Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 17 September for Australian Citizenship Day, I presided over my first citizenship ceremony as Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Citizenship. It was an inspiring and humbling experience. One young conferee, Maurice Omaset, from Uganda had taken time to memorise the pledge. He committed to heart the words that would cement a lifelong compact with his 22 million fellow Australians:

From this day forward, I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.

Maurice’s life will now be shaped by our combined fortunes. His prospects will hang on the choices we make in this chamber and the opportunities we as a parliament provide.

Migration is an act of trust and an offering of the highest order. To give the commitment of a lifelong contribution of loyalty and respect is a moving and emotive gesture. It is a compliment beyond words. More than four million people have chosen to become Australian citizens in the past 60 years. It speaks to the integrity of our character, our openness, our hospitality and our belief that the merits of a person should determine their standing and worth.

Migration has shaped our national spirit. It has filled us with vitality, made us dynamic, forward-thinking and confident. The skills and labour it has brought helped build our national industries and infrastructure. We in this chamber represent states built on migration—43 percent of our constituency were either born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas. Since the end of World War II, more than 6.6 million people have migrated to Australia, including nearly 750,000 refugees. In the year 2008-09, some 170,000 people were welcomed into the Australian community.

Indeed, so many of us here in the Senate have our origins in another part of the world, and I might add—as it is appropriate—that we now have an overseas-born prime minister. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has spoken eloquently of her father and mother, who, in her words:

… migrated to this country and, like millions of other Australians, worked unbelievably hard so that their children could have opportunities that they could never have dreamed for themselves.

Multicultural policy is recognition of who we are, of our diversity and the potential that comes from the breadth of traditions we draw upon. It affirms the right within the confines of the law to retain the customs and language of our ancestors—whomever they may be. Multicultural policy also recognises that the functions of government and how we provide services should reflect the make-up of the people of Australia and should be responsive to their needs.

Earlier this year the government released a report—Social inclusion in Australia: how Australia is faring. The report looked at a series of indicators and how different groups were faring against those measurements. I would like to draw the chamber’s attention to a few points: people born in non-English speaking countries tend to have poorer health outcomes and almost half of migrants not proficient in English are in the lowest income bracket; more than half of children from non-English speaking backgrounds are considered vulnerable on two or more developmental measures; newly arrived migrants do not have established social support networks or extended family connections close by and migrants not proficient in English are among those least likely to have had contact with family or friends more than once a week; and migrants without English skills face significant issues around isolation and were among the least likely to participate in activities external to family and friends such as community groups. These facts underscore the importance of settlement services in offering the best possible opportunity for newly arrived migrants to fully engage in the economic and social life of Australia.

The experience of migration translates into a loss of one or more functionalities—be it language skills, cultural competency or ability to navigate support systems and access to social networks. For individuals support in the initial months and years of arrival is the difference of a lifetime, and settlement tools help reclaim the skills to contribute. For Australia at large the value of settlement services are in social outcomes, in promoting integration and maintaining social cohesion. The value of these services is repaid in the increased economic and productivity gains that they elicit from migration by enhancing employment participation and contributions to the community.

Australia has world-class settlement services. As the sector has developed, services have been built to meet identified needs. Our oldest program and the cornerstone of settlement services is the Adult Migrant English Program. Established in 1948, it has seen thousands of postwar migrants learn language skills for settlement. Following the Galbally report on migrant services in the late 1970s, the program was significantly expanded and today more than 50,000 people participate in AMEP each year. It continues to evolve: for example, the government recently introduced work experience programs for migrants and classes that focus on English for the workplace.

This work experience has been in areas where Australia needs labour—in retail, hospitality, child care, and aged care. One-third of participants exit this program already in a job. The rest are focused and prepared to gain employment. In Warwick in Queensland, nine new migrants participating in the program completed a jackaroo/jillaroo course. All have obtained a Certificate II in Rural Operations, and seven were immediately employed by local rural industry.

The Galbally report saw the establishment of our Translating and Interpreting Service—TIS—National, which provides service for a fee as well as free services to approved organisations, including doctors and pharmacists.

The Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy had its origins in the community refugee settlement scheme which began in 1979. It was first a network of volunteer groups who provided assistance finding accommodation, employment and perhaps, most importantly, offered social connections and friendship. In 1997 a national framework for humanitarian settlement services was established and in 2003 it was developed into an integrated and coordinated system to address a range of needs from the provision of basic household goods to specialist torture and trauma counselling.

In 2006 the Settlement Grants Program was established in part as a response to the 2003 review of settlement services. This program sees the development of innovative and creative projects across Australia. Last round saw SpiritWest of the Footscray Football Club in Melbourne receive $160,000 to deliver a sports program. This program will introduce new migrants to a range of Australian mainstream sports such as cricket, swimming, bike riding, football, lawn bowls, soccer, volleyball and basketball. Funding will also provide an after-school program and healthy-living information sessions and create opportunities for participants to become involved in volunteering in their communities.

Historically, the department funded migrant resource centres in key locations of settlement and cultural diversity. For many neighbourhoods the settlement service provider has become a focal point for the community and an access point to government. The many programs and initiatives that I have just listed support a multicultural Australia and the migrant resource centres in particular have been effective in achieving social inclusion.

In December 2008 the previous Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, established the Australian Multicultural Advisory Council to provide advice on social cohesion issues and on communicating the benefits of cultural diversity to the Australian community. In its first term, the council was asked to provide advice on multicultural policy. The chair, Mr Andrew Demetriou, presented a statement titled The people of Australia to the government in April of this year. The advice will be considered by the government over the coming months. The council was just recently reappointed for a second term. I am looking forward to working closely with the members in my new role as parliamentary secretary.

Multicultural policy is also about how we share in the benefits of our diversity and how we capitalise on the potential that it brings. By virtue of our make-up, we have a citizenry which is able to converse in over 200 languages and is connected to every corner of the world. We have a population literate in the cultures of the countries with which we trade. Multiculturalism was born out of successive governments of all persuasions and enjoys bipartisan support because it is about the benefit to all Australians. We all agree that multicultural policy is in Australia’s national interest. I look forward to progressing this important area of public policy in my new role as parliamentary secretary.