A recent panel discussing multiculturalism addressed both the issues facing the policy and its positive artistic and cultural contributions.
“Understanding counters fear”, Jing Han, Director of the Institute for Asian and Australian Arts and Cultures at Western Sydney University, said in a panel discussion on multiculturalism in Sydney earlier this month. She has a point.
We urgently need to discuss multiculturalism, whether it is worthwhile, how it is working and what to do about it. In recent months, Australia’s ethnic and faith communities have all reported increased racist attacks, notably to the current Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
What has gone wrong with Australia’s long-held policy of multiculturalism? It may be that at a time of economic downturn and disruption, foreigners, immigrants and people who look different or speak another language, are being blamed for problems for which they are not responsible. We need to unpack any such assertions and learn about the benefits of immigration and multiculturalism. Without understanding ourselves and our communities, their cultures and their histories, how can we find solutions?
Please listen to the recording of a panel discussion on multiculturalism held at the Chau Chak Museum, University of Sydney on 12 May. Leading the discussion, Emeritus Professor Andrew Jakubowicz outlined to MC Helen Vatsikopoulos how multiculturalism policy had evolved since the 1980s. Noting its successes, he also regretted the failure of recent governments to address issues that had emerged and to fund solutions. His views have been set out more fully in a submission to the Royal Commission published by the ABC.
Two other speakers represented the positive contributions to Australia of multiculturalism. They spoke movingly of the extraordinary artistic and cultural achievements of diverse migrant and ethnic communities, as well as the benefits of international cultural exchanges, both to the artists themselves and to the general public.
Jackie Menzies, President of the Asian Arts Society of Australia, told the audience that Australia needed a “new vision” of our visual art world. She mentioned a 2009 exhibition of work by Chinese Australian artist Liu Xiao Xian titled The Way We Eat, which contrasted the elaborateness of European cutlery and the simplicity of chopsticks, provoking viewers to reconsider customs that they had previously taken for granted. Jing Han, formerly from SBS and now at Western Sydney University, explained that translation, interpretation and subtitling from one language to another required deep knowledge of the cultural context. As an example, she cited her translation into Chinese of Indigenous writer Melissa Lucashenko’s award-winning novel Too Much Lip. This had helped Chinese readers understand and sympathise with how deeply Indigenous communities had been affected by white colonialist policies.
Our population is increasingly diverse. In towns and cities across Australia young people are growing up in mixed environments. They accept diversity as a fact of life; they constitute tomorrow’s nation. Policy makers should remind themselves that they are planning for tomorrow, not yesterday.
The central point of multiculturalism is not assimilation or integration but citizenship. As citizens, we all have the same rights and obligations. We all value our common citizenship. But more civics education is needed. The meaning and effect of citizenship must be enhanced, starting with understanding of our Indigenous heritage. Everyone should know Indigenous history and read the Statement from the Heart.
It is not enough to say migrants must adopt our ‘national values’ or, like Angus Taylor, demonise some foreigners as ‘bad people’ from ‘bad countries’. No country is perfect; we can always acquire new ideas and new knowledge from other communities. An open mind is key to scientific and cultural advancement. Let’s encourage foreign language learning in schools and universities, take students to see visiting international exhibitions and encourage them to watch foreign movies and read foreign books. Why only English-language culture? Let’s reduce our cultural integration with America to better reflect our geographic location. That said, for those newly arrived in this country, let’s properly fund English language support, not only for migrants but also temporary visa holders and refugees.
We have a housing crisis. Inflation is on the rise. Unemployment is relatively high, and more people have left the workforce or become casual workers. Tertiary education is unaffordable for many. We have lost trust in our government to keep us safe and to implement laws and regulations without discrimination. In such times, it is easy to look for scapegoats. In my part of Sydney, people grumble about ‘rich Chinese’ snapping up property, sometimes paying in cash, and contributing to increased house prices. Elsewhere there are grumbles about Africans, Arabs and Indians.
The solution is not to put up barriers and retreat to fondly imagined simpler earlier times. It is to embrace our multicultural future and to be open to change and diversity.
Jocelyn Chey is Visiting Professor at the University of Sydney and Adjunct Professor at Western Sydney University and UTS. She formerly held diplomatic posts in China and Hong Kong. She is a member of the Order of Australia (AM) and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs.