A Neighbourhood Centre planned for White Rock will be redesigned as an inclusive community and multicultural hub for Cairns.
Cairns Regional Council yesterday adopted the Cairns Multicultural Facilities Needs Assessment at its Ordinary Meeting and resolved to further work with the region’s multicultural groups to ensure the new facility in Tiffany St is purpose-built to meet their diverse needs.
The idea of a dedicated multicultural community facility centre was first mooted more than 20 years ago.
The Cairns community has become even more diverse, with overseas arrivals increasing from 3,288 to 6,554 in the past 15 years and current residents hailing from 102 different countries.
Cairns Mayor Bob Manning said there were approximately 38 active multicultural groups in Cairns, whose membership ranged from two people to 3000.
Many of these groups were consulted as part of the Multicultural Facilities Needs Assessment and provided feedback on the facilities they needed to accommodate large families, and celebratory and cultural gatherings.
“Cairns has a diverse and proud multicultural community with 27% of the Cairns population born overseas and 10% of the population of Cairns identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander,” Cr Manning said.
“Irrespective of the size of the group or the cultural background, these groups commonly rely on community facilities to share and practice culture, hold meetings, socialise/network, hold gatherings and conduct community programs.
“Adoption of the Cairns Multicultural Facilities Needs Assessment will see us proceed with the recommendation to develop a new design and management plan for the Tiffany Street site.
“A facility that caters to our many multicultural groups in Cairns is a facility for the whole community, celebrating our diversity and allowing everyone the opportunity to share in this rich multicultural tapestry of cultures and backgrounds.”
Council will continue to engage with representatives from the First Peoples and multicultural community in the next phase of this project, as well as the broader community, to ensure that all needs can be considered.
