Multiculturalism is a must for Australia

By Dewi Anggraeni

MELBOURNE (JP): In Australia, multiculturalism is a topic guaranteed to launch a debate in any milieu, even a family Sunday dinner.

The word evokes passion on both sides of politics, and curiously, the commitment and opposition to the concept transcend the political spectrum.

Mention the word to the Liberal Prime Minister John Howard, he is likely to curl up his lips in self restraint then, for politeness' sake, theorize that multiculturalism has been tried and has failed dismally in Australia.

Mention the word to the Victorian Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett, he will, without needing any excuse, tell you that multiculturalism is a reality and his government supports it to the hilt.

Multicultural Australia has a map of its own. Among those inside are Liberals Jeff Kennett, Malcolm Fraser and Nick Greiner (former New South Wales Premier), Nationals Tim Fisher (Deputy Prime Minister), Labor Paul Keating and Bob Hawke (former Prime Ministers).

On the outer, apart from John Howard and some fellow Liberals and Nationals, the more conservative elements of the Labor Party are also wary of the politics of inclusiveness.

It is indeed necessary to organize public forums to canvas the issue regularly, if nothing else, to find out why multiculturalism can evoke fear and insecurity in some people.

One such forum was held by Barton Institute of TAFE in Melbourne on Oct. 15, with speakers ranging from community leaders to government officials to academics.

While multiculturalism is not an automatic consequence of Australia's immigration policy, it is one way to address how Australians, having come from different cultures, live together.

Another way that has been tried on Aboriginal as well as non- Anglo-Celtic communities, is assimilation. However, as Al Grassby, former Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs in the 1970s recalled, the assimilation policy did not work.

It attempted to force conformity on people who were inherently different, who did not share the same cultural heritage.

Grassby recounted with a sense of relief that, the era where non-Anglo names had to be Anglicized, where everyone had to say and think the same and look somewhat similar, has long passed.

Bernard Bongiorno, a barrister and former Victorian Director of Public Prosecutors, recalled that thirty years ago, the court with its judges and prosecutors, assumed that everybody spoke English, often invoking terror in defendants.

People with a minimal knowledge of English found themselves dealt with in legal language, a language to confuse even many English speakers. There were instances of miscarriage of justice on some Aborigines caused by the accused's inability to understand the language used.

In some cases when interpreters were used, the judge would direct them how to interpret the words.

In 1973 the Whitlam Labor Government scrapped the Assimilation Policy and replaced it with the Multicultural Policy.

While the decision was warmly received by ethnic communities who had up till then been forced to conform or remain marginalized, it caused a great deal of insecurity among the Anglo-Celtic descents, who regarded themselves as the mainstream Australians.

To these people, the policy of allowing everybody to retain cultural identity -- including language and religion, was tantamount to giving priority to minority groups.

Prof. Mary Kalantzis, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Language and Community Services at RMIT University, reminded the forum that at federation in 1901, Australia defined itself as white and as British.

It was inward looking and determined to maintain its white Britishness.

It only began to gain an Australian identity in 1949 with the issue of Australian passports. And only after World War II did Australia begin to accept immigrants from countries other than Great Britain, provided they were white.

Those in Australian society who believe that Australia is the outpost of Great Britain, and thus should defend this cultural heritage at all cost, still exist. Kalantzis believes that the country is in a very critical moment, where diversity can lead anywhere but to cohesion.

There is no doubt that the multicultural policy is easier to implement when the government is committed to it. In Victoria for instance, the Kennett government has founded the Multicultural Commission. Its chairman, Stefan Romaniw told the forum that the commission had a strategy in place that would build on the community's combined cultural strength, and be implemented in the next four years.

Romaniw believes that awareness of cultural sensitivity is crucial for subsequent acceptance. In fact, there has been a marked change in attitude to language. Many schools in Victoria are teaching community languages in the endeavor to encourage the younger generation to be more culturally sensitive.

Audits are conducted regularly to determine bench marks on how well the community as a whole is being served.

Multicultural Law, Bongiorno emphasized, did not seek priority for any group over others.

Then why do some Australians of Anglo-Celtic descent still believe that it discriminates against them?

Misinformation and political opportunism it appears, play an enormous role. Resentment runs high usually when there is a crisis in the country's economy.

By playing on the insecurity of the down and out, a leader with vested interests can rally a significant force against groups who seem to be receiving better treatment than previously.

Fortunately there are sufficient political leaders in this country who can see that a successful and effective multicultural Australia is crucial if the nation is to be accepted in the region.

And acceptance in the region is indispensable for the good of Australia's economy.

The writer is a free-lance journalist based in Melbourne.