National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia
Achievements
Within these constraints - of individual interest and the limited role of government - there have been a number of significant advances:
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The community in general has started to become more conscious of the need to encourage the participation of a wider cross-section of the population in its organizational structures.
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Anti-discrimination legislation has helped reduce barriers based on gender and race.
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Equal employment opportunity and affirmative action legislation is helping to open up the staff selection and development policies of organizations in the public and private sectors.
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Aboriginal and ethnic community organizations have been supported, financially and otherwise, to represent the interests of their members. The Commonwealth's Grant-in-Aid Scheme, administered by the Department of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs, has helped recently arrived and older immigrant groups to participate more effectively and equally in community life. The social and welfare workers funded under the Scheme are employed by ethnic community organizations and contribute to the direct provision of services, help to improve access by immigrants to mainstream services and undertake advocacy on behalf of their members. In 1988-89 the Commonwealth provided funds of $7.9m, an increase of 78% since 1983-84. Over the same period the number of grants has increased from 140 to 216;
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The Migrant Workers Participation Scheme, introduced by the Government in 1984-85, provides grants for the employment of development officers to help trade unions meet the workplace needs of overseas born members. In 1988-89 the scheme provided 15 grants at a cost of $610,000.
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Following the success of our Bicentennial year, the Government initiated the Year of Citizenship with a view to encouraging eligible residents to take out Australian citizenship as one way of demonstrating their commitment to Australia. Following the Prime Minister's letter to all households in January 1989, applications for citizenship increased by more than 50%. As Figure 2.3 indicates, conferrals of citizenship have increased dramatically among those residents who have had traditionally low rates of citizenship uptake. For instance in the period July 1988 to April 1989 33,005 British residents took out Australian citizenship compared to 19,401 in the previous comparable period.
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