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About the Department

DIMA Annual Report 2000-01

Report on performance outcome two - continued

Extent to which Australian citizenship is valued

The Australian citizenship rate of eligible overseas born was estimated to be 75.2 per cent at June 2000. This compares with a take-up rate of 65 per cent in 1986 and appears to compare favourably with other migrant receiving countries. The citizenship rate in the USA has been estimated at 50-60 per cent.

Community awareness of Australian citizenship issues was demonstrated by the positive response to the report of the Australian Citizenship Council Australian Citizenship for a New Century and the extent of comment on its recommendations.

Broader outcomes will flow from implementing the Government's response to the report of the Australian Citizenship Council Australian Citizenship. A Common Bond which was launched in May 2001. Government initiatives included a national campaign to promote the acquisition of Australian citizenship in the Centenary of Federation year.

Extent to which Australians appreciate cultural diversity

The Council for Multicultural Australia, established in July 2000 under the Chairmanship of Mr Neville Roach AO, assisted the Government in maintaining and increasing community appreciation of cultural diversity by implementing the New Agenda for Multicultural Australia. The New Agenda for Multicultural Australia was tabled in Parliament in December 1999 and confirmed the Government's commitment to enhance Australians' appreciation of cultural diversity, promote community harmony and ensure multicultural policy is relevant to all Australians.

The Council has adopted three key strategic objectives:

  • promoting inclusiveness, ensuring that Australian multiculturalism is relevant to all Australians

  • deriving benefits from cultural diversity

  • engendering community harmony.

To work towards these objectives, the Council has developed a sub-committee structure to work on specific projects. It has also collaborated with other national bodies such as the Interdepartmental Committee on Multicultural Affairs, Reconciliation Australia, the Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council and the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia.

The Council has also developed links with State and Territory bodies such as ethnic or multicultural commissions or offices, and community groups such as ethnic or multicultural communities' councils.

The Living in Harmony initiative continued to make an impact at the local community level, raising awareness about the importance of community harmony. Business corporations, key national organisations and State and Territory governments showed strong support for this initiative through their participation in partnership projects.

Harmony Day, celebrated on 21 March 2001 as part of the Living in Harmony initiative, continued to grow in scale and impact since it began in 1999. Harmony Day was an opportunity for Australians to show that they valued Australia's dynamic, culturally diverse society and supported harmonious relationships between individuals and communities of different backgrounds.

There was a major program of activities around Australia for Harmony Day 2001 and a 12-fold increase in the number of organisations participating, which included 63 local government councils and 289 schools. Organisations and individuals participating in Harmony Day used thousands of badges, ribbons and posters to show their support. A number of major business corporations also lent their public support.

To encourage more effective application in the public sector of the Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society, the department developed and trialed in five agencies a new best-practice self-assessment framework to ensure that implementation could be monitored.

Strong support for the Productive Diversity Program was demonstrated through the interest and collaboration of major educational and business institutions. This interest and support was highlighted at a Productive Diversity Conference held by the department in Melbourne in November 2000. The results of the conference are being further developed to produce practical educational and management tools for diversity management.

Community-relations issues and concerns were effectively managed through building contacts and close consultations with a wide range of community groups by the department's community liaison staff. Key issues on which close liaison was maintained included the Middle East and Fijian crises, and the unauthorised arrival of boat people and their release from detention on temporary protection visas.

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