Nic Street,Minister for Community Services and Development
The 2022-23 Tasmanian Budget is about making Tasmania’s priorities our priorities and we are committed to delivering for all Tasmanians.
We are committed to supporting and enabling our migrants to take up opportunities for economic and social participation, and to respond to what communities tells us about their needs for places to meet, learn, share their faith and celebrate their culture.
That is why the Budget includes an additional $100,000 to the Glenorchy City Council to continue operation of the Moonah Multicultural Hub across two years, which is the central southern base for multicultural communities to gather, celebrate and learn.
We are also investing $75,000 in consultations to develop a new whole of government Tasmanian Multicultural Policy and Action Plan, working with our funded peak, the Multicultural Council of Tasmania (MCOT), as well as Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) Tasmania, and MRC North.
We are also investing $20,000 to continue our partnership with the Devonport City Council to extend multicultural services to the North West through MRC North, as well as providing $30,000 to MCOT to produce a ‘Multicultural Tasmania’ report to the Government.
To continue supporting young adult migrants, funding of $20,000 is being provided to the Migrant Resource Centre Tasmania for their My Transitions Program to support Years 11 and 12 students to transition into post compulsory education, training or employment.
These build on our ongoing 2021 commitments, which include funding of $350,000 to the Migrant Resource Centre Northern Tasmania over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23), toward the re-development of the Haig Street Community Centre into a new Northern Multicultural Hub, and I acknowledge their successful securing of funding from the Federal Government to progress this important initiative.
With the overseas crisis of Afghanistan and now Ukraine, it is vitally important that we continue to support a culturally diverse, inclusive, and socially cohesive state, and that is exactly what our investments are doing.
Tasmania is stronger and more prosperous because of our multiculturalism, and because of the valuable contribution of those who have chosen to call this State home.
