National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia
Community consultations
The Prime Minister stressed that he placed great importance on obtaining the views of community groups and other organisations in the development of the Agenda. A strategy was therefore developed which sought to reach all sectors of the community: State and local government, community organisations, churches, business groups, trade unions and individuals.
The Office of Multicultural Affairs, with assistance from the members of the Advisory Council, undertook an extensive round of consultations in order to identify major issues and possible policy options for consideration by the Government.
The consultations included public forums in each capital city and major rural centres and meetings with key government and nongovernment bodies such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions and State Trades and Labour Councils, the Confederation of Australian industry and the Business Council of Australia, the Returned Services League, State Governments and their ethnic affairs authorities, local community organisations, and national organisations such as the Australian Council of Social Service, the Australian Federation of Consumer Organisations and the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia.
An innovative feature of the consultations was the organisations of over I 00 small group discussions conducted in over 30 different community languages. Their purpose was to reach individuals who, because of language difficulties and because they were not associated with organisations, would not otherwise have had an opportunity to express their views.
These structured discussions, arranged by the Office's Regional Co-ordinators, employed the services of bilingual Group Facilitators to conduct the sessions. The sessions discussed issues of importance to the particular group and provided a wealth of information not only for the Agenda but for the Office's program as a whole.
In order to reach the public at large, advertisements were placed in the major newspapers and ethnic press in November 1987 inviting submissions from interested individuals and groups. The Prime Minister and' the then Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Mick Young, also wrote to trade union, business and community organisations inviting their comments.
Altogether over 150 written submissions were received from a wide range of organisations as well as many individuals.
In order to inform discussion on the issues, the Office undertook an extensive research program. Thirty policy options papers were commissioned to address key areas of multiculturalism. The topics included health and welfare, community relations, the media, local government, the law, education and employment.
The papers discussed major issues of concern and interest and provided a range of options for further consideration by the Government in developing the Agenda. The papers were published and distributed widely amongst the community and academic institutions in order to stimulate debate.
The research program commissioned by the Office also included qualitative studies to obtain more detailed information on some of the issues and findings identified in the other research.
Topics covered included the political participation of ethnic minorities in Australia, the experience of students from non-English speaking backgrounds in tertiary education and immigrants in remote or rural areas.
The Office also provided financial assistance to a number of conferences, held during 1987 and 1988, which had particular implications for multicultural policies. The areas covered by the conferences included health, disability, interpreters and the law, arts policy, the collection policies of libraries and museums, and approaches to conflict resolution in the community.
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