Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness

Introduction and summary (continued)

Diversity dividends

While it is appropriate to ensure that the funding of multicultural programs is fully justified and subject to the highest standards of accountability, it is important to recognise that most of these costs are investments that enable Australia to maximise the benefits from its cultural diversity.

These investments, many of which are frequently grouped together under the banner of productive diversity, serve our strategic national interests and produce substantial dividends that accrue to the entire Australian community.

Cultural diversity enables nations and organisations to meet the challenges and reap the benefits of global markets, global competition and continuous rapid change in a number of ways and Australia, as one of the most multicultural nations in the world, is particularly well placed to obtain all such benefits.

The benefits of cultural diversity will not, however, be fully realised without effective proactive management.

This needs to address two dimensions of productive diversity, one that maximises its potential benefits and another that minimises its potential disadvantages.

Accordingly, the Council considers that future multicultural policy give high priority to initiatives in education and training that promote productive diversity principles and develop the skills needed to maximise the diversity dividend.

This could be done in the first instance in business education and training in both the university and TAFE sectors and, where applicable, through partnerships between business educators and the business community.

The Council sees great merit in enhancing diversity planning in all sectors of the community and welcomes recent initiatives by the Commonwealth to do so. In particular, the Council welcomes the Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society, which was developed cooperatively by the Commonwealth, States and Territories.

The Charter is part of the public sector’s focus on providing quality services to clients.

This focus reflects the recognition that a diverse client-base has diverse needs and that service providers ought to be aware of these needs and sufficiently flexible and responsive to service them.

Because the private and community sectors also serve diverse clienteles the Charter has direct relevance to them as well.

The Council therefore has recommended that private and community sector organisations consider how the principles of the Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society might be relevant to their diversity management and planning processes, and develop similar charters appropriate to their specific environment and the needs of their constituents, customers and employees.

The Council also stresses the importance of English language proficiency to enable all Australians to participate in and contribute fully to the Australian economy and society, and skills in languages other than English which boost our international relations, trade and investment.

It therefore strongly supports investment in English language training for adult migrants and the continuation of programs to maintain and enhance skills in languages other than English.

Central coordinating agency

A primary role for government is to provide political and moral leadership to ensure that there is widespread community acceptance and support for a proactive approach to multicultural policy.

All government policies and programs, not just those that have a specific multicultural objective, must take into account the diversity that permeates our society.

In the Council’s view, the best way for the Australian Government to demonstrate both leadership and commitment, and to ensure that multicultural principles are applied consistently and effectively across all departments, is through the establishment of an independent central agency responsible for the oversight of the Government’s multicultural program.

The proposed agency would have primary responsibility for implementing the policy framework recommended by this report.

This includes supporting the multicultural programs of other Commonwealth departments and agencies, coordinating the Commonwealth’s role in relation to State, Territory and Local Governments, the private sector and the wider community, monitoring and reporting on progress and updating the recommendations periodically.

The Council does not wish to be too prescriptive with regard to the precise form and location of the proposed agency.

What is important is that the agency has the credibility and general acceptance that it needs to be effective.

For this it is essential that it is clear to opinion leaders and opinion makers, its clients and partners, and the Australian community that the agency enjoys the support of the Prime Minister.

The Council has therefore recommended the formation of a central coordinating agency, responsible to the Prime Minister or a Cabinet Minister, to help formulate and implement the Australian Government’s multicultural policies and to coordinate them with the initiatives of other levels of government and the wider community.

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, and the Council has recommended that a communication strategy forms an intrinsic and major part of future multicultural programs.

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.

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.

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

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