Wednesday, 21 June 2023

Ministers statements: Victoria’s Pride

Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Water, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Commonwealth Games Legacy, Minister for Equality) (12:35): It is Pride Month, and today I want to talk about an opportunity we have for communities around the state to participate in celebrations, in events and in gatherings that help everybody to connect – LGBTIQ+ folk, their families and indeed their allies. We know that Victoria’s Pride has been a phenomenally successful set of events. The street party that was conducted at the start of the year attracted around 49,000 people, and we have $6.8 million to assist people to do exactly this sort of thing around rural and regional Victoria.

We want to make sure that Pride is something which everyone can celebrate and connect with. This is not just about visibility; this is not just about symbolic and actual inclusion. It is about making sure that we reduce stigma and discrimination. It is about enhancing opportunities that provide LGBTIQ+ folk with a meaningful capacity to connect, and we all know how important that is to health and wellbeing, to outcomes across the whole of life and indeed to the fabric of communities overall.

Victoria’s Pride, as I said, has been a really successful program of funding, and I was delighted to join Maree Edwards in Bendigo last week to announce the next round of funding which is available. Making sure that under the regional activation program we have grants of up to $15,000 for communities to develop events and to showcase regional and rural Pride is a big way for us to support the entire state and to make sure that everyone can be involved in the rich social and community life that we know shines through every part of our state. Applications opened on 6 June; they are open until 8 August. I would encourage all regional and rural LGBTIQ+ people and organisations to get involved and to apply to make this the best summer of Pride yet.

The PRESIDENT: Before I call the next question, under our standing orders we have eight questions, and the eighth question is available and should be directed towards the crossbench, so I indicate that if anyone on the crossbench has a question they can ask it. If not, we will offer it to the opposition. We can work that out while Dr Bach asks a question.