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National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia

National agenda initiatives

These and other existing measures will continue to contribute substantially towards the objectives of the National Agenda.

The Government has also decided to undertake a range of additional initiatives to reinforce and clarify the policy of multiculturalism; to increase public understanding of the importance of better community relations; to increase the viewing reach of SBS as the national multicultural broadcaster; and to ensure that Australia's artistic and cultural heritage institutions respond more effectively to the multicultural character of Australian society:

  • The Government will consider the option of giving legislative expression to the principles of multiculturalism by introducing a Multiculturalism Bill, such as has been enacted in Canada. As part of this examination the Government will issue a Discussion Paper on a possible Act, canvassing its desirability and possible content, with a view to encouraging wide ranging public debate. Options for inclusion in the Act could be:
- a clear statement defining multiculturalism, both its ambit and limits, and articulating the principles of multiculturalism;
- acknowledgement and recognition of the special status and place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian life;
- proclaiming English as our national language to confirm its existing status as the de facto official language of Australian life;
- giving legislative force to the expanded policy requirements for Commonwealth departments and agencies to ensure access to and equity in the provision of programs and services to those Australians who may face barriers of race, culture or language; and
- providing a statutory base for a body similar to the current Advisory Council on Multicultural Affairs which would be charged with advising Government on the future development and implementation of multicultural policies.

The process of discussion and consultation prior to any decision about the introduction of an Act would also provide a vehicle for improving community understanding of multicultural policies and appreciation of cultural diversity.

  • With the object of fostering and promoting awareness of the importance of harmonious community relations the Commonwealth will initiate a $5.7 million, three-year community relations campaign, to be jointly managed by the four agencies with direct interest in this field - the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, the Department of immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

  • In order to secure the future of the Special Broadcasting Service and to extend the reach and impact of the SBS television, the Commonwealth will:

-   introduce legislation to establish the Special Broadcasting Service as an independent corporation;
-   define in legislation a charter for the SBS which will express and guarantee the multilingual and multicultural character of the broadcaster; and
-   extend SBS television, over eight years, to Darwin and six additional non-metropolitan centres in three States. The centres will include the Latrobe Valley, Bendigo, Ballarat, Townsville, Cairns and the Spencer Gulf.
  • The Government will implement a number of measures to assist collecting institutions - libraries, galleries, museums and archives - to respond to their responsibilities in a multicultural Australia.
-   The Commonwealth considers the co-ordination of policy and resources between collecting institutions funded by the different levels of government to be an immediate priority if institutions' collections are to be enhanced appropriately in the medium to longer-term.

A plan will be developed to co-ordinate efforts by cultural heritage institutions, including libraries, to reflect the cultural diversity of the Australian heritage in their collections and practices. Representatives from the three levels of government, community organisations and collecting institutions will be involved in the process which is to be completed within six months.
-   The Government will also fund a survey of library collections in languages other than English with a view to incorporating the resulting information in the National Bibliographic Network.
  • Policies for the arts in a multicultural Australia have traditionally focussed on providing support for ethnic artists and ethnic community arts. While this support is important it falls short of a comprehensive arts policy appropriate to the multicultural nature of Australian society.

    The Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories portfolio is pursuing the development of a coordinated arts policy through the Cultural Ministers' Council which includes Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers for the Arts and other appropriate Commonwealth-State forums.

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