Skip to content

Media

Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness

Introduction and summary (continued)

A call for leadership

Because of the pervasive influence of multiculturalism on the social, cultural and economic wellbeing of all Australians, now and in the future, it warrants and demands leadership and positive, proactive support and commitment by political, public service, business and community leaders, educators, the media and individual Australians.

Without such leadership, divisive and intolerant views and attitudes can spread to the point where they threaten community harmony, causing significant social and economic stress, and even serious damage.

On the other hand, through strong leadership, the benefits of our diversity can be accelerated and maximised, and enjoyed and celebrated by all Australians.

The Council particularly emphasises the critical importance of political leadership and support across the political spectrum, but at least by those in Government and Opposition who should work together so that the ongoing development of multiculturalism enjoys the consensus that marked the 1989 National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia.

While recognising the importance of free political debate, the Council urges all responsible political leaders to decline to lend support to or confer any political respectability or credibility on individuals or parties that espouse policies that violate the spirit of the Joint Parliamentary Statement of 30 October 1996.*

* The Joint Parliamentary Statement reaffirmed the importance of maintaining Australia as a tolerant and open society, united by an overriding commitment to our nation and its democratic institutions and values, and denounced racial intolerance in any form as incompatible with the kind of society we are and want to be.

Principles of Australian multiculturalism

The goals and principles that underpin multicultural policy, as articulated in the 1989 National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia, have continuing relevance and importance. While most Australians are likely to agree with the thrust of the National Agenda definitions for both rights and obligations, great care must be taken to avoid any suggestion that they stem exclusively, or even predominantly, from multiculturalism. In fact, they arise from Australian democracy.

The following statement of the foundations and principles of Australian multiculturalism incorporates not only the goals and principles of the 1989 National Agenda, but also reflects the revised focus that the Council is proposing:

Australian democracy guarantees us our civic freedoms and our fundamental rights and equality, and it is the institutions of Australian democracy that enable diversity in our society to flourish. Australian society is diverse, encompassing a wealth of cultures, histories and traditions, rural and urban, of indigenous and all other Australians. The proper functioning of our society requires us to manage the consequences of our cultural diversity in the interest of the individual and society as a whole. This will be achieved, and Australian multiculturalism will be a continuing and fundamental strength of our society, if the Australian people and the institutions of our society base their actions and measure their achievements on the following principles for living with cultural diversity:

  • Civic Duty: all Australians are obliged to support the basic structures and principles of Australian society – our Constitution, democratic institutions and values – which guarantee us our freedom and equality and enable diversity in our society to flourish;
  • Cultural Respect: subject to the law, the right to express one’s own culture and beliefs involves a reciprocal obligation to accept the right of others to do the same;
  • Social Equity: all Australians are entitled to equality of treatment and opportunity enabling them to contribute to the social, political and economic life of Australia, free from discrimination on the grounds of race, culture, religion, language, location, gender or place of birth;
  • Productive Diversity: the significant cultural, social and economic dividends which arise from the diversity of our population should be maximised for the benefit of all Australians.

The Council proposes that these principles be adopted as the basis of an enhanced and refocussed multicultural policy framework, and emphasises that the initiatives recommended in this report are directed to translating these principles into action. In particular, it suggests:

  • highlighting that Australian multiculturalism has been built on the evolving values of Australian democracy and 'citizenship’;
  • ensuring that it adequately reflects the balance of rights and obligations expected of all 'citizens’;
  • making it inclusive so that it seeks to embrace and be embraced by all sections of the community by:

- acknowledging the contribution of all Australians to the success of our multicultural society, and in particular the heritage of Great Britain and Ireland from which our democracy has evolved;

- stressing the imperative nature and urgency of reconciliation between our indigenous people and all other Australians;

- promoting acceptance and mutual respect by all Australians of our diverse cultures;

- drawing a clear conceptual distinction between settlement and multicultural strategies;

  • ensuring that we maximise the social, cultural and economic benefits of our diversity and address any of its weaknesses;
  • ensuring that the funding of multicultural programs is based on defined criteria and accountability;
  • seeking political leadership and cross-party support for Australian multiculturalism;
  • stressing the importance of leadership, in all areas of life, for the harmony and wellbeing of a culturally diverse society.

Unifying force

While this report recommends a range of ways in which Australian multiculturalism should be enhanced and refocussed, the policy framework that the Council proposes for the next decade is built on the imperatives of making our cultural diversity a unifying force and of maximising the dividends of this diversity.

Recommendations that are particularly relevant to ensuring that cultural diversity is a unifying force for all Australians include: recognising its foundations in Australian democracy; stressing the balance between the rights and responsibilities of all 'citizens’; emphasising inclusiveness; continuing usage of the term 'multiculturalism’, but clearly defined, and with the prefix 'Australian’ so as to emphasise its unique Australian character – which needs to be explained widely to the Australian community; emphasising the value of Australian Citizenship; linking Australian multiculturalism to our common human condition and membership of the Australian community or 'citizenship’; arguing that Australian multiculturalism is derived from Australian culture and identity and contributes to their ongoing development; and separating settlement programs which focus on migrants, from Australian multiculturalism, which relates to all Australians.

Multicultural funding: a good investment

One of the criticisms of multiculturalism, which was also present in several submissions to the Council, is that it costs huge sums of public money - some say several billion dollars!

Some also complain that such funding is discriminatory because, in their view, it only helps minority ethnic communities.

In the Council’s view, funding per se is not a central issue, provided justification and accountability standards are met.

Emotive arguments about funding can be a distraction from the important questions that such funding aims to address, such as how our undeniably multicultural society should build community harmony and derive the benefits of its diversity.

Multicultural programs are, after all, designed in the national interest, and funds should continue to be available to them as an investment.

The dividends are a more fair, stable and harmonious society which is also increasingly able to reap economic rewards from the domestic and international opportunities its diversity offers.

The Council also believes that many of the criticisms of multicultural funding are based on incorrect perceptions of the dollars involved which, while not inconsiderable, are much lower than the wildly exaggerated amounts sometimes claimed.

Nonetheless, it is important to recognise that Australian attitudes and policies on the role of government are evolving to place greater emphasis on transparency, efficiency and accountability in government programs, and on the need to achieve practical outcomes.

While the Council believes that vigorous promotion of multicultural strategies in all areas of public policy is justified and should continue, it fully accepts that all funding emanating from such strategies should be subject to the same scrutiny as all government programs.

It proposes that the main criteria by which the merits of funding for multicultural programs are assessed should be:

  • need - subject to the eligibility criteria for each program, where an individual or a group has a need arising out of ethnicity or other cultural difference it ought to be met, just as all other special needs are met within our democratic social infrastructure;
  • benefit to Australia - where it can be demonstrated that addressing a problem or exploiting the advantages of cultural diversity provides an economic, social or cultural benefit to Australia. This is consistent with government funding of programs in other areas designed to produce beneficial outcomes for Australia;
  • social justice and equity - all programs should be adjusted to address disadvantage or loss of entitlement arising out of ethnicity or cultural differences, just as other forms of disadvantage suffered by individuals or groups relative to other Australians are addressed.

Next: Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness - introduction 4
Previous: Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness - introduction 2