Prime Ministers and Multiculturalism Hannah Altern

Diversity in immigration and the development of Multiculturalism have been two of the most significant forces for change in Australian life since the end of World War II. Although there has been considerable research into the role of the Department of Immigration on the development of Multicultural policy, the role of Prime Ministers in shaping that development has not yet been studied in depth.

Project The project that I undertook at the Australian Prime Ministers Centre was to investigate the attitudes of the Prime Ministers Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating towards migrants and Multiculturalism, and to see whether or not these attitudes were reflected in the policies developed by their respective governments. Further, I was interested in what these PMs saw as the appropriate response to the culturally and linguistically diverse population they were responsible for: where they felt the balance between supporting cultural difference and creating national unity should fall, how they perceived the end of Anglo-Australian homogeneity, and the opportunities and challenges they saw in diversity.

Research To understand their attitudes, I have needed to study the entire career of the PMs I was looking at. For this, the Hansard collection held by the APMC research library was key. In addition, the National Archives of Australia holds personal papers which include material from Ministry posts of the PMs prior to becoming Prime Minister, correspondence related to their electorate, and also correspondence from their time as PM. This material was very useful in tracing the Parliamentary careers of the individuals I am studying, outside of what was said in Parliament and so recorded in Hansard.

In addition to these Parliamentary and Governmental records, I also wanted to study sources such as speeches and election material to gain insight into attitudes away from Parliament. The National Library of Australia’s collection of published speeches and election material was very useful for this, particularly in the case of Bob Hawke whose Parliamentary career prior to becoming Prime Minister was comparatively short, and so published speeches from his time as ACTU President were very useful.

In terms of media material the Australian Parliamentary Library was invaluable with its collection of organised press clippings. This material provided insight into the broader social and political context in which the PMs worked. The National Film and Sound Archive held treasures that were very useful, but also very hard to find anywhere else including a speech by Malcolm Fraser in the opening program of SBS, and a video of Bob Hawke produced to be shown at Citizenship Ceremonies around the country.

In addition to these sources, Dr James Jupp was generous enough to share his recollections of the PMs he came into contact with. I count myself fortunate to have had access to such a wonderful source of information.

In terms of the results of my research, I found that the attitudes of the PMs towards migrants remained consistent throughout their careers, and also that these attitudes were closely linked to their general attitudes and aspirations for Australia.

Gough Whitlam’s attitude towards Multiculturalism is inextricably linked to his broader concern for welfare and equality in the Australian community. The context in which he worked was one where support for non-English speaking migrants was small, where they had slow access to the democratic process because of long wait times to acquire citizenship, and a lack of interpreters hindered access to government services. The Whitlam Government oversaw significant changes which began the process of making government programs more inclusive of migrants. Studies of the challenges experienced by non English speaking students were undertaken and solutions sought, publically funded radio stations which broadcast in languages other than English were established, and bodies like the Commonwealth Schools Commission began to refer to Australia as a ‘Multicultural society.’

Malcolm Fraser was, like Whitlam, committed to removing barriers to full and equitable participation of migrants and their children in Australian society throughout his Parliamentary career. In addition he understood the diversity which migrants brought to Australia as enriching the nation, an attitude which can be seen in the creation of SBS, a Multicultural channel for all Australians.

The most significant single policy document for Multiculturalism generally, and one which shaped and reflected the Fraser Government’s attitude towards diversity was the Galbally Report, which was tabled in 1978. Fraser was closely involved in the development of this report; he selected Frank Galbally as the chair, corresponded with him regularly, and some of the report’s recommendations were implemented and budgeted for before the report had even been completed.

For Bob Hawke, Multiculturalism was tied strongly to economics. The use of Multicultural policy as a mechanism to ensure equitable access had been begun by Whitlam, and the relevance of cultural diversity for all Australians had been established by Fraser. This meant Hawke was largely able to build on the policies established by his predecessors, and bring his own element—what might be called the use of human resources—into Multiculturalism.

In addition, he clarified the limits of Multiculturalism, namely, that it had to function within a framework of loyalty to Australia, recognition of the Constitution and laws, and an acceptance that the freedom to express one’s culture applied to all people and groups equally. Hawke also encouraged migrants to take up Australian citizenship, and launched a Year of Citizenship for 1989.

Hawke’s successor Paul Keating in some ways continued the redefinition of Multiculturalism begun by Hawke, with its focus on citizenship and an appreciation of the economic benefits of Multiculturalism. However, speeches he made during his time as Prime Minister show that he also felt some degree of ambivalence towards Multiculturalism in the area of national unity. On the one hand, Multiculturalism was a feature which made Australia unique and distinctive, but on the other it also prevented the creation of a cohesive national identity.

Outcomes A bibliography which may be useful for researchers is available from the APMC Research Library. It covers both primary and secondary material relating to the PMs I studied, and migrants and Multiculturalism.

I am currently working on completing a journal article from the research that I undertook in January and February. After completing my time in Canberra, I have decided that Keating’s Prime Ministership was not as relatively important in terms of Multiculturalism as Whitlam, Fraser and Hawke’s. Because of this, my journal article will focus on the first three Prime Ministers.

Biography Hannah Altern graduated from Macquarie University in 2011, having completed a BA (Hons) majoring in Modern History. She wrote her Honours thesis on Migrant and Multicultural Education from the 1950s until the 1990s.

March 2012