Here we go, again! Another news story about the Jacinta Allan Labor Government in Victoria, and its commitment to protect our “vibrant” as the official government and bureaucratic language calls it, multiculturalism, in order to enhance social cohesion, via the commencement of the Victorian Multicultural Review.
This “vibrant” multiculturalism is defined and is understood, again and again, by many governments and multicultural bureaucracies in the state of Victoria and in Australia, as a celebration of food, dance, music and other simplistic and tokenistic manifestations of cultural diversity.
The history of the various diverse communities in Australia is not part of the greater national narrative, is not taught in our education system for example. The various community languages were never accepted as Australian languages as well, worthy of support in the public education system of the country.
Yes, official literature is translated into various community Australian languages. Yes, Australian citizens and residents can access the under financial and bureaucratic attack system of interpreters, when they are dealing with the state, but let us be clear about it. Yes, we do have a grants policy for ethnics. Multiculturalism as described and as practiced in Australia in the past few decades though, sadly, is going backwards…
Why? Because the way we perceive and talk about multiculturalism nowadays, limits our understanding of the concept, limits our policy options and possibilities.
Back to the news story about reviewing Victoria’s multicultural framework, again.
The Minister for Multicultural Affairs in this state, Ingrid Stitt, announced today the names of the people who would be constituting the Targeted Advisory Group, which is to support former Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC) head George Lekakis, to review of Victoria’s multicultural policies and institutions.
“Our multiculturalism is one of the most precious parts of our state, and makes us uniquely Victorian,” stated minister Stitt, who went on to talk about the next steps needed, in order to strengthen the state’s multiculturalism and in order to help stop division!
Here we go again! Labor politicians, again, are linking multiculturalism with division, conflict and social cohesion. They do this again and again and again, sadly. The PM Anthony Albanese, the Premier Jacinta Allan, ministers and others, constantly demonstrate their deeply held beliefs that multiculturalism can be divisive and can undermine the states and the nation’s social cohesion. It is the Labor leadership of Victoria and Australia, that keeps on reproducing this inaccurate and alarmist language. It is not Pauline Hanson, or other extremists and right wingers. Labor politicians are coming up with these careless and ahistorical remarks, at a time when extremism and racism is on the ascendancy, in Australia and world-wide!
It is racism and extremism that produces antisemitism and islamophobia, comrades! It is not multiculturalism, or multi faith communities. Racism and extremism is a wider social evil, it does not belong to the exclusive domain of multicultural Australia, as your public language, constantly implies.
Racism and extremism that might be found within the various ethnic community groups in Australia, do not threaten the foundations of our country, our society and our state, because they are marginal. Multicultural Australia, like the vast majority of the rest of Australia, is obedient to the laws and to the community standards and values that define the land.
Multicultural Australia, like the rest of Australia, is not only defined by culture, or by faith, as the simplistic public discourse, also aided by Labor, implies. Universal determinants of individual and collective identities such as class, ideology, gender and other factors, define both “mainstream” and ethnic/multicultural Australia.
Multiple identities are not antagonistic by definition, comrades. For most of the people, multiple identities are complementary identities. To think otherwise is simplistic and dangerous, to say the least…
Social cohesion and conflict are not defined by culture only, therefore, please change your tune…
Do not talk about multiculturalism and conflict for example, only by referencing multicultural communities and multifaith stakeholders. It’s simplistic and naïve. It restricts our policy options. it is also dangerous and racist, in case you haven’t noticed…
Successfully combating discrimination and hate crime, promoting unity and strengthening Victoria’s and Australia’s social cohesion, is a matter for our entire society! As a matter of fact, these are issues that should be primarily addressed to mainstream Australia, not only, or mostly, to multicultural/ethnic Australia…
