Highlights
- The NSW state government has allocated $16 million in the Budget for language services.
- The state's Minister for Multiculturalism told SBS Arabic24 that learning native languages was necessary to preserve cultures.
- The state government, in collaboration with STARTTS, has also launched a helpline for those psychologically affected by wars in their countries.
Appointed to the portfolio in December last year, Mr Coure is also the Member for the Division of Oatley in Sydney’s south.
He describes himself as passionate about multiculturalism, which he says has enriched Australian society particularly in Sydney, which is home to citizens from diverse ethnic, religious and linguistic backgrounds.
Mr Coure is married to a Lebanese-Australian teacher with whom he has two children, James and Sam.
The minister spoke to SBS Arabic24 and reviewed several topics, the most important of which was the proportion of Budget funds feeding into multicultural communities.
Mr Coure said $16 million had been allocated to support language services while an additional $12 million had been set aside to support events and festivals in local communities.
(This is) An important budget for multicultural communities. For the first time in the state's history, we are investing a lot of money in the future of pluralism in our state.
"We're going to pay $10 million over two years for cultural conversation. Funding will go to Multicultural NSW and also $2 million to improve the involvement of religious institutions."
He gave the example of Ramadan Nights in Lakemba and the great success it had achieved in revitalising the area commercially and attracting visitors from all over Sydney.
This success had prompted the state government to support the City of Canterbury Bankstown to try to establish cultural and religious festivals in other areas such as Liverpool and Auburn, he said.
NSW Multiculturalism Minister Mark Coure (left) and SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis (right) during the 2022 Premier's Harmony Dinner in Sydney. Source: SSI
We live in a global city and learn more than one important language for employment and also to build better relationships with other countries.
Minister Coure said preserving and learning "mother tongues" was vital in the passing down of family and culture to later generations.
"My grandfather and grandmother were born in Egypt and they are from an Egyptian Maltese background and they spoke five languages, including Arabic,” he said.
“(They) Passed two languages to my father so we used to speak Italian and Maltese at home."
With the country recently celebrating World Refugee Week, the NSW state government had sought to intensify cooperation with civil society organisations, particularly STARTTS, which dealt with war trauma to make sure "everyone feels safe" in the state, Mr Coure said.
I want to make sure that no one feels left behind.
With these words, he summed up his department’s agenda and added: "The government has allocated additional support to refugee stability programs so that they can unleash their creativity. We will support them in their native language(s)."
