What Gillard's Government can do on cultural diversity

The current mess is three parts apprehension, one part self interest and scarcely a pinch of humanity from either the ALP or the Opposition. Chris Evans’ frank admission that failing to ensure a sane and unemotional debate on asylum seekers was his biggest failure, sets some framework for the need to be brave, innovative and resolute about the policy work needed.

Bowen also walks hand in glove with Tony Burke on the sustainable population question; and Evans is still somewhere in there as he has to ensure skills and jobs, and of course, workers for industry. Bowen, though, has his hand on the main tap that can adjust the flow of people. We have seen already that the twist to the off position initiated by Evans has had a number of downstream negative effects: there is now an impending drought of skills as immigration has dropped; the international students who are still here are anxious and angry about their futures here; the university and college sector is hemorrhaging as demand dries up from India and elsewhere, and they need someone to sort it out - probably Evans in his new role pushing Bowen in his. Bowen also needs to use some muscle to unlock resources from Finance Minister Penny Wong for the Citizenship side of his portfolio, that goes beyond paranoia about de-radicalising young Muslim men.

Tanya Plibersek, member for Sydney and highly vulnerable to the Greens, takes on human services and social inclusion. Plibersek could immediately demand that her departments and agencies brief her on the cultural diversity dimensions of their programs, how they will ensure that cultural diversity becomes a centre-plank of social inclusion. For the past three years the combined Rudd/Gillard/(Ursula) Stephens team at Social inclusion Central have systematically sought to avoid, exclude and remove cultural diversity from the government’s policy priorities. Now Plibersek, who knows what the issues are, can insist that they move up the ladder of priority considerations.

Social inclusion strategies will be crucial in ensuring that the educational targets that Garratt has can be met, that the equity goals that Evans inherits for universities are met, and that the mental health priorities that Roxon and Butler will be “ferociously” shadowed on by the Coalition have some hope of achieving their outcomes.

Kate Lundy, parliamentary secretary for multicultural affairs, Socialist Left senator from the ACT, ex-BWIU organiser and current internet maven (a national broadband true-believer who’ll be spending most of her time massaging the internet issues for the PM and worrying at multiculturalism on the side). Lundy replaces the old Left’s Laurie Ferguson who used up all his political capital getting Gillard to back him in Werriwa, and now can provide useful tutelage for Lundy, if she wants to hear it. Lundy could do a lot, given her entrée into the PM’s inner sanctum for other reasons.

Lundy needs, first, to revisit the pre-emptive buckle of the Demetriou review (The people of Australia), and send it back for another go. She should demand it be detailed, vigorous and serious about racism, and insist that the AMA Council look at the whole of government in detail and with a clear head. It should resource the Council to do its own research and run its own race, and unbuckle it from the dead hand of the Immigration department. She should also begin public consultation through the Prime Minister’s department on a Multiculturalism Act for Australia, that enshrines individual freedom of cultural identity as well as recognition of the value of culturally diverse communities and cultural heritage. Then she should negotiate with Bowen and Burke, with the support for the Prime Minister and in discussion with Kim Carr as the national research maestro, to create an independent Policy and Research Institute on Population, Immigration and Cultural Diversity. Australia has suffered grievously for more than 15 years from the lack of sustained research, and good evidence for the making of public policy. One reason Evans failed so abysmally was that there was no deep knowledge base from which to have rational discussion.

Howard’s government made the decision to destroy that information base; Rudd’s government made the decision to do nothing to replace it. Now Gillard’s government has the chance to ensure that we move forward with some rationality, and the basis for measured debate about policy objectives, priorities and programs.