Western Victoria Region
Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (14:56): (660) My constituency question is for the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, and it concerns the commitment at the last state election to support the construction of a Hindu temple at Ross Creek, just south of Ballarat, in my electorate. My question to the minister is: what is the minister doing to ensure that this temple is actually built? I have met up with the Ballarat Hindu Temple & Cultural Centre, known as BHTCC, and they have reported to me that they are experiencing delays – delays in planning and delays in a lot of different areas – so they are struggling to get the actual temple built. They have tried to reach out to various supports but have not had much luck. I am wondering what the minister will do to intervene to make sure that this commitment is actually carried out. I had a great conversation with Pradush Narayanan, who is the president of BHTCC, and there is a broad concern that this will go on and on and on and on without much progress. So I hope that the minister can intervene.