Southern Metropolitan Region Multicultural Communities
By John Berger
16 AUGUST 2023
My adjournment is for the Minister for Multicultural Affairs in the other place, Minister Brooks, and the action that I seek is for the minister to update me on what actions the Andrews Labor government is taking to support multicultural communities in my community of Southern Metro, specifically in the electorate of Hawthorn.
The Andrews Labor government has a proud tradition of supporting our multicultural communities here in Victoria. That is why we have introduced the multicultural festivals and events program. This program funds multicultural and multifaith community organisations to hold cultural festivals and events for their local communities. Funding was offered in three streams and funds events held between 1 July and 31 December. Through this round of the grant program a massive 346 organisations will be sharing in more than $1.3 million of allocated funding, and I am excited to say two of these organisations are in my community of Hawthorn. First, the Ashburton Chinese Senior Friendship Association received $2000, and the Monash Chinese Senior Friendship Association will also receive $2000 to help organise this festival.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture and marks the end of the autumn harvest. You may know of the festival from its prominent display of lanterns of all shapes and sizes and of course the consumption of mooncakes, which I am excited to eat again, and with 3.1 per cent of the electorate of Hawthorn speaking Mandarin at home and a significantly larger population of Australians with Chinese ancestry residing in my community of Southern Metro, this festival is an important time of the year for my community. I want to thank both organisations for taking the time to apply for this program and their commitment to celebrating and promoting multiculturalism in Victoria.
Our government will always support multicultural communities in Victoria, as will I. I look forward to working with Vivienne Nguyen AM, chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, recently appointed to strengthen these bonds. I also encourage my community to nominate people or organisations for the 2023 Victorian Multicultural Awards for Excellence, which are now in their 22nd year. This year’s categories include arts, business, community innovation, education, emergency services, health, justice, local government, media, police, refugee advocacy, sport, youth leadership and the Premier’s Award for Community Harmony, but get in soon, as nominations close on 3 September. To wrap up, I am excited to attend the mooncake festival and more multicultural events supported by this side of the chamber.