Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness
Appendix E - relevant terminology
One of the issues the Council was asked to consider was terminology, of which the terms 'multicultural’ and 'multiculturalism’ are the most important, and are covered in part 2.2. Many other terms are discussed throughout the report. For instance:
- assimilation (part 1.2);
- integration (part 1.2);
- settlement (part 1.2);
- the three dimensions of the National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia: cultural identity, social justice and economic efficiency (parts 1.2 and 1.3);
- Australian democracy (part 2.4);
- 'citizenship’ (part 2.4);
- inclusiveness (part 2.6);
- reconciliation (part 2.6).
Additional terms are covered below.
Ethnicity
The dictionary definition of 'ethnic’ is 'pertaining to race; originating from a specified racial, linguistic etc. group (usually a minority)’. The term is derived from the Greek word ethnos, meaning 'nation’.
In this generic interpretation, all people are 'ethnic’, in the sense that we all originate from one or more racial or linguistic group.
Common language, however, does not generally use the term 'ethnic’ to refer to people of a majority group which in the case of Australia, comprises the people who wholly or substantially originate from Great Britain or Ireland. Nor is it necessarily appropriate to label these people as having an 'Anglo’, 'Anglo-Celtic’ or 'Anglo-Australian’ ethnicity.
If any individual wishes to claim such an ethnicity, this is their choice. Equally, if people describe themselves as having no ethnicity or having an Australian ethnicity, this too is their choice, which ought to be respected by others.
On the other hand, for many Australians their ethnicity is central to their personal sense of identity. They see ethnicity as embracing their culture. On this understanding, an ethnic group is one that is sufficiently identifiable by a combination of shared customs, beliefs, traditions and other characteristics such as race, language, national origin, religious affiliation and a common past.
Ethnicity is essentially a private matter. It has no relevance to a person’s civic rights and obligations. Ethnicity is, however, a useful notion to describe some aspects of the human diversity of Australia and has been effectively used for these purposes.
Recently there has been a trend to replace the term 'ethnic’ with 'multicultural’ in the names of government bodies and community councils.
The April 1999 decision by New South Wales to rename the Ethnic Affairs Commission as the Community Relations Commission is consistent with this trend.
While such a change may not be appropriate for all bodies that use ethnic in their name, the use of the term 'multicultural’ does reflect the Council’s desire to promote Australian multiculturalism as inclusive of the whole community.
Inclusiveness does not mean weakening the interests of minority ethnic groups but rather highlighting their contribution to the whole community and supporting their interaction with majority groups on a fair and equitable basis.
In relation to multicultural policy, the term 'ethnic’ has largely been used to describe individuals and groups who originate from countries other than Great Britain and Ireland, especially those who have a non-English-speaking background.
The most notable examples of this usage have been the various State Ethnic Community Councils, the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia and several State and Territory Ethnic Affairs Commissions.
The Council recognises that the use of the term 'ethnic’ has been and continues to be entirely appropriate in the context of multicultural policy. It focuses on the special needs of non-English-speaking communities and their potential for both advocacy and service delivery.
An unintended outcome of the use of the term 'ethnic’ is that it has given rise to the use by some of the term 'mainstream’ to describe the non-ethnic majority.
The Council strongly rejects such use of the term 'mainstream’ as it suggests a two-class society which would be entirely un-Australian. Mainstream Australia comprises all Australians whatever their ethnicity and is, in fact, multi-ethnic or, in the terminology preferred in this report, multicultural which acknowledges all forms of cultural diversity, ethnic or otherwise.
Migrant
The terms 'migrant’ and 'immigrant’ refer to a person who has migrated to live here permanently. While it is most accurate to use these terms to refer to people still involved in the immigration process until they are eligible for Australian Citizenship, common usage in Australia does not restrict the terms to any particular time period. It is important to note that most migrants become Australian Citizens, and all have rights and obligations as members of the Australian community as 'citizens’.
NESB
The acronym NESB stands for non-English-speaking background. It is used to describe someone whose first language is not English or whose cultural background is derived from a non-English-speaking tradition.
The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Community Affairs, in its January 1996 report A Fair Go For All - Report on Migrant Access and Equity, raised concerns that the designator 'NESB’ was too broad a term to be a useful tool for designing services that match people's particular needs and circumstances.
In response, the Council of Ministers for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs agreed in May 1996 that an alternative approach was required and that the term and acronym 'NESB’ be dropped, where possible, from all official communications.
The term Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, or a variation of it, can be used as an alternative, although the Ministerial Council suggested that it not be used in acronym form.
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs is working with the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Multicultural Affairs Unit of the Victorian Premier’s Department to develop a new set of indicators of cultural and linguistic diversity to replace non-English-speaking background. This work is, in the first instance, for the consideration of the Ministerial Council.
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