Minister clarifies that multicultural communities are not solely accountable for social unity

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The federal minister in charge of multicultural affairs says social cohesion in Australia is a responsibility that needs to be shared, and not solely placed on multicultural communities.

Anne Aly told SBS News the focus on social cohesion had impacted migrant communities.

“Multiculturalism isn’t solely about social cohesion and multicultural communities aren’t solely responsible for social cohesion,” she said.

“Social cohesion is about everybody. Making multicultural communities solely and wholly responsible for social cohesion, I think, has added to that perception of multicultural communities being over-securitised, being responsible for things like social cohesion.”

Concerns about social cohesion erupted in the wake of the war in Gaza, with the Albanese government issuing $30 million in community grants and creating a special envoy for social cohesion last year. The role was discontinued earlier this year.

Aly said Australia should remain “vigilant about social cohesion”.

The office will be established within the Home Affairs Department to combine the department’s existing multicultural affairs stream with settlement services and community grants programs.

It falls short of the Multicultural Framework Review’s (MFR) urgent recommendation to establish a standalone Department of Multicultural Affairs, Immigration and Citizenship with a dedicated minister.

Last year’s review also raised concerns about the Department of Home Affairs, with communities feeling like they were being monitored or managed, rather than supported.

Since then, the department has been expanded to include additional law enforcement and security agencies, with the Australian Federal Police and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation moved into Home Affairs after May’s federal election.

Aly defended the office belonging under Home Affairs, saying the government had heard concerns from multicultural communities.

“I heard those concerns before I was a member of parliament as a professor and a researcher. It’s something that I’ve written about myself and expressed my own concerns about that securitisation of multicultural communities and securitisation of Multicultural Affairs.”

“That’s why we’ve established this office to carve out Multicultural Affairs and to give it a spotlight within the department and within the caucus and within the government more generally as well.”

While the office won’t be a standalone department, the chair of the MFR, Hass Dellal, welcomed the announcement.

“The fact that we have an office now that’s being established that sits within cabinet that will have the ear of the prime minister and cabinet itself. And I think that’s an important feature that wasn’t there before,” he said.

Dellal said the government must ensure there is separation from those operations in the department.

“Although it is sitting within Home Affairs that we [need to] ensure that there is more of an inclusive approach and more celebratory approach, rather than giving the feeling or the sense that there is an approach of monitoring or creating marginalisation.”

Settlement services, including the Adult Migrant English Program, grants for humanitarian entrants and other eligible migrants and communities could be included in the Office, as well as translation and interpreting services, and multicultural affairs policy.

Exactly what’s in the office’s remit will be considered as part of the department’s mandatory consultation period.

The office could start operating from 17 July, a week before the first sitting of the new parliament.

SBS News understands the government intends to create a level of separation between multicultural affairs and the mega Home Affairs department that is responsible for national security, including counterterrorism and border enforcement, the AFP, ASIO, as well as immigration and citizenship.