Multiculturalism - federal Inquiry

The Federal Parliament's Migration Committee (Joint Committee of both Houses) has launched an inquiry into multiculturalism in Australia.

The Chair of the Committee, Maria Vamvakinou MP, has called for people to make submissions but submissions close on April 8.

We encourage you to write a short letter/submission - some comments are made below to help with framing your response.

Her Media Release states that she "welcomes the inquiry and the opportunity to hear directly from migrant communities."

This may suggest she does not want to hear from you, but we think she ought to, because she should want to hear from all those who do not consider themselves 'migrants' but think of themselves as "Australians"?

ACTION -
Please make a submission. Read on for more information, contact details etc.

The principle of 'multiculturalism' was introduced by the Whitlam government in 1973. It was continued by Malcolm Fraser and endorsed by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. The Howard government eventually dropped the term 'multiculturalism' from the Dept of Immigration name in 2007.
The word 'multiculturalism' was reinstated by Kevin Rudd as part of a parliamentary secretary role - then dumped by Julia Gillard in September 2010 - then re-instated by her in February 2011 following criticism and complaints from ethnic groups!

The current Labor government has strongly defended 'multiculturalism' this year, following recent criticism of multiculturalism by European governments. This has clearly prompted this Inquiry - and so it gives those opposed to 'multiculturalism' an opportunity to show we are not racists, that we are happy for people to come to Australia, as long as they want to fit into, and not change, our culture to suit the very culture they have moved away from.

For details on sending your letter/submission - and the Inquiry homepage - see ACTION section below!

COMMENTS for submissions...

Maria Vamvakinou states, "It is timely to consider whether a new policy on multiculturalism is needed, and how to ensure the Government's social inclusion agenda also meets the needs of migrant communities.

We could ask what is meant by, "the Government's social inclusion agenda"?

Is this different to assimilation?

Does this suggest that this inquiry is more about 'accommodating the needs of migrants', rather than requiring migrants to actually assimilate into our existing Australian 'culture'? 

There is a great deal of difference between 'immigration' and 'multiculturalism'.
A country can welcome people from across the world and invite them to become Australians and while some of their ways will certainly permeate society, we want our culture to stay basically Australian, underpinned by our Christian heritage.

We must point out the importance of Australia remaining based on, and underpinned by, the Christian values this nation was founded on.  Multiculturalism invites people to bring their 'culture' / 'worldview'  with them, suggests all cultures are equal, and that people never really need to become 'Australians'.  

Yes, of course we can invite people to share the good parts of their particular ethnic culture with us so that we can learn how others live, but that does not mean we have to agree with their values or share their worldview. If they want to change this nation to suit their values then that crosses the line and becomes unacceptable. That is not racist - it is a fact that all cultures are not equal as all nations' laws and values are not equally good.

There is a lot of talk from our media at the moment about the "battle for democracy" in the Middle East, but we need to ask "what do the people on the ground in the Middle East, as opposed to the Western media, really mean by democracy"?
We have little doubt that their idea of 'democracy' is very different to the type of democracy we are supposed to have in Australia. Many of them see Islamic Sharia Law as 'democracy' - yet Muslim Imams have stated that western democracy is an offence to Islam. That said, we could well ask 'what do Australians mean by democracy?' but that is another issue altogether   Many people thought 'Multiculturalism' originally meant that we accept people from other countries because they want to come here and 'be Australian'. Sadly, that perception has been changed. Multiculturalism today is generally accepted, especially by the so-called 'left' of politics, as meaning that all cultures are equal and we should adjust to accommodate all cultures and all values which ultimately means losing the Australian 'identity' and blending it into... Into what?  That is the problem, what does it become?  

Evidence from Europe is now so clear that we should all know what the results of today's multiculturalism really are.   Multiculturalism has also led to 'multi-faithism' where all religions are promoted as good and equally valid.  

Evidence from NSW in the last few days gives us a stark picture of what 'Multiculturalism' means. 

The NSW Council of Imams reported that it had held meetings with the ALP Premier Kristina Keneally and the Coalition Leader Barry O'Farrell prior to the Election. 
The Council Secretary, Sheik Tarek El-Bikai, said "The Hon. O'Farrell has made it clear that his party would not support any legislation that was "anti-Islam. He also firmly maintained his strong support of multiculturalism and social justice for all. The Council of Imams were pleased with the Liberal Party leaders' commitments on these matters which are of great importance to the Muslim community"   The NSW State Election also saw an increase in the number of Muslim candidates nominated by the Liberal Party and the ALP as well as Independent Muslim candidates.

Clearly, the more Muslim MPs there are the more likely it is that they will support the modern idea of 'Multiculturalism' and the Islamic idea that the whole world needs to be Islamic and live under Islamic Sharia law. The reason many people come here is because Australia is based on Christian values. The freedom we have comes from believing that ALL people are equal but that all cultures and lifestyles are not. 

Action

Please write a short letter stating some of the points above or any others you believe are important to keep Australia a Christian Nation. Please be positive rather than negative. Suggest there is no better nation in the world to live today and that you want it to stay that way!!!!

If you have migrated to Australia please share your positive reasons for doing so.   

Information about the Inquiry - click here  

Send submission by email: to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Please Remember - submissions close on 8 April!