To be multicultural is to celebrate and respect a diversity of culture. The Greens (WA) believe in actively welcoming and supporting cultural and ethnic diversity. This to be achieved by making Western Australia and its political structures accessible to people of all ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds along with a concentrated effort to eliminate racism and all forms of discrimination based on culture and language.
Aims
The Greens (WA) want:
- all people, regardless of culture or ethnicity, to be connected and included a equal members of the broader community in which they live
- all people to have equitable access to education, employment, and the services provided by all levels of government
- all Western Australians to have equitable representation and inclusion in local, state and federal government regardless of culture or ethnicity
- eliminate barriers to social justice for every member of Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse community
- an end to racism and discrimination based on culture and language
Measures
The Greens (WA) will promote and support government or community actions that:
- recognise the importance of Aboriginal values and beliefs, especially their strong relationship with country developed through time (see also The Greens (WA) First Nations Peoples policy)
- promote ethnic and cultural diversity, and value the contributions made by all ethnic and cultural groups to Western Australian life
- seek to counter individual and institutional racism
- recognise the need and desire of Western Australians to maintain the language and culture significant for their family and community
- present positive non-stereotyped images of ethnic groups and people through the media and community networks
- help members of cultural and ethnic groups to have power over their own lives by recognising their economic, social and cultural contribution to Australia
- ensure the continuation of SBS TV, and other media and cultural activities which help ethnic and cultural groups to maintain their traditional cultural identity, and which educate all Australians about our multicultural society (see also The Greens (WA) Arts & Culture policy)
- establish programs to encourage overseas students to study in Australia, and Western Australian students to study overseas, to facilitate international and inter-cultural understanding (see also The Greens (WA) Education policy)
The Greens (WA) will support policies that:
- establish culturally appropriate services in areas such as health, legal assistance and education, when the need for such services is articulated by relevant groups (see also The Greens (WA) Justice and Health policies)
- establish adequate funding to ethnic community groups that avoids destructive competition for grants
- encourage the maintenance of language and culture important to all people
- deliver all human services in a culturally appropriate way that recognises the needs and sensitivities of people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds
- provide appropriate education for all human service workers (such as teachers, medical practitioners and social workers) who work in a multicultural society
- ensure the availability of free interpreter services and multi-lingual information on government and community services
- assist with the improvement of individual communication skills and cross-cultural communication skills for all Australians
The Greens (WA) will work towards educational policies that:
- promote the study of community languages for all West Australians, primarily in schools, colleges and universities
- provide adequate, free and readily accessible EAL (English as an Additional Language) courses for all who wish to take them
- remove or relax timelines for completion in EAL courses
- promote educational programs within schools and the community on the cultural and historical backgrounds of all ethnic groups
The Greens (WA) will support workplace initiatives that:
- apply principles of affirmative action and positive discrimination until people of different cultural backgrounds are properly represented in all occupations and management positions
- facilitate the recognition of overseas qualifications and provide assistance for professional development to professional and occupational groups
- maintain any necessary regulation of the labour market so that people from specific ethnic backgrounds are not exploited or discriminated against in the work place (see also The Greens (WA) Workplace Relations policy)
(See also the Australian Greens Multiculturalism and Immigration & Refugee policies)
Cultural Diversity policy ratified by The Greens (WA) in 2021