FOR MIEDIA 13 MiARCHl198 7
1 am pleased to announce the establishment of the Advisory
Council on Multicultural Affairs which will report to me and
to Mr Young as Minister Assisting me on Multicultural
Affairs. The Council will be chaired by the Honourable Sir James
Gobbo of tha Victorian Supreme Court. Sir James has been a
leading figure over many years in the development of
multiculturalism and has served governments and community
groups in many capacities, and I am del~ ighted that he has
agreed tc accept this new and important post.
His Deputy will be Mr George wojak who also has a long
history of service to the community on multicultural
matterG, and is currently the President of the Federation of
Ethnic Coirmunities Councils of Australia.
The Counc. J includes members front each State and Territory,
men and women from a diversity of backgrounds, who between
them poscess both extensive experience and youthful
enthusiasm( and represent a wide variety of expertise and
gunerational viewpoints.
The Advioory Council will be charged with providing advice
to me and to Mr Young on ways in which the Government might
advance its objective of encouraging the further development
of our multicultural society. In recognition of the
cultural diversity of contemporary Australian society, the
Government seeks to promote an environment in which all
Australipans, irrespective of cultural origins, can exercise
their rights and obligations as full and equal members of
the cofminity.
As part of this, the Advisory Council will also be expected
to help the Government to ensure that its policies and
programs are equitable, and its programs accessible to all
members of our community.
2.
The Council's : 7le will be a broad one. it is expected that
priority will be given to developing advice for the
Government based on consultation and research. The Council
will provide an appropriate channel for communications
between the com~ munity at large and the Government on
multicultural siatters. It will also be responsible for
assisting the Government in promoting multiculturalirsm
across all sectors of the Australian community.
The Council will be supported in these roles by an office of
Multicultural Affairs which is being established in my
Department. Viree senior appointments have now been made to
the office. Tae Head of the office will be Dr Peter
Shergold, forr.. 3rly an Associate Professor in the Department
of Economic History at the University of New South Wales, I
who has had wide research experience in the multicultural
field and has worked closely with community bodies and
government agencies in conducting that research. He will be
supported by I-s Vasiliki Nihas and Mir Peter Vaughan. Mis
Nihas, who has also had extensive research and working
experience in multicultural affairs and especially in the
education field, will be responsible for consultation and
liaison with communities. Mr Vaughan, who has had long
experience in administering government programs in a
regional sott4, ng and for developing policy advice for
governmonts, will be responsible for the advisory and
research roles in the office.
The role of thp Office will be to support the Advisory
Council and the Government in developing policies which are
equitable and which contribute to the maintenance of social
harmony. It will work closely with the Advisory Council.
The office wil'. consult widely with communities and other
Government agencies in developing and carrying out its role.
The Advisory Council is expected to meet quarterlyalthough,
as a:. ready indicated, its members will also be
involved betwiean meetings in the preparation of information
and advice on poarticular subjects.
The first meeting of the Advisory Council will be held in
Canberra next month. Subsequent meetings are expected to be
held in other cities.
Mr Young and I look forward very much to working closely
with Sir James Gobbo, M-r Wojak and other Council members.
The Council ccllectively has a very broad range of
backgrounds and expertise and should be well placed to help
the Government advance the cause of multiculturalism.
ATTACHMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL ON MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS
Justice Sir James Gobbo
( Chairperson)
Mr Wlodzimierz ( George) Wojak
( Deputy Chairperson)
Mr David J. 3rydon
Mr Simon Crezn
Ms Helon Cattalini
Dr David Con
Ms Hanifa Dean-Oswald
Mrs Rena Frangioudakis
Miss Eugenia Grammatikakis
Mrs Margaretha Hanen President, Co As It
President, Italian Historical
Society Chairperson, Federation of
Ethnic Communities' Council
of Australia
Member, National Population
Council
Managing Director, ACX
International Ltd
President of the Austrialian
Council of Trade Unions
Commissioner, Multicultural
and Ethnic Affairs Coamission
of Western Australia
Snr Lecturer, Social Work,
University of Melbourne
Chairperson, Settlement and
Ethnic Affairs Section,
National Population Council
Acting Manager, Community
Education, Commissioner'o
Office for Equal Opportunity
in Victoria
Greek radio broadcaster, 3EA
Committee member, Ethnic
Children's Television
Foundation
Secretary, Ethnic
Communities' Council of
Tasmania Ethnic Consultant, Office of
the Commissioner for the
Ageing SA,
Executive, Ethnic
Communities' Council of SA
Mr Steve Karas
Ms Morag Loh
Miss Lidia De Luca
Mrs Therese Thi Huong Morris
Mr Nontas PozaroG
Mr Nino Randazzo
Mr Timothy Ching-Ming Shao
Dr Joachim Schneeweiss
Dr Ahmad Shboul
Sir Nicholas Shehadie Snr Lecturer, Law, Queensland
Institute of Technology
Chairperson, Ethnic
Communities' Council of
Queensland, Member of Review
of Migrant and Multicultural
Programs and Services, 1986
Member, Historic Records
Search Committee for the
Bicentenary Oral historian of immigrants;
multilingual theatre work
Snr Vice-Chairperson, Ethnic
Communities' Council of the
Northern Territory
Secretary, Vietnamese
Community of Newcastle and
the Hunter
Editor, Neos Kosmos
Editor, II Globo, Victoria
National Director, Australian
Council of, Churches' Refugee
and Migrant Services
Executive, Refugee Council
President, Executive Council
of Australian Jewry 1977-9,
1981-3
Board member, Australian
Jewish Welfare Society
Snr Lecturer, Arabic and
Islamic Studies, University
of Sydney
Hon. Adviser to the Islamic
Federation Chairman, Special
Broadcasting Service
Ms Maria Vukadinovic-Jockel
Professor Eric Willmot Deputy Chairman, Ethnic
Affairs Commission of
Victoria Hon. Life member,
Australian-Yugoslav Welfare
Society Head of Education, James Cook
University, Head, ACT Schools
Authority ( Appointment in
1987)
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