Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness
3 Australian Multiculturalism: The Next Steps (continued)
3.3 Implementation framework (continued)
The Council considers it essential that, where appropriate, linkages are developed and maintained between these initiatives.
The main purpose of such policy and program coordination is that government initiatives are likely to be most effective if they work in concert with each other and reinforce their common messages to the people they are designed to influence.
The Council recommends that the proposed agency be given responsibility to promote cooperation between Commonwealth, State and Territory agencies in relation to multiculturalism.
It must also have clear and strong administrative linkages to other relevant bodies such as the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, the Australian Citizenship Council and other agencies concerned with different aspects of human diversity.
Communication strategy
While opinion polls and submissions to the Council consistently confirm that the majority of Australians support Australian multiculturalism, community harmony will be enhanced if the concerns of critics are treated seriously and responded to constructively even though they represent a minority.
The Council believes that much of the concern that some Australians have regarding multiculturalism stems from a lack of information or misunderstanding about it.
This is evident from the submissions the Council received, as well as from various forums in which Council members have been involved.
Therefore, there is a pressing need to bring more clarity to multicultural policy, and to communicate a clear message to the wider community, including government and non-government agencies.
The Council believes that it is particularly important to communicate this message because of the inclusive approach to multicultural policy being recommended by this report.
We are all Australians and, while racially, culturally and socially diverse, we have fundamental equalities and similarities as individual people.
In the Council’s view, appealing to this common ground will facilitate wider understanding and support of the multicultural policy framework it has recommended.
The Council recommends that the central coordinating agency described above take responsibility for developing and implementing the communication strategy both immediately and on an ongoing basis.
In doing so, the agency should build on current Commonwealth programs such as the Living in Harmony initiative; the 50th Anniversary of Australian Citizenship; the Adult Migrant English Program 50th anniversary; and the Discovering Democracy civics education program.
The agency should also cooperate in initiatives by the States and Territories and non-government organisations such as the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia.
In deciding what messages need to be promoted to the community, the agency will need to consider the major issues raised in this report, for example, the democratic origins of Australian multiculturalism, its inclusive nature and the importance of maximising the dividends of our cultural diversity.
It will need to focus on the facts and figures and address the myths surrounding multiculturalism.
The communication strategy will need to build on past initiatives such as the access and equity strategy and Productive Diversity agenda.
In designing its communication strategy, the agency needs to have in mind the different audiences that make up modern Australia including, for example, rural and urban communities, small, medium and large business organisations, various ethnic, religious and racial groups, white-collar and blue-collar workers, people of different age groups, Australian-born and migrants.
The Council considers that the message to the community must be a positive one: cultural diversity – and Australian multiculturalism – brings many benefits to, and is about and for, all Australians; multiculturalism, which seeks to maximise these benefits and to promote community harmony based on inclusiveness, has the strong commitment of all Australian governments and enjoys the support of all responsible political parties, especially those in Government and Opposition throughout Australia; Australian multiculturalism is one of the greatest achievements of Australian democracy and Australian culture.
The agency will also need to decide in what form the messages will be promoted. These could be through brochures, CD-ROM, the Internet, lectures, workshops, mass media and public relations.
Business, academia, community and sporting organisations that have wide community reach could be used to help deliver the strategy’s messages. There would also be major benefits in coordinating the communication initiatives of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments.
The communication strategy should aim to raise awareness about our cultural diversity and to create mutual understanding between different groups in our communities.
By promoting the inclusive nature of multiculturalism, different elements of our community, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, will be drawn closer together.
An important element of communication is that to be truly effective it needs to be a two-way process.
It is therefore essential that the communication strategy involves an active program of consultation and discussion as well as other means of gaining feedback from the community to ensure that the development of Australian multiculturalism always takes such input into account.
3.4 Conclusion
The Council is optimistic about Australia’s future as a culturally diverse society and is confident that Australian multiculturalism will continue to be a defining feature of our evolving national identity and contribute substantial benefits to all Australians.
There is every reason to expect that the Australian community will become even more diverse in its racial, ethnic, cultural and linguistic mix over the next decade.
Distinctions will blur as dominant and minority cultures adapt to coexistence and these interactions and influences on each other give rise to new variations of Australian culture.
Multiculturalism is built on an understanding of the complex processes of acceptance, mutual contribution and sharing that are needed for a culturally diverse society such as ours to function effectively and fairly.
Australian multiculturalism has served Australia well and proactive multicultural policies will continue to add value and make cultural diversity a unifying force for all Australians.
Australia is one community, albeit a culturally diverse one, drawn together from all across the world.
This is why the Council’s report so strongly stresses the overriding importance of the basic principles of Australian democracy on which our multiculturalism is built and recommends a number of refinements that place increased emphasis on leadership and inclusiveness.
Because of its fundamental importance to community harmony in a culturally diverse society, Australian multiculturalism requires commitment at all levels and in all spheres to ensure it enjoys broad-based community support.
In particular, the Council urges all responsible political leaders, especially those in Government and Opposition, to make their commitment to Australian multiculturalism clearly understood both here and overseas.
This reaffirmation will help lead all Australians to embrace and value our diversity and reject discrimination and intolerance in any form.
It will also enhance Australia’s reputation and image as a fundamentally tolerant and fair multicultural society across the world, but most importantly among our neighbours.
Inclusiveness is the key to the principles of Australian multiculturalism recommended by the Council.
These principles articulate the essential balance of rights and obligations that are necessary to a just and united society.
They have evolved over our history as a nation and have helped Australia to meet the challenges to our social harmony that have occurred from time to time, including in recent experience.
The capacity, good sense, goodwill and determination of the Australian people to constructively address the challenges we face should give us all confidence that we can and will continue to reap the dividends of our cultural diversity and together achieve the vision for Australian multiculturalism recommended by the Council of
a united and harmonious Australia, built on the foundations of our democracy, and developing its continually evolving nationhood by recognising, embracing, valuing and investing in its heritage and cultural diversity.
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