Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:36): My question is for the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. After the terrifying fall of Kabul to the Taliban thousands of Afghan refugees were welcomed into Victoria. Many have been staying in temporary accommodation in my electorate, including a group of journalists who fled the Taliban, to whom this question relates.
These highly educated and hard-working refugees are proficient in multiple languages, including English. They have worked for media companies such as Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle. It would be a mistake to waste their knowledge and skills when their communication proficiency would be an asset to our multicultural community, so my question is: can the minister provide information on any pathway programs that these journalists in my electorate can access to help them engage their skills here or to help assist in message delivery to our Afghan community?
Fiona Patten MP
Leader of Reason
Member for Northern Metropolitan Region
Constituency question 10/3/22
