E&OE..................
Thank you very much, Philip, for those kind words of welcome; to Mr and Mrs Fazzalari; to Christine Gallus, her husband, Alex; my other Parliamentary colleagues, my fellow Australians.
Can I first of all say how delighted I am to be at this community centre. And can I say, on an occasion like this, which is the launch of a policy designed to continue the enormous success that Australia has had over the last 50 years in particular, in a great experiment of nation building out of diversity, can I say very warmly on behalf of all your other fellow Australians what an enormous contribution, an incalculable contribution, that Australians of Italian descent have made to the building of the modern Australia.
Your warmth, your passion, your commitment to family, your commitment to business, your commitment to community, your commitment to building a tolerant society has been quite remarkable. As you know it';s the largest of the non-English speaking background tributaries, if I can put it that way, of the modern Australian nation. And every part of Australian life has been enriched and benefited by the people who';ve come to our nation from the Italian shores.
This is an occasion to celebrate not only the contribution of Australians of Italian descent but also to celebrate the remarkable success of a great, in particular, post World War II experiment. No country in the world has done it better than Australia. No country in the world has been more successful in achieving the twin goals of loving Australia but always keeping a place in your heart for the land of your birth. And that, in my language, is how I can best describe Australian multiculturalism. We all love Australia but we never forget where we came from and that';s important. And it';s important that Australians, like myself, who were born in this country understand that people who';ve come from another land will always have a special place in their heart for that country and that doesn';t in any way diminish the love they have for Australia and the contribution that they make. And that is why communities, such as your society, are so important because they join, they fuse those two strands of Australian life. They preserve what is best of your heritage but in the process enable you to make such a wonderful contribution to the modern Australia.
And it is important that we remember these binding values at a time like this. We have been incredibly successful in this country in keeping out ancient hatreds from other countries. I sometimes, when I hear people say, you know, there';s a lot of tension around - and I want to come in a moment to some of the inevitable strains for some of our fellow Australians caused by recent tragic events – but really we have been so successful. When I think of the conflict that has ravaged the former Yugoslavia and the way in which Australians of different ethnicities that have come out of that part of the world have put those conflicts behind them. They';ve been concerned, they';ve naturally been touched and affected and saddened by many of those events but they have remained part of the great, united Australian community.
And it is important, I do want to stress at the beginning of my remarks, that in the present difficulty through which the world is passing and the need for this country to stand beside the United States in the fight against terrorism, it';s very important to remember that our fellow Australians of an Islamic faith and of an Arab background are as passionately opposed to terrorism and the death and destruction it brings as the rest of us are. This is not a conflict between Christianity and Judaism on the one hand and Islam on the other. It';s a conflict between good and evil and all who oppose evil and terrorism are entitled to our friendship and our embrace. And at a time like this it is important that if we have Islamic friends, friends of Arab descent, fellow Australians of those faiths and those heritages, that we reach out to them and include them and make them feel more than ever before part of the Australian community. Because the evil doers that we oppose in the name of fighting terrorism will have succeeded if people of that descent and that faith are made to feel in any way unwelcome in our society and it';s very important on an occasion like this that we emphasise it.
The policy I launch today entitled ‘Strength Through Diversity'; promotes the values that unite all of us as Australians. I';ve frequently said in my political career that the things that unite us as Australians are infinitely greater and more enduring than the things that divide us. And the things that unite us, tolerance, fair play, call it, in the Australian vernacular, mateship, are really the principles that underline our approach to multicultural affairs. The policy I launch today is designed to build on the great successes of the past.
We hold very firmly to the belief that all Australians have the right to be active and equal participants in Australian society, free to live their lives and celebrate their cultural traditions in a diverse, accepting and open society, united by an overriding commitment to our nation and its democratic institutions, its laws and its values. And on an occasion like this, which is the launch of the Liberal Party';s policy for this election in this area, I do remind – and it';s important that I do – of the great contribution of Coalition governments going back to the Government of Robert Menzies, elected in 1949, to post World War II nation building in Australia. It was the Coalition government that ended the White Australia policy. It was a Coalition government that oversaw massive post-war immigration, welcoming people from all around the globe, not least from Italy. It was a Coalition government that established the most comprehensive settlement services in the world, ensuring that our newest residents had access to formal English language training, education and job seeking services. It was the Fraser Government, a Coalition government under Malcolm Fraser, that created SBS television, which is admired and awarded internationally for the breadth of its purpose and the depths of its professionalism. Now, that is an enviable, generous, sweeping record and I';m very proud that we';ve been able to continue that process.
We have, I believe, restored a sense of integrity to Australia';s immigration programme. We have shifted the balance in favour of skilled migration. The Government stresses very strongly the notion of citizenship. We introduced Australian Citizenship Day on the 17th of September as the day to celebrate citizenship annually. We';ve introduced affirmation ceremonies enabling all Australians to publicly affirm their loyalty to Australia and its people at appropriate civic events. We instituted a citizenship promotion campaign to highlight the importance of citizenship and to encourage eligible non-citizens to take out Australian citizenship. And I want to acknowledge the Australian Citizenship Council for the significant contribution it has made in these areas.
But our record in multicultural affairs is equally impressive. We';ve given a renewed focus ensuring that every Australian benefits from cultural diversity. Rather than being a policy aimed at preserving the cultural traits it is more than that. It is now a policy aimed at drawing all Australians together while not merely preserving but actively celebrating our different backgrounds.
We have committed $12.5 million to the Living in Harmony initiative to combat any signs of racism within our society. And the campaign focuses on what makes us all Australians and emphasises, importantly, our common values, the values that unite and strengthen us in opposition to those who would divide us on racial or cultural grounds. And central to this is the community grants programme. Harmony Day, falling on the 21st of March, was introduced by the Government to encourage Australians to reflect on our success as a diverse and harmonious community. And over 800 schools, businesses and community organisations at every level participated in Harmony Day this year. And I was delighted to launch the National Multicultural Advisory Council';s report to the Government two years ago and we responded to that delivering our comprehensive plan for the new Century entitled, The New Agenda for Multicultural Australia. We established the Council for Multicultural Australia, reporting directly to me and to the Minister.
Education is vital to this process. Accordingly we implemented the Australian immigration, the Facts initiative, to inform the public of the true facts about immigration and the manifold benefits that this country has derived from immigration and from its cultural diversity. And the latest element of the campaign, Australia 2030, encourages young Australians to learn about the contribution migration has made to the development of our nation and to explore ways in which migration in the future might shape the Australian nation.
In the last five-and-a-half years that we';ve been in Government we have made settlement programmes more accountable and outcomes oriented. They are now aimed at ensuring that newly arrived migrants and refugee and humanitarian programme entrants become independent and active participants in Australia';s society as speedily as possible. We';ve introduced the settlement website to ensure that migrants are able to access valuable settlement information in areas such as employment, education and health services. Our translating and interpreting service has been transformed into a world class service operating with enhanced technology 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We';ve introduced a doctors priority line ensuring medical services are delivered more effectively to patients from a non-English speaking background, particularly to those in remote and rural areas. And we';ve enhanced the adult migrant English programme ensuring its greater flexibility. And $14.3 million is being committed, annually, to a holistic, better targeted and responsive approach to the settlement needs of refugees and humanitarian programme entrants through the integrated humanitarian settlement strategy. As some refugees and entrants have been subjected to torture and trauma, the programme incorporates one-on-one case management and trauma counselling.
They are some of the things that we have done over the last five-and-a-half years. But let me spend a few moments on the future because this election campaign is not only about what the Government has done and is doing, it';s also about what it will do if it is re-elected on the 10th of November. If re-elected the Coalition Government will invest an additional $47 million over four years in multicultural citizenship and settlement programmes. Our policy seeks to develop a coalition of the community, the corporate sector and every level of government, thereby engaging all Australians in the task of building a united Australia and reaffirming our shared commitment to its democratic institutions, its laws and its values.
A great deal has been achieved, but as I said at the beginning of my remarks but we cannot rest on our laurels as a harmonious, decent, tolerant and open society. Recent events in the United States and the fears and the doubts and the prejudices that have surfaced in their wake challenge, as I said earlier, all of us to redouble our efforts to engender tolerance, respect of cultural diversity and community harmony.
A re-elected Coalition Government will commit $1 million annually to promote Australian citizenship as the single most unifying force in our community and to encourage eligible, permanent residents to take out citizenship and participate fully in our democratic society. We';ll provide annual funding of $3.5 million to the Living in Harmony initiative. We';ll introduce an annual Living in Harmony grants round in recognition of the fact that communities are best placed to develop a solution to local problems and to combat racism and intolerance at a grassroots level. And, finally, ensure, importantly, that our settlement programmes remain the most comprehensive in the world by maintaining on an ongoing basis the funding first committed in the 1997/98 budget at a cost of $29.2 million over four years.
Ladies and gentlemen, before I conclude my remarks I would like to pay tribute to two people. I would like to pay tribute to Philip Ruddock for the quite outstanding job he';s done as Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, particularly over the last 12 months. In the years that I';ve been in public life I don';t think I have seen anybody in a particular portfolio have to cope with so many difficult issues on a daily basis. And I';m filled with admiration for the job that Philip has done. He';s protected Australia';s interests, he';s protected the integrity of the borders of Australia but he';s done it in a way that has been wholly consistent with his humanitarian liberal values and his deep commitment to the relief of suffering humanity and it is a great achievement. He';s been a wonderful Minister and in the time that he';s had that portfolio, which is, indeed, quite a long period of time now, I don';t think I could say there';s a day gone by without his having been a very powerful advocate of the cause of the diversity of Australia, which is so well represented here today. Philip has lived and fought for the cause of multicultural and ethnically diverse Australia and he has been a very impressive and powerful contributor to the Government';s activities and success over the last five-and-a-half years.
Can I also very warmly commend to you Christine Gallus, the Member for Hindmarsh, not only for the work that she has done as the Member for Hindmarsh since 1990 but also the tremendous work that she';s done over the last 12 months as a Parliamentary Secretary to Philip and the way in which she';s very energetically represented this very diverse community. She is a person who understands this community, she';s a person who';s fought for it, she';s a person who believes in diversity and she';s a person who';s powerfully advocated it. It';s not an easy seat this if I can be very partisan for a moment, it';s a tough seat. It hasn';t always been on our side of politics and it';s going to be a tough fight to hang on to it. She';s going to need all of your help and the only way, if you want a re-elected Liberal government, the only way you can do it here in Hindmarsh is to vote for Chris Gallus.
So can I say to Christine and to her husband, Alex, who';s a great supporter and partner of hers in her representation of the electorate of Hindmarsh, thank you very much for the contribution you';ve made to my Government, the contribution you';ve made as a Parliamentary Secretary. I wish you well and I ask all of you to rally behind her and give her all the support you can because if you want somebody who represents and understands the diversity of this community, somebody as I understand it, somebody born in Hungary and, of course, therefore understanding the great ethnic diversity of Australia in a first hand sense. But as I say, she';s been a great representative. I hope you get behind her and thank you very much for having Janette and myself today.
[Ends]