Have your say below: Does Australia still need multiculturalism?
On the eve of Australia's national day, the opposition immigration spokesman has triggered debate over the value of multicultural polices, saying they are barriers to inclusion.
The member for Cook, an electorate that includes the predominantly white Sutherland Shire, made the comments in a speech in London last night.
“It is more likely such barriers are more specific to particular communities, are a function of social and economic forces and are located in discrete geographic areas,” he said.
His speech has sparked debate over the relevancy and efficacy of multicultural polices, specifically on the focus on diversity over an inclusive national identity.
He argued that we need to “remove new barriers to full participation of Australians from our different backgrounds.”
Dr James Jupp from the Centre for Immigration and Multicultural Studies at the Australian National University has defended the value of multicultural policies, like immigration, slamming Mr Morrison's comments as “unhelpful”.
“I really have to doubt that he knows what he's talking about,” Dr Jupp said.
“What he wants is to go back to the Howard days where multiculturalism was severely damaged in the public eye.”
Tim Soutphommasane, an author and commentator on contemporary multiculturalism, says that the term post-multiculturalism “complicates things”.
“On any objective measure, our multicultural polices have worked, and even on that account, Mr Morrison would agree,” he said.
“Citizenship has always been a paramount value and even in the Howard years there was never a renunciation of those priorities, all migrants must adhere to local laws and customs,”
Dr Jupp said that there is no doubt that Mr Morrison is referring to south western Sydney and the highly multicultural areas that border his electorate.
“I think he's taking a view that is based on that electorate and that event [of the Cronulla race riots].”
“He's referring to ghettos, Australia really hasn't developed ghettos - we have multicultural suburbs.”
Dr Jupp says that in a federal election year, the opposition will certainly “play the race card” in western Sydney, an area where both parties know it will be “lost or won”.
“They certainly have that in mind. It is a shot in this battle, in that direction. It's very combustible in western Sydney.”
Mr Morrison extensively quoted Sir Henry Parkes, a statesman and politician, considered the father of the Australia Federation.
“Parkes' notion of us being adopted sons and daughters provides a strong basis for a post-multiculturalism approach,” Mr Morrison said.
It's a notion supported by Sir Henry Parkes' descendants.
“We are all adopted from other lands, Australia is now a blended country,” Ian Thom said, a historian and Sir Parkes' great great grandson.
“Henry saw it [Australia] as a land where we are integrated rather than separated. He [Mr Morrison] is spot on, otherwise we are going to have a bigger problem later.”
“Let's hope that Scott Morrison starts a debate that might start constitutional change.”
But Parkes biographer, AW Martin, said in his book on the man that he was “dedicated to the idea of keeping Australian society racially homogeneous”.
That idea of a nation-state identity, based on Anglo-British values, is not transferable to a modern Australia, according to Dr Jupp.
“It's based on the idea that a nation-state must be built on a single identity, but we are not a nation state, it's an immigration state.” Dr Jupp said.
“For the great majority of migrants, they don't see why they have to swallow the whole myth about cricket and Ned Kelly.”
Have your say: Does Australia still need multiculturalism?
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