Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness

Summary of recommendations (continued)

21. Multicultural funding: a good investment
22. Funding
23. The funding directed to Australian multiculturalism is, while not inconsiderable, very much lower than sometimes perceived. This is clear from the Council’s analysis of the budget of the Federal Government Department that has primary responsibility for multiculturalism, namely the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (see Appendix H).

    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 therefore recommends that multiculturalism continues to be developed as an important and distinct priority, in addition to the continuation of settlement programs designed to accommodate the settlement requirements of new migrants.

24. 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.
    
    

    The Council recommends that proposals for new multicultural initiatives, as well as for the renewal of existing ones, are assessed against one or more of the above criteria. This will ensure that all multicultural programs are justified on objective grounds, effectively answering unfounded criticism and leading to increased public support for Australian multiculturalism.

    Diversity dividends

    Funding for multiculturalism should not be seen merely as a cost but as an investment that yields significant benefits to the whole Australian community.

25. The Council notes that the success of Australia’s culturally diverse society can contribute significantly to Australia’s image in the promotion of our strategic international interests. With this objective in mind we must ensure that opportunities to project a positive image of Australia internationally must not be missed.

    Particular attention needs to be paid to the Sydney 2000 and Paralympic Games. Australia’s selection to host these most prestigious of all events was significantly influenced by the strong promotion of our cultural diversity, with special emphasis on our indigenous communities and the contribution of migrants from all over the world.

    The Council is also urging the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) to ensure involvement and representation of Australia’s indigenous and multicultural population at all appropriate levels of influence within the SOCOG organisation. This will encourage our culturally diverse communities who helped to win the Games to continue their contribution in the lead up to the running of the Games and related activities.

    It will also ensure that the special language, religious, food and other social and cultural requirements of Australians and overseas visitors are well provided for, enabling people of all origins and cultures to share in the enjoyment of the Games.

    The Council strongly recommends that all bodies responsible for planning and running the Games ensure that Australia fully lives up to the culturally diverse image we previously highlighted. Australia’s indigenous and ethnic communities need to be appropriately represented in all planning and management processes, to encourage their continued contribution and give them a genuine opportunity to share in the enjoyment of the Games and related activities.

26. Advisory bodies, boards, executive management teams and ministries, whether in the private, public or community sector, are generally not sufficiently representative of the cultural diversity of the communities they are meant to lead, to manage, to serve, to sell to, to buy from and to work with. Acceleration of the use of our culturally diverse people will not occur if it is left entirely to market forces. A more proactive approach is necessary.

    This should be considered not only for equity reasons, but because it makes good business sense. It should not mean the denial of merit but rather the expansion of merit criteria to include the value of diversity.

    This is based on the principle that diverse boards, advisory bodies, workforces, public and private sector management teams, law enforcement agencies, Parliaments and governments are all likely to be more successful than ones where all members look and think the same.

    The Council urges all organisations to seek diversity at all levels to better represent the community or clientele they serve.

    The Council recommends that the Australian Government in particular, but other levels of government as well, provide leadership by example in this important area by increasing diversity, particularly on advisory bodies and boards, management and workforces involved in the delivery of services and community contact.

27. The Council notes that research undertaken in 1998 for the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs indicates that significant opportunities exist for the development and promotion of productive diversity.

    The Council recommends 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. These principles and skills could also be given priority through the activities of relevant Commonwealth funding agencies and through direct advocacy with business.

28. The Australian Public Service (APS) has a very diverse workforce and the Council is pleased to note that this is recognised in the Public Service Bill 1997 at Section 10, which defines the values which provide the philosophical underpinnings for the Bill. The Council notes, however, that these values acknowledge that APS employees have diverse backgrounds, but do not specifically acknowledge that the Commonwealth Government’s clients also have diverse backgrounds.

    The Council considers that adding such an acknowledgment to the APS values would make the Australian Public Service an exemplar of best practice in managing human diversity (not just cultural diversity) in both its workforce and clients. It would also provide an ideal legislative basis for the Client Service Charters that all departments are required to have.

    The Council therefore recommends that the APS values be modified to acknowledge that the Commonwealth Government’s clients have diverse backgrounds which need to be addressed in the development and delivery of services to them.

29. The Council further recommends that private and community sector organisations consider how the APS values and 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.

30. Language

31. English is Australia’s national language. Because it is a significant unifying influence and the ability to speak English is fundamental to full participation in Australian society, there would appear to be virtually no disagreement in the community about the importance of English language skills.

    The importance of English language proficiency has recently increased significantly because English has become the defacto standard for business and Internet communications throughout the world.

    Accordingly, the Council fully supports, and strongly recommends the continuation of, the high priority that has been given for many years to English language tuition for adult migrants.

32. In a multicultural society such as ours, proficiency in a language other than English is more than desirable; it can be a business or social imperative.

    If we are to engage the global marketplace and derive maximum benefit from it, Australia must maintain expertise in languages other than English, particularly the major languages of our region and the world. It is therefore very important that teaching languages other than English continues to be a priority and that the value of a multilingual community be better appreciated. The Commonwealth’s specific priorities for funding languages other than English include the National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools (NALSAS) Strategy and two language elements – Community Languages and Priority Languages.

    The Council fully endorses all these language programs, and recommends their continuation.

33. Implementation framework
34. Central coordinating agency
35. 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 vehicle 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 Council recommends 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.

36. Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments have enacted a number of policies and programs that promote or complement multiculturalism. The Council considers it essential that, where appropriate, linkages are developed and maintained between these initiatives.

    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.

37. Communication strategy
38. The Council considers that community harmony will be enhanced if the concerns of critics of multiculturalism are treated seriously and responded to constructively even though they represent a minority. The Council believes that much of the concern about Australian multiculturalism stems from lack of information or misunderstanding about it.

    The Council believes that it is particularly important to communicate what multiculturalism means 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.

    The Council recommends that the agency described above take responsibility for developing and implementing the communication strategy both immediately and on an ongoing basis. 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 involve 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.

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