Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I rise today to speak to the report of the inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Migration into multiculturalism in Australia. The committee accepted its terms of reference on 9 February 2011 from the then Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, the Hon. Chris Bowen. It was asked to inquire into the economic, social and cultural impacts of migration and make recommendations to maximise the positive benefits of migration.

I was very pleased to take part not in all of the hearings but a large percentage of them. There were a huge number of submissions. Some 513 submissions were received, there were 22 supplementary submissions and 58 exhibits. The committee went all around Australia, in regional areas as well as in metropolitan areas, and conducted some 27 public hearings from 29 March 2011 to 8 June 2012.

The committee had very wide-ranging terms of reference. It was asked to look into the economic, social and cultural impacts of migration in Australia and: to make recommendations in three areas—multiculturalism, social inclusion and globalisation; to look at the federal government's social inclusion agenda; and to look at the wonderful diaspora we have been the recipients of in this country, particularly from Australia's relationship with Europe, the UK, the Middle East and our Asia-Pacific neighbours. Other areas that it looked at were settlement participation, particularly settlement programs and how they relate to new migrants, looking into participation and integration into broader Australian society, and also what the incentives are to promote long-term settlement and the greater economic benefits it provides to Australia as a whole.

We are a country of great migration, so we looked at the national productive capacity and how that wonderful sense of migration over a long period has helped to build and shape Australia as it is, the role of skilled migration and the role of government initiatives to also help migrant communities and establish business enterprises.

I place on record my appreciation to the chair, Ms Maria Vamvakinou, and the deputy chair, Louise Markus. I also want to thank the secretariat for their outstanding work and their diligence. It was a very long inquiry. The member for Hindmarsh is across from me, and he also contributed enormously, as did many other members of the committee of which I was very privileged to be a part.

Australia has a rich Indigenous culture that spans many thousands of years and, since Federation, Australia has relied on migration to enhance its international trade and investment flows and to diversify domestic industries and contribute to the overall national productive capacity of the state. Our migration policy has consistently been designed to address both long-term and short-term needs, particularly of the economy, by attracting prospective migrants who possess the skills relevant to Australia's economic demands.

Australia has always had an extensive family reunion, humanitarian and refugee migration program. For the last five years alone, Australia has received approximately 13,400 refugees annually. Since its introduction in the 1970s, Australia's policy of multiculturalism has shaped Australia's identity and supported our development as a multiracial, harmonious and very cohesive society. While the concept of multiculturalism has often been subject to debate and review over time, Australia's non-discriminatory migration system supports cultural diversity. We are a multicultural nation with a strong record of peaceful settlement of migrants from all parts of the world. I would not be standing here today if it were not for my Italian forebears who came here in the early 1940s.

Ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity has been a feature of Australian society from the beginning of British colonisation in the 18th century. Post-settlement migrants included Malays, Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos and Afghans, as well as the Irish, English, Scots and Germans. Prior to this, the Malaccans and Melanesians had traded and periodically co-located over centuries with Indigenous Australians in the Far North.

The end of World War II triggered huge migration to this country. At that time, my grandfather, my grandmother, my father and my mother migrated here. It is quite fitting that today we have the Migration Council of Australia having a wonderful dinner. I know that they will be featuring my family's story in one of their exhibits, along with the stories of many of the members here who come from a culturally and linguistically different background.

Since 1945 we have had seven million people from over 180 countries migrate to Australia. That is around one million migrants each decade since 1950. The Australian economy has increased sixfold over that time. Over the last decade, migrants from India, China, the Middle East and the African continent have featured and contributed their linguistic and religious diversity to Australia's culture.

In 2010, Australia was one of the world's top three culturally diverse nations: nearly 45 per cent of the population has a close overseas connection when Australians who have one or both parents born overseas are included. Today, over 260 languages are spoken in Australia by people of 270 different ancestries. Census data shows us that more than half of the recent arrivals since 2006 speak both another language and English either very well or well. This language diversity gives Australia a competitive edge in an increasingly transnational world. Despite this great cultural diversity, Australia remains a predominantly Christian and secular society with the largest minority religion being practised by roughly two per cent of the population.

I enjoyed the many submissions that were presented to the committee, particularly the ones that were presented in terms of what multicultural policy was. What has changed over the decades has not been the fact of Australia's population diversity, but the different policy frameworks that were developed by government to develop and interpret that diversity. DIAC's statement is that multiculturalism is:

… a coordinated long range response to migration patterns that have resulted in diverse people and cultures occupying the same locality, who share the aim of making a home for themselves and their families in a community within a safe, stable and cohesive nation. Over time the term has come to refer to: the demographic fact of cultural diversity; a set of policies, programs and services; as well as a concept that articulates normative ideals about society.

Australia's first national policy of multiculturalism followed the recommendations of the Galbally report in 1978. That report was a milestone in the Fraser government, a government that founded the SBS network that we know today and introduced many of the multicultural policies. That Fraser government initiative and that report about migrant services and programs had 14 key principles enunciated, that:

… all members of society are to have equal opportunity to realise their potential and have equal access to programs and services; every person to be able to retain his or her culture without prejudice or disadvantage and be encouraged to embrace and understand other cultures; migrants' needs are to be met by mainstream services, but special services and programs are to be in place at first; and there be full consultation with clients in design and operation of services with a focus on migrants becoming self-reliant quickly.

That policy represented a distinct shift away from the assimilation approach that dominated in the 1940s and 1950s. It was a new era and a new cultural policy, recognising that migrants could retain their cultural identity and successfully integrate with support over time.

In 2011-12, the total number of people that have had citizenship conferred on them in Australia was 95,776, which was up from 85,916 in 2010-11. Australia has one of the highest uptakes of citizenship anywhere in the OECD, with nearly 80 per cent of Australia's population becoming citizens.

With all of this work that was done in the past, there is always room for improvements and it is always good to be able to contribute to this particular inquiry. There are areas that the committee recommended needed more work. I fully support the fact that migrants should have access to English classes at every opportunity, and that our AMEP program should be flexible to allow for as many people as possible to learn English. It should be relevant, particularly in enabling many of our migrants to get jobs and have greater linkages to our Job Network providers. There were many submissions provided on skills recognition and the fact we need to do much, much better in that particular area to recognise the incredible skills that people bring—particularly people who have migrated to Australia—and how we need to recognise those skills so that people can work in the area that they have been trained for. There are many areas of federal policy that overlap state policy and it was important to ensure that we work with our state and local government authority to make sure that CALD communities are provided with assistance in every possible way, particularly in housing and in health and aged care. We made a number of recommendations that more work needed to be done in CALD communities, that it needed to be a whole-of-government approach and that the department should advise and integrate with its social inclusion agenda and interact closely with the Multicultural Council in its roles of providing research and advice on multicultural affairs and policy and strengthening that access and equity. It is really important that we have a research unit. There was no doubt that much of our immigration policy has been difficult to formulate because we have not had that independent statutory body that collects information about regional migration and other aspects of the immigration program.

All of the committee was in unanimous support that that should be set up to provide accurate and up-to-date data in order to identify trends in migration and multiculturalism and to measure and address CALD-related disadvantage. We need to know how our program is doing. We need to know whether our refugee and humanitarian settlement, particularly in regional areas, is working well. We need to know if employment opportunities have been realised and if people have had good and positive settlement outcomes. It is very important that we establish such an institute and have that up-to-date information. I enjoyed listening to a range of submissions and from a range of multicultural groups providing input particularly on the job network and how the JSA can be made much more outcome-focused in this area. A lot of work needs to done in the area of refugee and humanitarian settlement. It is still a sad fact that after five years there are many original humanitarian program settlers who are still without a job, and I think we need to make sure that we have greater integration of those programs.

All in all, the report was very intensive. It took many submissions, and I want to commend again the secretariat for their fine work. I want to thank everyone who took part. I have taken part in a number of reports in this place and I have to say that this report is based on great cooperation between members of all parties. I commend the report and I look forward to the government taking up many of the recommendations.

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the outset of this, can I thank you, Deputy Speaker, for assisting me in taking the chair so I can have the opportunity to speak on this report from the inquiry into migration and multiculturalism in Australia. Australian multiculturalism is a success story. There is no doubt about that and it was a common theme throughout the inquiry. I have to say it is here to stay with great benefit to our nation. That is the resounding conclusion of this report. I am very glad that we have completed the report and that the report has been tabled. It was a mammoth effort with 32 recommendations, 513 submissions, and 27 public hearings all over the country—regional areas and major cities. It included my own city of Adelaide and a visit in my electorate to the Thebarton Senior College, which assists many migrants to settle into the country. The college assists them through education, training, certificate courses, et cetera. The inquiry was chaired by my colleague, the member for Calwell and the deputy chair was the member for Brisbane, whom we have just heard. I would like to congratulate both of them and the committee for their hard work—and my South Australian colleagues. This committee had a bit of a South Australian edge to it because we formed the majority on the committee. I would like to recognise the member for Grey, who contributed greatly to the report. He is here in the Federation Chamber with us. I also recognise Senator Gallacher, and the member for Makin. It is important to make that point because in South Australia many years ago under Premier Don Dunstan multiculturalism was an area that was recognised well before it was recognised in other parts of Australia. It was good to see so many South Australians on this committee, working on this report.

The report is unique in that it has bipartisan support, as we have heard today from the member for Brisbane and from other members on the government side. That is something worth celebrating. Today this report highlights the great degree to which we, as Australians, share the values and the same vision for the future. We agree that multiculturalism in Australia is a very good thing. We agree that migrants and refugees and new arrivals need support in and from our community and we agree that migration enriches our society. We agree that diversity is not something just to be accepted but to be celebrated. We agree that not only is there a role for every Australian in helping to create a welcoming country but that every Australian stands to benefit greatly from doing so. We have seen that throughout the history of Australia with its waves of migrants. It is very encouraging to be here today knowing that whilst there are often heated debates in this Federation Chamber and in the main chamber downstairs, there are also times when we unite to support a common set of principles.

Getting to this point has been no easy path. When the inquiry was announced we had hundreds of submissions pouring in from all over Australia, with many, many different views with different solutions and different plans. We all saw that. It was good and that is what diversity is all about—getting all those different views in and listening to all those people have their say. It was the task of this committee to carefully consider every submission in order to craft this report. Having been a committee chair myself, as have many others, I know how important it is to ensure that no stone is left unturned. That is what is so powerful about this report. It is bigger and more comprehensive that any report taken in this area. It will provide a way forward for all of us to consider and to refer to when we are discussing issues of multiculturalism. There are key recommendations, and I was pleased to see that many of them took special care to recognise the uniqueness of multiculturalism as a long-term cultural orientation.

The chair of the committee said earlier today, and she said it quite well, 'Settlement is a long-term and intergenerational process. Successful multiculturalism can’t and won’t happen overnight and Rome wasn't built in a day.' That is so important. Multiculturalism does not happen by accident. It is only through deliberate and constant effort that we have done so well in this country in this area. Successful multiculturalism requires the support of millions of people across our nation: neighbours, for example, extending the hand of friendship over the backyard fence, as has been the case here in Australia for many years; NGOs getting new arrivals set up and settled into their new homes; schoolchildren who welcome people from other lands into their classrooms; government services providing orientation sessions to new migrants; and community groups helping people to navigate confusing landscapes, transport, services, housing, social security and a range of other things. Multilingual media sources keep people informed of important developments in a language that they can understand so they can fit into the community and be able to access services and be part of the community.

We see the many sides of multiculturalism—the restaurant owners bringing the taste of their homelands to our kitchen tables, introducing us to new tastes and textures; and musicians playing their songs at festivals and concerts and sharing exotic new sounds with us. As the member of a seat in which well over 100 different languages are spoken and which has many ethnicities, I regularly attend different functions on weekends, and I know that you do as well, Deputy Speaker Symon. There are many different ethnic groups in my electorate. All of this is to be celebrated. So many people are contributing to the fabric, the tapestry, that makes Australia a successful nation.

I would like to make a very quick mention of an organisation in my electorate which exemplifies this commitment, and that is Thebarton Senior College. The committee visited the college to speak to people there and to see the things that they do. Thebarton Senior College is like a little global village, with students from all over the world attending it. They are well supported while they learn English and do other courses, including certificate courses, so that they can fit into the community, gain employment and live productive, successful lives and contribute to our nation. It is a magnificent college which does a lot of work in the community. I congratulate Kim Hebenstreit, who is a magnificent principal and so committed to assisting new arrivals to get the services that they require, the training that they require and the certificates that they require in English et cetera so that they can become productive within our society and live, as I said, good lives and contribute to this wonderful nation.

Many organisations gave evidence to the committee, and we visited many of them as well. All of them try their hardest to do all that they can to support new arrivals—people with language difficulties and certainly people who, perhaps without these organisations, without these services, would find it very difficult to cope and fit in—and to ensure that they do get employment and access to the services which we spoke about. So I congratulate all of those people who gave evidence to our inquiry.

In looking forward together on these issues, it is quite nice to reflect on how far we have come on the issue of multiculturalism. The difference between where we have come from and where we are today was quite stark during the inquiry. Just as a quick example: in my case, my parents came over in the early fifties. They left Greece to seek a better life in Australia. They had very few English skills. They worked in the lowest-paid jobs that were on offer. In those days, Australia was a very different place from what it is now. I remember quite clearly, as a young child, when they took out their citizenships at the Thebarton council—I still live in the immediate area—and how important that day was. I still have that memory. Certainly, it is something that will stay with me forever and a day. Australia was a very different place in those days, when I think of the period when my parents received their citizenship. Australia still had the white Australia policy. The majority of people who were there that night receiving their citizenship would have been predominantly from Europe, Greece and Italy—not the UK, because they did not need to obtain citizenship in those days. So it was a very different place. We have moved on from those days for the better.

We know that one in four Australians were born overseas. As I said, there are people from more than 150 countries, and there are more than 200 languages spoken in my electorate alone. It was so important that this report looked at all the issues that affect our migrants, because at the end of the day what affects them affects us as well. We have to do all we can to ensure that we provide the services that are required for those people to lead those productive lives. I know that Australia's strength lies, as I said earlier, in its diversity. In other parts of the world, people are fighting over ancient differences. Our nation grows stronger and stronger every day through its people working harmoniously together. For these reasons, Australia's multiculturalism is an absolute role model for others around the world, and we can all be rightly proud of it.

I hope all migrants and refugees feel welcome when they are here and welcome to add their own stories, experiences, energies and talents to our nation and to make the very best contribution that they can. The report that was tabled today in this parliament will do that, and I congratulate all the committee on its tabling today.

Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The inquiry into migration and multiculturalism in Australia has been exhaustive. We have been working on this for a very long period—I think close to two years, so pretty much the length of this parliament. Others before me have spoken about the number of hearings we have had around Australia. I will perhaps start where others have finished by thanking the secretariat for their diligent work during this process and the other members of the committee for their high level of cooperation.

It was one of those inquiries that had stories within it that touched all of us. There were programs out there that we were all pleased to see and there were failures and the consequences of failures that we collectively deplored.

There were 32 recommendations in total, and we have managed after quite some time to come to a unanimous decision to endorse all of the recommendations. I think that is a good thing and a good message to the people of Australia. There are some additional comments by the coalition members who are concerned that some of the recommendations, if they were adopted, may lead to an immediate lift in government expenditure. It is not the time or place in this debate to talk about Australia's economic state and why we are in that position and how we might get out of it. Suffice to say, we were not prepared to support recommendations in the short term that may lead to an increase in government expenditure.

Migration and the movement of people around the world is a fact. People can say they are not in favour of migration or they do not want people coming to our country but, in fact, the kind of world we live in, and the connectivity, the movement of people around the planet, including Australians—at any given time, there is anywhere up to a million Australians overseas—means we are integrated in a world where people move at the drop of a hat. We are part of that, and countries that deny that kind of movement to their people are by far the poorer for it. If you look around the world, it is not hard before you find countries that put up barriers at their borders and, generally speaking, they have very poor democratic outcomes. These countries are nearly always poor and far the poorer for the experience. We stand to gain from those that open up to the rest of world at every level, and those countries that do that are the same.

Call it what you like. You can call that multiculturalism, which is what we do here in Australia, but there are any other number of names for being welcoming to our friends and neighbours around the world. Some would just call it plain good manners. Some would call it actions within your own interests, but in Australia we call it multiculturalism.

It was pointed out to us in the inquiry that the type of multiculturalism that we have adopted in Australia is quite different to many other countries, and some of the difficulties perhaps in Europe at the moment were highlighted. There have been some high-level rejections of multiculturalism within Australia. We recently met with a German member of parliament and were talking about the arrangements in Germany. They have had large groups come to Germany on working visas and there they are there generations later and they are still a people apart rather than being a people of Germany.

That is not the method we used in Australia. We have said to the people of the world: 'If you come to Australia and meet our migration arrangements, we'll welcome you but we want you to be Australians.' Consequently, people have come here from other countries, including ancestrally—I would say everyone of us in this room has come to call Australia home, not other places. We see this as our first point of allegiance. That is a distinct difference in the way we do things in Australia.

By far the highest profile subject within this inquiry is the fact that we got 513 submissions. And in my estimation—and I read through them—roughly 400, or a little less, you would have to say were anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic in tone. Some were thoughtfully so, let me say; some were constructive arguments and put forward in moderation. Others were not, it must be said. That is a cause for concern within itself. Throughout the inquiry I said continually to the other members and senators that we just could not make out that these submissions were not happening, and that we had to address it in the report. I believe we have done so. It is a concern that that number of Australians are worried about Australia's current direction and future direction. But, as I said in my opening remarks, to think that you can just hold back the tide, that you can disassociate yourself from something that you do not particularly like, is foolish.

We actually have to concentrate on what we do to make sure that we achieve a good outcome for those people who are feeling unsettled by the immigration patterns, for those who have emigrated here and for the population as a whole, to make sure that we have one community—one community that works together. I believe that we have addressed that within the recommendations.

It was also significant that the committee focused on improving English language services and felt that perhaps what we are doing at the moment is not totally adequate, because English language is the tool that unlocks the best of Australia for those who choose to come here. English language proficiency is also an expression, to those in our community who feel uneasy about those people who might be living in our midst, of the newcomers wanting to be part of Australia. So English proficiency is a very important thing for our newcomers to achieve. We should, as a nation, make sure the services are available so they can get those skills and, with those skills, come to better understand the responsibilities of being an Australian—that it is not all one way, and it is not just Australia looking after you; it is about you, the person coming to Australia, adopting Australia as your home and saying, 'This is where I want to be, and I want to be part of your cultural structure.' So English language is an important tool, and I hope that we can do better in that area in the future.

We also recommended that an independent institute be established to provide better information, to governments in particular but to all people in the community, about how best to structure those services and address those hot spots. We should make sure that the people who have come here are welcome, feel welcome, want to be culturally part of Australia and, as I said, accept the responsibilities that come with being a citizen of Australia—to endorse our institutions and the way that we wish to operate in Australia, and not to oppose what we consider to be Australian. By and large the report is good. It is certainly large! And I have to endorse the comments of those people who said that it was a good committee to work on, and I thank the chair for her diligence. I hope that the report will provide some kind of guidance for future governments in Australia to deal with these issues.

Debate adjourned.

Sitting suspended from 17:14 to 18:30