Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Celebrating our nation's cultural diversity, inclusiveness, respect and belonging is the purpose of this week's celebration of Harmony Week. It also coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, today, 21 March. Harmony Week is full of activities as diverse as the people who participate in it. Orange is the colourful expression of Harmony Week, as we rightly pursue a nation where every individual thrives and is empowered to fulfil their dreams.

In Central Australia, played out over a couple weeks, there's been a case study example of what happens when there is apathy, excuses and the dodging of accountability: a family doing their best, while calling a concrete slab their home for two years. Amplified in this case was everything that needs to change: no more excuses; no more blaming the very people with the least power, the least influence and the most hurdles in front of them to effectively navigate the system that supposedly exists to assist them. I'm thrilled that the family was, after more than three weeks of coming to national media attention, moved into temporary accommodation. It's a large family with nine children and one adult with a very serious medical condition. They had no power, no water and no shelter except a tarpaulin, and, yes, were in plain sight, yet seemingly invisible for years. It was breathtaking to see how they lived and where they lived. The shame of this example in Alice Springs is not of this family; they were doing the best they could, hoping that one day someone would believe, like they did, that their future could, should and would be better.

The evaluation of programs and the scrutiny of governance to avoid an avalanche of waste, apathy and poor performance is what's needed to get rid of the organisations and programs that don't work. It's not complex. It's about acting on evidence, acting with courage, and never accepting that it is acceptable or okay, so that everyone in Australia has a chance at harmony.