21 Jul 2011 Estimates—MUlticultural Affairs Queensland 1 THURSDAY, 21 JULY 2011 Assembly ESTIMATES—COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE—MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS QUEENSLAND Estimates Committee Members Estimates—MUlticultural Affairs Queensland Mr PA Hoolihan (Chair) Mr MW Choi Mr PJ Dowling Mr AP McLindon Mr JD O’Brien Ms FS Simpson In Attendance Hon. A Palaszczuk, Minister for Transport and Multicultural Affairs Department of Communities Ms L Apelt, Director-General Mr G Page, Executive Director, Multicultural Affairs Queensland Committee met at 9.00 am CHAIR: Good morning everyone. It is nine o’clock and our estimates hearing is due to start. I declare this hearing of the Community Affairs Committee now open. At the outset I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting today. On behalf of the committee I welcome Minister Palaszczuk, departmental officers, Ms Apelt and Mr Page, and other departmental officers and members of the public to the hearing. I would like to introduce the members of the committee. I am Paul Hoolihan. I am the member for Keppel and chair of the committee. Miss Fiona Simpson, the member for Maroochydore, is deputy chair. The other committee members are Mr Michael Choi, the member for Capalaba; Mr Peter Dowling, the member for Redlands; Mr Jason O’Brien, the member for Cook; and Mr Aidan McLindon, the member for Beaudesert. We have non-committee members who have been given leave to ask questions during the hearing today. In that regard at this point we have Mr Scott Emerson, the member for Indooroopilly. In relation to media coverage, the committee has resolved to allow television coverage and photography during the hearing. We have also agreed to the live broadcast of the hearing via the Parliamentary Service’s website and to receivers throughout the parliamentary precinct. The committee will examine the proposed expenditure contained in the Appropriation Bill 2011 for the portfolios of the Minister for Transport and Multicultural Affairs, but specifically Multicultural Affairs; the Minister for Disability Services, Mental Health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partnerships and responsible areas within that; the Minister for Community Services and Housing and Minister for Women; and the Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Sport. We will examine the estimates in that order. The proceedings today are lawful proceedings subject to the standing rules and orders of the parliament. As such I remind all visitors that any person admitted to this hearing may be excluded in accordance with standing 208. The committee will suspend proceedings for the following breaks: 11 am to 11.15 am, 12.45 pm to 1.30 pm, 3.00 pm to 3.15 pm and 4.30 pm to 5.00 pm. I would ask that all mobile phones or pagers be either switched off or switched to silent mode. 2 Estimates—MUlticultural Affairs Queensland 21 Jul 2011 For the benefit of Hansard, I would ask departmental officers to identify themselves before answering a question referred to them by the minister. I declare the proposed expenditure for the portfolio of the Minister for Transport and Multicultural Affairs open for examination. The question before the committee is— That the proposed expenditure be agreed to. As I have indicated, welcome Minister Palaszczuk. If you wish you may make an opening statement. The committee has asked that opening statements be no longer than three minutes. Ms PALASZCZUK: Sure. Thank you very much, Chair. Multiculturalism means many things to many people. In today’s world it is not just a commitment to Queensland and Australia through citizenship but it is also about being treated fairly, with mutual respect and understanding regardless of our cultural, religious, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds and that we can express and promote our cultures within our shared laws, values aspirations and responsibilities. I am pleased to announce to the committee that earlier this week—on Tuesday, 19 July—the Premier and I launched the new Queensland multicultural policy, A multicultural future for all of us. The Queensland government has invested significant time and resources into making sure that this policy has built on the implementation and review of the previous multicultural policy. We held 31 community forums across our state and met with over 1,000 people. Many community leaders and their organisations also provided valuable contributions to help shape this new plan. Today, one in six Queenslanders were born overseas. In fact, in the past 12 months—from 31 December 2010—more than 41 per cent of our population growth here in Queensland was the result of overseas migration. Skilled migrants arriving in Queensland are predominantly from India, China, the UK, South Africa, the Philippines and Malaysia. Our new and emerging communities in Queensland are from Burma, Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention the Nepalese community now settling in and around Cairns. Managing and supporting this population growth positively is a key focal point for the Queensland government. The new policy outlines how Queensland can continue to meet the challenges and derive benefits from our increasingly diverse population. In order to implement this new policy funding for Multicultural Affairs Queensland will be increased by $500,000. This funding is over and above that published in the Multicultural Affairs section of the SDS. This funding will be used to support programs and activities announced in the new Queensland multicultural policy, including a $200,000 increase to bring funding for the multicultural assistance grants round up to a record $1 million. This additional funding will mean that even more organisations will be able to showcase their cultural traditions and celebrate their heritage with Queenslanders of all backgrounds. Developing this policy has been about cementing Queensland’s position as a welcoming and inclusive place for people of all cultural and linguistic backgrounds and religious beliefs. In addition to the announcement of the new multicultural policy the Queensland government’s Language Services Policy has been updated. This updated policy provides departments with a set of best practice guidelines for providing language services to Queenslanders who have difficulty communicating in English. To cap off an extraordinary week, I am also pleased to announce today to the committee here that nominations for the Queensland Multicultural Awards are now open. This year’s awards are offered across six categories: outstanding volunteer, community organisation, private enterprise, public sector, education and media. The ceremony will take place in early November and I encourage all interested Queenslanders to nominate. On a final note, the 2011 Queensland Multicultural Festival will be held on Sunday, 16 October. This is one of the Queensland government’s signature events and I look forward to it being bigger and better than previous years. CHAIR: Thank you, minister. We will now commence questioning. I call the member for Indooroopilly. Mr EMERSON: My first question is to the director-general. In this year’s budget there is a significant underspend for Multicultural Affairs Queensland—from a target of $9.3 million in 2010-11 to an actual spend of $8.2 million. Why was that? Ms Apelt: In fact, the budget documents do not represent an underspend. What we see behind those budget figures that are carried over between 2009-10 and 2010-11 is that there is a shared service arrangement with the corporate service costs for the Department of Communities. Those costs are apportioned across each of the different service areas. Of course, with any corporate apportionment it is not exactly a precise science at the time that the SDS is put together but, as the year progresses, budget adjustments are made accordingly. So there has been no underspend in the program or policy or service delivery dollars for Multicultural Affairs Queensland but there has been a distribution of the corporate apportionment costs for the Department of Communities. Mr EMERSON: So $9.2 million or $9.3 million was spent somewhere; is that what you are saying? 21 Jul 2011 Estimates—MUlticultural Affairs Queensland 3 Ms Apelt: Absolutely. Mr EMERSON: So in terms of that $8.2 million, when we get to 2011-2012 for the target for the current financial year, as dealing with this budget, it has gone down to $8 million. So why is it continuing to fall? Ms Apelt: The explanation for the budget variation is that the program dollars remain constant. As the minister has indicated, there is a post-budget adjustment of $500,000. So that takes the revised budget up $8.532 million. Some of the carryover funds through some of the grants program have already been spent. So we now have the budget back to the zero base. Mr EMERSON: I think that is referring to the deferrals you have mentioned in the note there. So the deferrals would have gone into the spending for the current year; is that correct? Ms Apelt: Deferrals, as you would appreciate with any grants program, are a very typical part of any cash management of a budget. So what you will see in the budget from year to year, there is a proportion for deferrals where a budget allocation has been made—typically grants to non-government organisations—and by the time the grant agreement is signed sometimes some of that money actually defers over into the next financial year. Mr EMERSON: I appreciate that. Ms Apelt: So that money is committed and the money is spent. Mr EMERSON: Sure. My concern is that when you look at these budget figures, even if you take in the fact of the deferrals, the deferrals should show up if they are deferred to the next year into the next year’s budget and target and spending.