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​​Inter-governmental cooperation to support Australia’s multicultural society was top of the agenda for Australia’s state and territory Ministers who gathered at the South Australia Parliament House for the Ministerial Forum on Multicultural Affairs on Tuesday, 16 July 2024.

The forum was chaired by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Andrew Giles MP, and was co-hosted by the Hon Zoe Bettison MP, South Australia Minister for Tourism and Multicultural Affairs.

Minister Giles stressed that Australia’s multicultural identity is not just a source of pride, but also a source of strength. He highlighted the Government’s efforts to support Australian communities affected by the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict, comprising over $87.8 million in whole-of-government measures, including $25 million to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry to improve community safety measures across Australia and $25 million to Australian Palestinian, Muslim and Arab communities affected by the conflict.

State and territory Ministers addressed the significant impact the Hamas-Israel conflict continues to have on Australian communities and the consequences this has for social cohesion in Australia. To this end, the Forum received an expert briefing from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Federal Police. In addition, the Forum included a roundtable discussion with national Jewish community representatives and a roundtable discussion with national Palestinian, Muslim and Arab community representatives.

Minister Giles noted that, as part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to improve social cohesion in Australia, the Government has appointed an Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia, and will also appoint a Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia in Australia.

Minister Giles also stressed the importance of reviewing national multicultural policy settings to ensure a targeted and comprehensive overarching government structure to work for the current and future needs of a multicultural Australia. A key aspect of the policy settings, as the Forum noted, is the crucial role of states and territories in advancing inter-governmental cooperation to strengthen Australia’s inclusive multicultural society.

Discussion between Multicultural Affairs Ministers about policy settings for multiculturalism was informed by an update from the Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, on the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Anti-Racism Framework. In turn, discussion between Ministers about ensuring non-English speakers have access to high quality language services when they need them was informed by a presentation from the Department of ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Affairs on language services sustainability and an update from the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) on support for language services nationally. Representatives from NAATI included newly appointed Chair, Magdalena Rowan, and CEO, Mark Painting. Ministers also received briefings from the Department on Australia’s refugee, humanitarian and settlement services, including how the jurisdictions can better support those arriving from crises, including the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Finally, the Forum discussed state and territory views on the strategic vision and planning requirements for multicultural policy settings. Minister Giles chaired the discussion and welcomed the opportunity for engagement on strengthening Australia’s multicultural society.

MINISTERIAL ATTENDEES