Accessible Government Services for All Annual Report
Page 14
State, territory and local governments
Queensland – Multicultural Affairs Queensland
Following the launch of a strengthened multicultural policy: Multicultural Queensland – making a world of difference in December 2004, all Queensland Government departments have developed Multicultural Action Plans to foster increased access to government services by people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Multicultural Affairs Queensland (MAQ) developed and implemented the Muslim Community Engagement Strategy, in consultation with the Muslim Community Reference Group, to promote positive relations between the Muslim communities and the wider community. Two youth workers were funded to promote interaction of young people across different cultures and religions.
In partnership with MAQ, the Department of Education, Training and the Arts (DETA) funded the development of Queensland content on the history of multiculturalism and contemporary experiences of multiculturalism for the Making Multicultural Australia website: www.multiculturalaustralia.edu.au.
To improve support to refugee students, DETA provided additional funding of $1.6 million to state schools and $200 000 to non-state schools. Among other initiatives, schools have used this money to fund additional English as a Second Language teacher hours, provide additional teacher aide support, and employ community liaison officers to work with refugee students and their families.
Through its Community Renewal Programme, the Department of Housing delivered 12 projects in 2005-06 that directly benefited people from cultural and linguistically diverse communities living in renewal neighbourhoods. The projects, valued at $1.43 million, included Life Skills and Training for Multicultural Communities, Walk with Me - Building Cultural Harmony, the Multilink Learning Centre, and the Family Literacy Project in Carole Park.
In 2005-06 MAQ provided $3.4 million to support multiculturalism including community development projects and celebrations. The Multicultural Employment Strategy delivered by the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations, which aims to support job seekers from non-English speaking backgrounds, represents a minimum commitment of $3.16 million in funding each year between 2004 and 2007.
To strengthen the Queensland Government's response to the health needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Queensland Health launched the Healthier Multicultural Communities Initiative in September 2005. More than $3.2 million has been committed to delivering this initiative in 2005-08, with ongoing funding of $2 million allocated to continue it from 2008-09.