Speeches: 2005
Culture and the environment in human development
We are committed to the fundamental principles behind the Declaration on Cultural Diversity, which is designed to protect the intellectual, economic, spiritual and moral value of cultural diversity
Address to the Transformations conference
Cr Paul Bell AM
President, Australian Local Government Association
9 February 2005, Canberra
Fellow delegates, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today - the Ngunnawal people.
I'm delighted to be here to address this important Transformations conference - a conference that we hope will put some momentum back into the United Nations Declaration on Cultural Diversity. I might say from the outset that I'm delighted that ALGA is working in partnership with a range of key organisations to present this conference - UNESCO, the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia, the Australian National University and the Planning Institute of Australia. In particular, I'd like to thank the Chair of FECCA - Abd Malak and the conference convenor - Professor Amar Galla. >It's a solid alliance that I hope will continue to work together to advance the cause of cultural diversity in this nation.
Local government is in so many ways at the cutting edge of promoting cultural diversity. We are committed to the fundamental principles behind the Declaration on Cultural Diversity, which is designed to protect the intellectual, economic, spiritual and moral value of cultural diversity. As we have heard, the Declaration argues for a new global understanding of the values of cultural diversity - an understanding that has the potential to improve not only community harmony, but also our relationship with the environment and the way we develop our economy.
During the course of this conference we are hearing from a significant number of councils about their work and activities to create truly inclusive communities - communities in which people from an amazingly diverse range of cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds can feel - to use an Anglo-Saxon idiom - part of the furniture. The response of councils is varied, reflecting the different needs of their respective communities. But it can be broadly categorised into a range of key areas.
Consultation - where councils actively seek out culturally and linguistically diverse groups to ensure their views and needs, hopes and aspirations can play a genuine part in the planning and policy formulation process. Consultation can take the form of the creation of advisory committees, surveys and even regular forums to create an interaction between the council and community groups.
Service and access - where councils ensure services reflect the needs of these groups. New services may be created or existing services adapted to ensure the needs of these communities are met. This may include the use and ready availability of interpreter services. Some councils will even identify staff with language skills and make them available when assistance is required. Brochures, websites, information pamphlets and newsletters are often translated into a range of locally significant languages. Many councils will also actively pursue skilled migration to their region, using as a strong selling point the availability of culturally appropriate local services.
Awareness - where councils conduct activities such as appropriate culture awareness training for staff, social planning workshops and liaison with other government and non-government agencies and the employment of community development officers.
Engagement - where councils run events which bring the community together to share the richness of each others cultural experiences. These include multicultural festivals, Chinese New Year celebrations, Harmony Day activities, multi-faith events, citizenship ceremonies and Australia Day events, to name just a few. And I will take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year in this, the Year of the Rooster. Some councils will also run community leadership development courses, to help local communities play their full role in our civil society. Others will actively engage older migrants, who might otherwise feel isolated through senior citizens groups,
And advocacy - where councils will work in partnership with others to address problems and issues that are confronting different communities, such as unemployment and lack of recognition for overseas qualifications, access to childhood services, substance abuse and drug education.
The role of local government in cultural diversity will be formally recognised this year when the Australian Government publishes its annual Access and Equity Report. Previously, this report has included contributions only from state and territory governments, along with the detailed analysis of federal government performance. The 2004 report - to be tabled in Federal Parliament next month - will include an overview of good practice examples from local government.
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs have facilitated this in collaboration with ALGA. Specifically, the examples will show how the requirements of The Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society - endorsed by ALGA in 1998 - are being met by councils. These examples highlight specific projects or programs that reflect the following priority areas:
- Consultation with members of the culturally and linguistically diverse community in the development of new policies and programs;
- Consideration of the impact of new policies and programs on diverse communities and the incorporation of this into service planning and delivery; and
- The communication of new policies, programs and regulations taking into account the specific needs of diverse communities.
One important aspect of cultural diversity is participation in the democratic process. An increasing number of councillors are from diverse ethnic backgrounds, more closely reflecting the composition of the local community. This reflects the importance of the local democratic process. Local government is the sphere of government that is closest to the people. As such, it is more responsive to local need than state of federal governments. But if we are to ensure services are responsive to local need - we as a nation should more closely apply the principle of subsidiarity - that is services should, wherever possible - be devolved to the level of government that is closest to the affected citizens. This principle is being embraced in the European Union. But it is yet to be embraced in any systematic way here in Australia. We're not even at first base.
Local government remains unrecognised in our national constitution. Local government grants are not growing in line with increasing demand for human services. Local government is being hit with cost shifting by the other two spheres of government. And local government has a severely restricted ability to raise its own revenue. As we've seen, local government is doing terrific things at the local level to respond to the needs of a culturally diverse society. But we're doing it on a shoestring.
Local government needs to be fully engaged in the Australian federation as a valued and equal partner. We need constitutional recognition to underpin this partnership. And we need to address the structural funding problems that confront us - and that means accessing a fair share of federal taxation revenue so we have the capacity to respond to local need. There has - over the past two or three decades - been a profound change in local government expenditure.
Demand for human services, such as health, welfare and public safety, has escalated at a rapid rate to the detriment of funding for traditional property services. These trends will grow, exacerbating the financial difficulty faced by councils. Nonetheless, councils are more than willing to play a significant role in areas of core business - and community wellbeing is about as core as it gets. I might add that investment in cultural diversity and community harmony is a wise one.
ALGA's State of the Regions report for 2003, produced with National Economics, found that those regions that had diverse communities were most likely to be creative. And those regions with high levels of creativity were much more likely to be economically successful. This research has been widely embraced here in Australia and builds on work done by Richard Florida in the United States. ALGA is working on a number of other levels to advance the cause of cultural diversity.
As noted by Professor Gala on Monday, ALGA was responsible for publishing a landmark document - Services for all: Promoting access and equity in local government. Services for all - available on our website - helps councils take a proactive approach to the provision of access to quality services and 'a fair go' for all residents. It continues to be used by councils around Australia to assess and develop their response to demand for access and equity. It also helps councils incorporate these principles into their corporate planning process.
ALGA is also working with the Australian Government on a range of activities that promote the goals of cultural diversity. For example, we have over the past two years, helped promote Harmony Day and the Living in Harmony grants scheme. Celebrated each year on or around 21 March, Harmony Day challenges all Australians to come together to reflect on and celebrate the many cultures that make up our country. Councils are participating in Harmony Day activities in great numbers each year with a broad range of events, from citizenship ceremonies to interfaith forums.
We have also been working with the Australian Government to promote the importance of citizenship and encouraging all eligible Australian residents to fully participate in our society through citizenship. We are working with the Department of Health and Ageing, and the Minister for Ageing, Julie Bishop, to help local government plan for demographic change. In planning for demographic change, we are planning not only for a change in the age profile of our communities, but also in the cultural diversity of our communities. The challenges for local government are profound, with the proportion of working age people set to drop dramatically over the coming decades. That will have a direct impact on our revenue streams and on demand for welfare and social services. Planning for demographic change will result in better outcomes for all members of our local communities.
ALGA has also worked with the Australian Government over a number of years to promote the national awards for local government. An important part of these awards are the strengthening diversity awards. Apart from showcasing the good work done by councils in cultural diversity, the awards involve a leading practice seminar series, which promotes the work in a practical and accessible way. Earlier this month, for example, the City of West Torrens, with support from Local Government Association of South Australia, the Migrant Resource Centre of South Australia, and the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission, hosted a Leading Practice Seminar for local government, titled Strengthening Diversity. It drew on presentations by councils from South Australia and other states, including entrants in the National Awards for Local Government, to provide council-to-council communication of innovative approaches to migration and cultural diversity issues.
State local government associations play an increasingly important role in promoting issues of access and participation. For example, in my state of Queensland, our state association is running the Local Area Multicultural Partnership program - or LAMP for short - in partnership with 16 councils and the state government. It supports a staff member in each of the 16 councils to further participation and cohesion in Queensland's culturally diverse society. It's an initiative that is making a real and tangible difference at the local level.
Local government also participates in national policy development on issues of cultural diversity through ALGA's participation in a large number of ministerial councils. These bring together state, territory and federal ministers as well as local government representatives to work together on issues of mutual concern. ALGA is also a full member of the Council of Australian Governments. Through our COAG membership, we have - for example - encouraged the development of pilot projects across the nation to deliver 'joined up' services for Indigenous communities. These COAG trials aim to bring all spheres of government together and work with local communities to improve service delivery and outcomes on the ground. This is an important concept that will - we hope - over come some of the problems with duplication and buck-passing that has dogged service delivery for Indigenous communities for many years.
ALGA is also playing an advocacy role. For example, in this year's submission on the Federal Budget, we have actively lobbied for substantial new funding for Indigenous housing needs. Australia has enjoyed good economic results over the past few years - results that are predicted to continue for some time yet. While I acknowledge the work of the Australian Government to address Indigenous need, there is still a long way to go. As a nation, we should be doing more - much more - to address Indigenous disadvantage. In summary, I think it fair to say that local government is playing a highly significant role in development of a tolerant, inclusive and harmonious society. But this role could be enhanced if local government were accorded proper recognition and fair funding arrangements. We are, however, pleased to see that some progress is being made and we look forward to growing our relationship with the Australian Government over the next few years.
I warmly congratulate all participants at this conference. In particular, I thank the councils and their representatives for showcasing and sharing their work. You are leading the way and I thank you for it. ALGA and FECCA will build on this conference by publishing and promoting the good practice case studies highlighted by councils over the past three days. Conference convenors will also recognise outstanding contributions from local government through the Transformations awards, which will be announced - very appropriately - on Harmony Day this year - March 21. Australia is still a lucky country - but we face significant challenges as some parts of society enjoy the fruits of our strong economy while others do not.
As advocates of strong, inclusive communities, we must continue to do all we can to engage our culturally and linguistically diverse communities so that no part feels excluded or unable to contribute. By building on our strong foundations, by embracing the UNESCO Declaration, we will succeed where so many others have failed.
Thank you.
Councillor Paul Bell AM
President, Australian Local Government Association
9 February 2005
Canberra
