new program to help asylum seekers find jobs—the Asylum Seeker Employment Skills Support program. That is in addition to the $6.3 million to expand the Refugee Employment Support Program to December 2023. That is a fantastic achievement. It will give a much-needed leg-up to those people who come to our great State in search of a brighter future for themselves and their families. That is but a small part of what the Government has been doing to support our multicultural communities. The New South Wales Government is about putting people first.