PRIMEMLINISTE
FOR MEDIA FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24 1982
ADDRESS TO THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
OF THE AUSTRALIAN GREEK WELFARE SOCIETY
I welcome the opportunity to be here to celebrate the
Society's 10th anniversary. You are a significant
contributor to the network of organisations, churches
and brotherhoods an * d regional associations that make
such a major contribution to the' vitality of Australia's
Greek community.
The work of the network serves both _. Australians of Greok
extraction and the whole . of Australia's multicultural.
society. I think I firs-t attended a meeting of the
Australian Greek Welfare Group almost a decade ago in
December 1973, and knowing the Welfare's reputation for
fire-eating, I accepted the invitation with some trepidation.
I thought you were going to ask for things like a major
review of post-arrival programmes and services; a multicultural.
televis-ion service; funding for ethnic schools; ethnic
radio across Australia. On the night, you appeared to be
content with briefing me on various other issues, needs
and priorities. What I didn't fully grasp was that I hadjust
been condemend to a decade of correspondence from
Spiro Moraitis.
Due to their distinctive -culture, the Scots have always
been equipped to deal appropriately with Greeks bearing
gifts. Over the last 10 years we have been taught to be
waryof Greeks armed with typewriters. But in the course
of that decade, and partly because of such typewriters,
a vast amount has been accomplished.
The Australian Greek Welfare Society's community and
advocacy role has been a major catalyst for change.
Not least, the Australian Greek Welfare Society has urged
and advised politicians in both State and Federal spheres
on a variety of issues. The issues the Society has pursued
with me include welfare7 multicultural broadcasting, education,
child care, employment and training. We have not always agreed
that a particular course of action is the most appropriate,
but we have always understood the.. value of dialogue, of the
open expression of viewpoints, and the need for service to
Australia. / 2
G-W2S
In all our discussions, I have always appreciated the Society's
ability to reach judgments on the basis of the issues themselves
rather than on the basis of other concerns. That has made Ihe
Society's support on the issues very gratifying, and its
criticisms more pointed and more effective. But the Australian
Greek Welfare Society is not merely a body demanding action
from other people. It has itself acted to deliver service
in a number of areas including welfare, child care,, youth
work and educational and vocational counselling. Byi its
actions, the Australian Greek Welfare Society has shown
that those who paternalistically believed that ethnic
communities needed help, but could not help themselves,
were very wrong indeed.
In 1978, the Galbally Report, of which your own Nick Polites
was an author, recognised " the growing capacity and desire
of ethnic organisations to provide their own services".
We acted on that recognition, and our approach has been
vindicated by the recent evaluation of the Galbally Report,
particularly in respect to the Grant-in-Aid Scheme, which,
I understand, is of some interest to you.
That evaluation found that the Grant-in-Aid Scheme has been
very successful. Ethnic groups have been able to establish
and extend much needed-and much appreciated programmes.
Bilingual staff have increased substantially, and community
groups and organisations are-both willing and able to take
on even greater responsibilities. On the basis of that
evaluation, we are extending the Grant-in-Aid Scheme to
further enable community-based agencies, particularly
those ethnically based, to provide welfare services to
migrants. Hopefully we have put behind us the specious arguments that
special services for ethnic groups, delivered by ethnic
groups -themselves are a source of division. But they
really shouldn't exist or should be done away with at the
earliest possible opportunity. All groups need organisations
that are particularly sensitive to. their own needs, that have
a capacity to deal with their clients needs sensitively
and with a high degree of cultural and linguistic awareness.
I think it is a sign that our growing national maturity
that we now recognise that services for migrants are no
different from the special services we support for other
groups with particular needs in our society. At the same
time, however, we should not avoid the realisation that
much more needs to be done to make general agencies
serve the whole Australian population regardless of their
ethnic origin.
Achieving this will require time because large organisations
are sometimes resistant to change, but I have no doubt
that given a continuous impetus, departments and authorities
will increasingly meet the needs of Australia'. s ethnic groups.
That impetus will be given because what we are committed to
is not one-off actions, but on-going reform across a broad
front. Over the past four years, we have had a major review of
post-arrival services; established . a multicultural television
service, provided funding for ethnic schools; and extended
established ethnic radio right across Australia. ./ 3
AGWS
A-GW3--
We have entered into a major new commitment to implement
al'mo-st without exception the recomimendatLions of the
, Galbally report, and I think you will know from the last
week that we don't necessarily accept the recommendations
of bodies that are put to us. Sometimes we reject recommendations
even from Royal Commissions, when they are wrongly based.
But the fact that we have overwhelmingly accepted the
recommendations of that review, * says much for the quality
of the review and I hope it says something of the commitment
of the Government.
The measures proposed will extend and improve special programmes
and services for migrants and most importantly they will
considerably enhance the equality of access and opportunity and
direct assistance to those who need it most. Over $ 200 million
has been spent on migrant services and programmes since the
Galbally Report, and new expenditures will flow from the
Government's overwhelming acceptance of the Galbally
evaluations' recommendations.
As you know, the value of the commitments can't be measured
in terms of dollars spent. The real value is to be measured
in terms of substantive reform. I believe that compared with
our starting position, we have brought about a number of
profound and significant changes. Perhaps most importantly
today Australians from non-English speaking backgrounds
are seen to acknowledge what they always knew that Australians
can retain a particular affection. for their country of
origin and still be Australian in the fullest and best
sense of the word. I think one of the best things that
I have heard said was when someone from an ethnic community
not from yours, but from another large one was in Canberra
speaking with me a while ago. He said for the first time,
in; ithe last 18 months and he and his family-had been
here for quite a long while since the War for the first
time in the last 18 months, he felt it was no-longer
necessary to look over his shoulder. If Government policy
had contributed anything to helping achieve that, I think
that is the best compliment that could be paid.
We can'. t afford to take achievements for granted, or slacken
our efforts in the future. We have all seen the publicity given
to tat small but global minority that want to turn back the
clock to older days when there was no tolerance. I would like
to make it quite clear that this Government has no intention
of allowing the voice of bigotry to prevail in Australia, ever,
at any time. The achievements which have been made are important
to Australia at large. They benefit and they enrich the lives
not only of the newest members of the community, but of all
Australians, and on behalf of the Government, I reiterate
the commitment to a united, just and multicultural Australia.
Some of you will remember that during the visit to Australia
last March by President Karamanlis, I announced in recognition
of that visit, we would introduce the awards programme. Those
awards,. two of the first, were awarded tonight. I was delighted
to be able to make the announcement of a specific award rather
than the general principle, because that again is seeing something
happening, not just announcing a policy in a vacuum, but seeing
two of the young people from your community who will go to Greece
as Australians, and come back. with a wider knowledge of Greece.
J AGWS
AG4W-S
That I believe is something that could not have happened
maybe 5 years ago, certainly it.-couldn't have happened 16
or 15 years ago. It is very pleasing to see policies come
alive with the faces and people that are going to benefit
from it. But 5, 10 or 15 years ago, I think if anyone
asked if we would see the situation in which there would
be Australian Greek President awards for young Australians
to go and study for a while in Greece, people would probably
have said it would never happen. There have been a number
of awards Churchill Fellowships or the Queen Elizabeth
Trust Scholarships for young Australians have a special
relationship to the United Kingdom. There have been some
awards that have special relationships with the United
States. But I think that now that there are some specific
awards which relate to Australia and Greece quite specifically
indicates that Australia really has come of age, that
Australia has matured, that~ it's truly the multicultural
society and that those narrow, introverted days when this
was an Anglo-Saxon community and not much else are
really behind us for good. As a result, Australia is
a very much better a-ation than it has ever been before.
I would like to thank you very much for asking me to
be here tonight, to helv participate in your 10th anniversary.
I would like to thank you all very much for what you are doing
to help build a more equal and tolerant Australia. I think
the whole world-at the moment is going through a somewhat
difficult* time, but I still believe Australia-is still the.
best country-in). the world in which to bring up a family. Whatever
the difficulties may be, I believe there are more opportunities
here than in almost any other country in thew~ orld. I know
that members of the Australian Greek Welfare Society, and the
whole Greek community, have contributed enormously to the
Australia that we all know and love.
AGWS