CHECK AGAINS': DEZIVERY EMBARGOED AGAINST DELIVERY
S? ATREM-lET SY TE PRINE MINISTER
ALP XL[. 4j;:\ ION AMD ~ TENMC AFFAIRS POLICY LAUNCH
~ 2LsBOURNE 10 JUNE 1987
Ladies and Cntlemen,
Fellow Austrzlians,
Friends, Since I wao a student at the University of Western
Australia, ' Ie capacity of this great country to accept and
to give op't: rtunities for a decent life as equals in our
society to -ooole from beyond our shores has been a matter
of great pc7 onal importance to me. It was the vision of
Australia, der Chifley and Calwell, opening its doors to
settlers a world ravaged by war, which first inspired
me to join e Labor Party.
The qualito life which we are able to offer to our ethnic
communitic; in one of the most d3cisive measuring sticks by
which any : t: alian Government should be judged. In this
area, this V'vernment has one unbeatable advantage over its
predecessors and its competitors: in Mick Young, we have
one of the ; eat figures of Australian public life, one of
the great pc -sonalities of the ALP, and one of the very
great Immaigtion Ministers in Australian history.
In launching my Government's immigration and ethnic affairs
policy I wa t to emphasise three points:-we are inspired
by the cucc:,: of Australia's immigration program over four
decades and inspired by the role of Labor Governments in
that succenss we are proud of the record of the present
Government o" er the last four years and we are challenged by
the opportun. ties of the next three years and beyond.
Australia has been immeasurably enriched by the contribution
of inmigration to our national life and by the success of
the immigration program. It is one of our nation's greatest
achievements that people have been accepted from a wide and
diverse rangrc of backgrounds, race, religion and culture.
We take pride in the role of Labor Governments in the
success of the migration program. It was a Labor Government
that began the migration program just after the War. It-was
another Labo):: Government the Whitlam Labor Government
which expunged the last traces of discrimination from our
migration policy. COP1~
2.
It is with t: t great Labor tradition behind me that
tradition of vision, compassion, courage and fairness that
I speak to you today.
The Government is totally committed to the concept of
Australia as a truly multicultural society.
What this nca-s is that we believe that all Australians,
irrespective . f their ethnic or religious backgrounds, their
cultural heritage or their linguistic tradition, should be
able to exercise their rights and obligations as full and
equal membersa o2 the comi. unity. We believe multiculturalicm
is central to any commitment to social justice.
However we nc to translate those beliefs and commitments
into action. That is ultimately the test of any Government.
When I look at the track record of my Government over the
last four year!;, I am proud of what we have achieved.
As with other areas of Government policy, we have got the
fundamentale right.
At times this 1as meant hard and painful decisions but in
the end I be'. ive ev have established the basis for a
multicultura. : instralia.
The main poiltr I would like to highlight are:
An imniig: tion policy which, through community
consulta-tion and careful planning, has steadily
increaced and has given priority to family reunion. My
Government h'as successfully balanced economic, cocial
and hunanitarian considerations.
The carefti development by fick Young and Susan Ryan,
with an input from the Office of Multicultural Affairs,
of a National Policy on Languages a policy designed
both to provide opportunities for al. l Australians to
achieve competence in English and to maintain and
develop Australia's valuable language resources. At the
same time the provision of English courses through the
Adult Higrant Education Program has been vastly
improved. Funding has increased; new education centres
have been ectablished; ancillary child care facilities
have been extended; and the teaching staff have been
transform'-. from a casual to a permanent, professional
workforce.
A commitmrnt to people in need, particularly low income
families. : n contrast to the fall in real disposable
income experienced by poor families under the previous
Howard Government, payments have increased in real terms
during the period of my Government.
Special emphasis, particularly funding increases, in the
provision of welfare services to the ethnic aged,
migrant wo-aen, refugees and ethnic youth.
9 3.
SThe establishment of the Office of Multicultural Affairs
within my own portfolio, giving it the opportunity to
have a policy input at the highest level of Government.
The impleaentation of an Access and Equity strategy,
designed to ensure that people of non-English speaking
background have equal access to and an equal share of
Commonwealth programs and services.
Extensive support for ethnic community organisations.
Under my Government unprecedented financial support has
been given to ethnic community organisations.
Let me repeat that we are proud of our achievements. We
have laid a firm foundation for multiculturalism in
Australia. We now look forward to the challenges and opportunities of
the next three years and beyond. I wish to draw attention
to six major areas of activity in the next three years.
1) Implementation of the National Policy on Languages.
Already we are committed to an integrated package of
initiativoes that will allow the on-arrival component of
the ESL program to be doubled; provide substantial
funding for community, trade and Aboriginal languages;
and tackle the problem of adult illiteracy. To meet
that chalenge we will spend an additional $ 15m next
year, and $ 25t in the following full year. Of theso
figures, an extra $ 5.3m will be available for on-arrival
ESL for oschool-children in 1987-88, increasing to $ 13.6m
in 1988-09.
I should say that the Government is committed to
maintaining sufficient levels of funding flows to
S general ESL programs, in recognition of the need to
ensure that people of non-English speaking background
are not disadvantaged in Australian society, and that
the education and skills they bring to this country can
be fully utilised to the benefit of all Australians.
The national policy on languages is also designed to
maintaiz the community languages that form an
indispensable part of the rich ethnic heritage of
Australia, as well as improving the quality of our
workforco, increasing our tourist potential and allowing
us to e: xpand our trading opportunities.
2) Production of a Green Paper on immigration. This will
examine all aspects of immigration policy including the
points system. The Green Paper will be produced in
consultation and with the full co-operation of the
Community, including ethnic organisations.
t
3) Extension1 of the access and equity strategy. All
Commonwealth Departments and agencies will now be
required to develop three year plans of actions on
measurez they are taking to ensure that all Australians, A
irrespective of their ethnic origin, enjoy a ' fair go'
in accesz to Conmonwealth programs and services.
4) Drawing maximum benefit from the office of Multicultural
Affairs and the Advisory Council of Multicultural
Affairs. The Office, which will have a presence in each
capital city of Australia, will be required to
co-ordinate policy advice, implement the access and
equity atrategy, provide community information and to
consult aextensively with community organisations. The
Council has been asked by me to translate the principles
of multiculturalism into a series of long-term concrete
initiatives a National Agenda for a Multicultural
Australia. Cutting tho delays and backlogs in the immigration
appeals system. lie will do this by increasing the
Immigration Review Panel from 32 to 137 members and by
setting up, for the first time, new Panels in Brisbane,
Adelaide and Perth.
6) Finally, but crucially important to many of you, we will
ensure that with a steadily expanding iumigration
program priority will be given to the reunion of
families.
Those are tho uain elements of what Labor offers over the
next three years. And there is not the slightest
possibility that our opponents will go close to matching it.
The importance nr Howard attaches to these natters can be
seen from the fact that his spokesman on immigration and
ethnic affairs is not only outside the Shadow Cabinet, but
is in fact onec of the most junior members of his Shadow
ministry. And this in a Party which has the widely
respected Ian lqacphee languishing on the backbench.
Moreover, in an environment where the Liberal Party is
threatening huge, unspecified cuts of 2.5 billion dollars in
Government progjrams, it is certain that they intend to
impose a disproportionate and unfair share of the burden on
our ethnic commiunities. Mir Howard has identified certain
areas where his cuts would not fall. Very significantly,
ethnic and multicultural programs are not on the protected
list. Under the Liberals, they are destined to suffer.
We will not allow this to happen. The Labor Party has made
its commitment to multiculturalism, not merely in words but
in effective, on-going programs. We will ensure that help
continues to vyo to those who need it. We are not going to
be party to any redistribution of public wealth from
ordinary Australians to the greedy few in our society. We
stand for an Auatralia, richly diverse but cohesive, in
which every Australian, whatever his or her background, can
enjoy a fair c~ o.