Ms LAWRIE - 2004-05-20
I have many constituents from ethnic backgrounds - Karama and Malak have the highest density in the Territory - and they are very interested to see what the budget contains in assistance to community groups to upgrade their facilities. Would you please advise the House?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Karama for her question. The Territory is one of the most multicultural sites in Australia. What is different in the Territory to other states, where people from these similar ethnic backgrounds tend to live together, like the Greeks with the Greeks, the Chinese with the Chinese, and they do not intermingle is that, here in the Territory, people of different culture and ethnic background live, in the main, in the same neighbourhood, in the same block of units, harmoniously. My child attends Year 10 at Darwin High School. If you heard his rollcall, it sounds like the United Nations instead of a Year 10 in an Australian city.
The government supports multicultural communities and their efforts to improve their conditions, and establish their homes and facilities. Over the years, they have developed these facilities. We have seen the Chinese complex, the Kalymnian Hall, the Greek Community Hall and the Italian Hall. Some of these halls have actually been constructed by the efforts of the migrants themselves. In the case of the Italian Hall, in the 1950s there was a group of Italian migrants who got together, used their skills in building, and they built the original Italian Hall. The same thing applies with the Greek Hall and the Greek Church. As a matter of fact, I have been advised that a number of Chinese labourers worked on the Greek Hall and some of them actually picked up the odd Greek word. I cannot repeat some of them in this House.
We see these facilities now getting a bit old and tired, and they need to be repaired and extended. They have to be maintained but, unfortunately, the cost is quite high and the ethnic communities cannot themselves raise this amount of money, one of the reasons being that the second and third generations have moved away from Darwin, or they do not have the same feeling for the ethnic groups that their fathers and forefathers come from.
The government has received many requests from ethnic communities in the past few years to upgrade and maintain facilities. However, there was no such program in place. In the past, the government would provide money ad hoc to different communities. The Martin government has made available $0.5m per annum for three years to assist the ethnic communities to upgrade, repair and maintain their facilities.
These facilities are not only used by ethnic communities. Many of them hire out to other groups. For example, many people in Darwin have hired the Kalymnian Hall because it is one of the biggest halls in Darwin that can seat about 1000 people. Other people hire the Cypriot Hall. I was present for the Hakka dinner held there. Timorese people also use the Cypriot Hall …
Mr Ah Kit: Italian Club.
Mr VATSKALIS: The Italian Club. I believe my colleague, the member for Millner, had one of his functions at the Kalymnian Hall. These halls are not only for the ethnic community, but the general community of Darwin.
The Ethnic Communities Facility Development Program will offer ethnic communities the ability to put submissions to receive money. With $0.5m a year for three years, I believe the ethnic communities can upgrade their facilities and maintain appropriate standards. This new program increases the money spent for ethnic communities in the Territory by 300% since we came to government. It is a significant increase in the budget, combined with the ethnic communities’ grants and the Linguistic Awards.
The Martin Labor government supports ethnic communities and wants to maintain the multicultural lifestyle of the Territory. Certainly, this $0.5m will provide a lot of work for local contractors and subbies, helping the ethnic communities at the same time as helping the economy.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Karama for her question. The Territory is one of the most multicultural sites in Australia. What is different in the Territory to other states, where people from these similar ethnic backgrounds tend to live together, like the Greeks with the Greeks, the Chinese with the Chinese, and they do not intermingle is that, here in the Territory, people of different culture and ethnic background live, in the main, in the same neighbourhood, in the same block of units, harmoniously. My child attends Year 10 at Darwin High School. If you heard his rollcall, it sounds like the United Nations instead of a Year 10 in an Australian city.
The government supports multicultural communities and their efforts to improve their conditions, and establish their homes and facilities. Over the years, they have developed these facilities. We have seen the Chinese complex, the Kalymnian Hall, the Greek Community Hall and the Italian Hall. Some of these halls have actually been constructed by the efforts of the migrants themselves. In the case of the Italian Hall, in the 1950s there was a group of Italian migrants who got together, used their skills in building, and they built the original Italian Hall. The same thing applies with the Greek Hall and the Greek Church. As a matter of fact, I have been advised that a number of Chinese labourers worked on the Greek Hall and some of them actually picked up the odd Greek word. I cannot repeat some of them in this House.
We see these facilities now getting a bit old and tired, and they need to be repaired and extended. They have to be maintained but, unfortunately, the cost is quite high and the ethnic communities cannot themselves raise this amount of money, one of the reasons being that the second and third generations have moved away from Darwin, or they do not have the same feeling for the ethnic groups that their fathers and forefathers come from.
The government has received many requests from ethnic communities in the past few years to upgrade and maintain facilities. However, there was no such program in place. In the past, the government would provide money ad hoc to different communities. The Martin government has made available $0.5m per annum for three years to assist the ethnic communities to upgrade, repair and maintain their facilities.
These facilities are not only used by ethnic communities. Many of them hire out to other groups. For example, many people in Darwin have hired the Kalymnian Hall because it is one of the biggest halls in Darwin that can seat about 1000 people. Other people hire the Cypriot Hall. I was present for the Hakka dinner held there. Timorese people also use the Cypriot Hall …
Mr Ah Kit: Italian Club.
Mr VATSKALIS: The Italian Club. I believe my colleague, the member for Millner, had one of his functions at the Kalymnian Hall. These halls are not only for the ethnic community, but the general community of Darwin.
The Ethnic Communities Facility Development Program will offer ethnic communities the ability to put submissions to receive money. With $0.5m a year for three years, I believe the ethnic communities can upgrade their facilities and maintain appropriate standards. This new program increases the money spent for ethnic communities in the Territory by 300% since we came to government. It is a significant increase in the budget, combined with the ethnic communities’ grants and the Linguistic Awards.
The Martin Labor government supports ethnic communities and wants to maintain the multicultural lifestyle of the Territory. Certainly, this $0.5m will provide a lot of work for local contractors and subbies, helping the ethnic communities at the same time as helping the economy.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016