African restaurant a Brisbane settlement success story
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services Laurie Ferguson today gave Brisbane's latest dining sensation – Mu'ooz, a restaurant specialising in Eritrean delicacies – the ‘thumbs up’ following an inspection during consultations in the Queensland capital.
The recently opened Mu'ooz Restaurant is operated by former refugees from Eritrea which Mr Ferguson and local Member of Parliament Graham Perrett visited today.
‘This was a great opportunity to see first-hand the achievement of refugee women who have taken a huge step and established this business,’ Mr Ferguson said.
‘It was inspiring to see them using their skills and culture to develop and operate this restaurant and contribute to the Brisbane community. This is a true settlement success story.
‘I know as the new MP for Moreton, Graham Perrett is looking forward to getting to know all of his constituents and today's visit was a good opportunity to do that, as well as an excellent opportunity to try some Eritrean delicacies such as injera, a kind of pancake, and zigni, a combination of beef, onions, tomatoes, chili and spices.’
Mu'ooz Restaurant opened in the Brisbane suburb of Moorooka last month. It developed from a catering business started by the Eritrean Women and Family Support Network in 2004. Its name means ‘tasty and healthy’ in the Eritrean language, Tigrinya.
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship, through its settlement grants program, provided Spiral Community Hub with $50 000 to help establish businesses in new communities in Brisbane. This includes providing administrative advice and support to the women operating Mu'ooz.
‘The settlement grants program currently provides about $32 million each year to organisations that help new arrivals settle in Australia,’ Mr Ferguson said.
‘Grants are made to projects that help new arrivals orient themselves to their new community, help new communities develop and promote social participation and integration,’ he added.
While in Brisbane, Mr Ferguson also met representatives from ACCESS (Assisting Collaborative Community Support Services Inc), the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service, Boystown, the Townsville Migrant Resource Centre and the Queensland African Communities Council.
Media contact: Khaldoun Hajaj - 0404 078 692
URL: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au
/parlsec/media/media-releases/2008/lf08003.htm
Last update: 13 August 2008 at 17:14 AEST