The Second Victorian Immigration and Settlement Conference

Multiculturalism: The Way Forward

By Voula Messimeri, Chair of FECCA and Deputy Chair of ECCV

Integration Conference: Melbourne Park Hyatt Hotel, August 21, 2007

Having heard the various spin on the ‘integration’ word —with both its positive and negative connotations—I now wanted to focus on the word and policy of multiculturalism and argue that multiculturalism is as important as it has ever been in ensuring both effective settlement of migrants and on-going social cohesion in Australian society today.

Multiculturalism first became prominent in the mid 1970s amidst a growing realisation that policies of assimilation and integration were less effective in providing decent and equitable settlement outcomes for new migrant communities.

The1978 Galbally Report which focussed on ways of helping migrants settle into Australian life, of maintaining their cultures, and of ensuring they had the same rights and access to services as other Australians was the critical intellectual shaper of the multicultural policies that followed it under the Fraser and Hawke- Keating governments.

Effective settlement, cultural maintenance and equitable access to services are hardly revolutionary concepts. They are some of the core concepts that underpin multiculturalism.

At its essence multiculturalism recognises the great cultural diversity within the Australian community. It enables people to freely and proudly express their cultural heritage while uniting around core civic values like democracy and the rule of law. It enables people to feel at home regardless of where they have come from.

Multiculturalism can be considered to represent core principles like fairness, respect, anti-racism, non-discrimination, and equality of opportunity—regardless of the cultural, linguistic or religious background of an individual.

Download the full Multiculturalism: The Way Forward (21 KB) speech.