Multiculturalism in Australia

Multiculturalism in Australia is today reflected by the multicultural composition of its people, its immigration policies, its prohibition on discrimination, equality before the law of all persons, as well as various cultural policies which promote diversity, such as the formation of the Special Broadcasting Service.
According to the 2011 census, 26% of the population were born overseas and a further 20% had at least one parent born overseas. Aboriginal Australians make up approximately 2.5% of the population. Australia's diverse migrant communities have brought with them food, lifestyle and cultural practices, which have been absorbed into mainstream Australian culture.
From Federation until after the Second World War, Australia adhered to the White Australia policy. The policy was dismantled after the war by various changes to the immigration policy of the Australian government.

History

Pre-Federation

Prior to European colonisation, the Australian continent had been inhabited by various Aboriginal peoples for around 60,000 years, and the Torres Strait Islands was inhabited by various groups of Torres Strait Islander peoples. Among them they spoke at least 250 mutually unintelligible languages, which included around 800 dialects. An estimated 120 of these were still spoken as of 2016, and several more are being revived through language revival programmes.
Makassan trepangers made contact with Indigenous Australians along the northern coast of Australia during the 17th and mid-18th centuries, although this did not lead to permanent settlement. Beginning with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, waves of European settlers began to emigrate to the Australian continent. By 1901, the Australian continent consisted of six British colonies, which in 1901 agreed to federate into one state.

White Australia policy

The Immigration Restriction Act 1901, known informally as the White Australia policy, restricted non-European immigration to Australia from 1901 to 1973. The policy limited the ethnic and cultural diversity of the immigrant population. The policy was an attempt to preserve the "Anglo-Saxon" ethno-cultural identity of the Australian nation, promote European immigration, and to exclude persons who did not fit the European, predominantly Anglo-Celtic, character of Australian society. As the twentieth century progressed and the number of migrants from the United Kingdom became insufficient to meet labour shortages, immigrants came increasingly from other parts of Europe, such as Italy, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, and the former Yugoslavia. The prevailing attitude to migrant settlement up until this time was based on the expectation of assimilation—that is, that migrants should shed their cultures and languages and rapidly become indistinguishable from the host population.

Emergence of multiculturalism

From the mid-1960s until 1973, when the final vestiges of the White Australia policy were removed, policies started to examine assumptions about assimilation. They recognised that many migrants, especially those whose first language was not English, experienced hardships as they settled in Australia, and required more direct assistance. Governments also recognised the importance of ethnic organisations in helping with migrant settlement. Expenditure on migrant assistance and welfare increased in the early 1970s in response to these needs.
Following the initial moves of the Whitlam government in 1973, further official national multicultural policies were implemented by Fraser's conservative Coalition government in 1978. The Labor Government of Bob Hawke continued with these policies during the 1980s and early 1990s, and were further supported by Paul Keating up to his electoral defeat 1996. "CALD" policies continue to be implemented at all levels of government and public service, such as medical support systems which cater specifically to non-English speaking residents.
The meaning of multiculturalism has been altered significantly since its formal introduction to Australia. Originally it was understood by the mainstream population as a need for acceptance that many members of the Australian community originally came from different cultures and still had ties to it. However, it came to mean the rights of migrants within mainstream Australia to express their cultural identity. It is now often used to refer to the notion that people in Australia have multiple cultural or ethnic backgrounds.
The overall level of immigration to Australia has grown during the last decades. Net overseas immigrants increased from 30,000 in 1993 to 118,000 in 2003–04, and 262,500 in 2016–17.
According to the 2011 census, 26% of the population were born overseas, with a further 20% having at least one parent born overseas. Of the population born overseas, 82% lived in the capital cities. Aboriginal Australians make up approximately 2.5% of the population. In 2008, Australia was ranked 18th in the world in terms of net migration per capita, ahead of Canada, the US and most of Europe.
According to the National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia in 2014, the Australian Government was concerned with three broad policy areas: cultural identity, social justice, and economic efficiency.

Terminology

Members of a multicultural community who are not of Anglo-Australian background and/or not "assimilated", in that they are born elsewhere and speak another language at home, are sometimes referred to in policy discourse as culturally and linguistically diverse, particularly in Australia, where it was introduced in 1996 to replace non-English speaking background, as it goes beyond linguistic factors. The term is mostly used to "distinguish the mainstream community from those in which English is not the main language and/or cultural norms and values differ", but is not inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, to whom a different set of attributes belong.

Timeline

By 1973, the term "multiculturalism" had been introduced, and migrant groups were forming state and national associations to maintain their cultures, and promote the survival of their languages and heritages within mainstream institutions. Professor Jerzy Zubrzycki pursued multiculturalism as a social policy while chair of the Social Patterns Committee of the Immigration Advisory Council to the Whitlam Labor government.
The following is a timeline of government policies on and various bodies created to support multiculturalism over the years:

1973 – Al Grassby, Minister for Immigration in the Whitlam government, issued a reference paper entitled "A multi-cultural society for the future".
1975 – At a ceremony proclaiming the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, the Prime Minister referred to Australia as a "multicultural nation". The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition made speeches demonstrating for the first time that multiculturalism was becoming a major political priority on both sides of politics.
1977 – the Australian Ethnic Affairs Council, appointed to advise the Fraser Liberal-Country Party Government, recommended a public policy of multiculturalism in its report Australia as a multicultural society.
1978 – the first official national multicultural policies were implemented by the Fraser government, in accord with recommendations of the Galbally Report in the context of government programs and services for migrants.
1979 – an Act of Parliament established the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs, whose objectives included raising awareness of cultural diversity and promoting social cohesion, understanding and tolerance.
1986 – the AIMA Act was repealed by the Hawke government, which, in 1987, created the Office of Multicultural Affairs in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. This was partly because of a poor reaction to their 1986 budget, which led to the need for better information to be gathered on multicultural issues, and it was recommended by the Jupp Review of Migrant and Multicultural Programs and Services. Putting it in PMC gave multicultural affairs the same status as women's and Aboriginal issues. Peter Shergold was appointed director, who turned the focus on the economic benefits of a culturally diverse society. OMA advised the PM and Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs as well as the newly-established Australian Council of Multicultural Affairs, with Justice Sir James Gobbo as chair.
1987 - adoption by Federal cabinet of the National Policy on Languages. This was the first explicit language policy in Australia and combined a focus on multicultural rights, with social cohesion, Indigenous rights and Australia's external relations and integration into Asian regional affairs. The principles of the NPL have continued in the decades since its adoption in state and other federal policy settings.
1989 – following community consultations and drawing on the advice of the Advisory Council for Multicultural Affairs, the Hawke government produced the National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia, which had bipartisan political support.
1991 onwards – Paul Keating became Prime Minister, and the OMA was gradually wound down.
1994 – a National Multicultural Advisory Council was established to review and update the national agenda. Its report, launched in June 1995, found that much had been achieved and recommended further initiatives.
1996 – following the election of the Howard government in March 1996, OMA was absorbed into the then Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs at the end of June 1996, but with no resources. The last head of OMA, Bill Cope said that the new treasurer, Peter Costello, told the new minister, Phillip Ruddock, that all funds for multiculturalism were to be withdrawn, which was done in the August 1996 Budget.
1996 – Parliament endorsed the Parliamentary Statement on Racial Tolerance.
1997 – the Government announced a new National Multicultural Advisory Council.
1999 – the Prime Minister launched NMAC's report, "Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness".
December 1999 – in response to the NMAC report, the Government issued its multicultural policy, "A New Agenda for Multicultural Australia", and NMAC was wound up.
May 2003 – the government released its multicultural policy statement, "Multicultural Australia: United in Diversity". It updated the 1999 new agenda, set strategic directions for 2003–06, and included a commitment to the Council for Multicultural Australia.
December 2008 – the Australian Multicultural Advisory Council was officially launched.
April 2010 – AMAC presented its advice and recommendations on cultural diversity policy to government in a statement titled "The People of Australia".
February 2011 – "The People of Australia – Australia's Multicultural Policy" was launched.
August 2011 – the Australian Multicultural Council, replacing the Council for Multicultural Australia, was officially launched.
March 2013 – the government announced its response to the recommendations of the Access and Equity Inquiry Panel.
September 2013 – under new Administrative Arrangements Order, the Prime Minister transferred multicultural affairs from the Immigration portfolio into the new Department of Social Services.
March 2017 – a new multicultural statement, "Multicultural Australia – united, strong, successful", was launched.