Accessible Government Services for All Annual Report
Page 17
State, territory and local governments
Northern Territory - Office of Multicultural Affairs
The Northern Territory's first multicultural policy, Building on the Territory's Diversity, was released in February 2005, with four underlying principles; valuing diversity, fair access, encouraging participation and mutual respect.
The Northern Territory Office of Multicultural Affairs selected migrants from the African communities in Darwin for a pilot consultation project to determine the communities' self-assessment against the multicultural principles. The project was conducted in collaboration with the Charles Darwin University. The project respondents were selected from the four largest African communities in Darwin: Sudanese, Liberians, Ethiopians and Somalis, and all respondents arrived as refugees through the Humanitarian Settlement Programme.
The highest satisfaction ratings were: economic environment and economic opportunities, climate, safety, educational opportunities for children, interpreter services, social and political stability, family and children's services and Australian lifestyle. The highest challenge ratings were: finding preferred employment, learning English, accessing affordable housing, understanding and accessing health services, maintaining family life and traditional culture, and understanding Australian culture.
The Northern Territory Government has provided strategies to assist with the challenges where possible, in housing, health services, the balance of maintaining traditional culture and integrating into the Australian culture. However, humanitarian entrants continue to have difficulty accessing adequate primary health care, largely due to a shortage of general practitioners in the Territory.
A small percentage of humanitarian entrants find the challenge of resettlement in a different culture, combined with their often traumatic past, daunting. The Territory service providers continue to work with these clients to achieve productive self-sufficiency. The majority of humanitarian entrants settle and integrate into Territory communities and provide a welcome contribution to the Territory's economic and social networks.