Ready, Willing and Able
The issues and views of young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Tasmania.
State of Our Youth
Consultation Report for Government 2004
CONTENTS
PREFACE 4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 5
SECTION ONE - CONTEXT 6
1.1 STATE OF OUR YOUTH REPORT 6 1.2 THE PARTNERS 7 1.3 CURRENT STATE GOVERNMENT GOALS AND POLICY 7 1.4 DEFINITIONS 8 1.5 STATISTICS 9
SECTION TWO –THE PROCESS 11
2.1 PURPOSE 11 2.2 THE CONSULTATION TIMELINE 11 2.3 THE CONSULTATIONS 12 2.4 DIVERSITY OF PARTICIPANTS 13 2.5 SUPPORTING THE CONSULTATIONS 15 2.6 THE CONSULTATION WORKSHOPS 16 2.7 POSITIVE ACTIONS 17 2.8 ISSUES WITH THE CONSULTATIONS 18
SECTION THREE – THE ISSUES 19
3.1 EMPLOYMENT 20 3.2 RECREATION AND ENTERTAINMENT 23 3.3 CONNECTEDNESS AND RELATIONSHIPS 26 3.4 TRANSPORT 32 3.5 BULLYING AND DISCRIMINATION 34 3.6 EDUCATION AND TRAINING 38 3.7 HEALTH AND WELL BEING 45 3.8 HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS 48 3.9 CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND SAFETY 50 3.10 INCOME 52 3.11 SOCIAL JUSTICE 55 3.12 RURAL ISOLATION 56
CONCLUSION 57
REFERENCES 58
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APPENDIX A 59
THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN TASMANIA (FRASER C&D, 2003) 59 CULTURALLY DIVERSE YOUNG PEOPLE 59
APPENDIX B 60
LOCATION OF PARTICIPANTS (BY TASMANIAN RESIDENCE) 60
APPENDIX C 61
MAP OF PARTICIPANT’S COUNTRY OF BIRTH 61
APPENDIX D 62
A SUMMARY OF THE MULTICULTURAL YOUTH HEALTH ISSUES ‘ON THE MOVE’ REPORT (DHHS & MCOT 2003). 62 ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND SERVICES 62 SEXUAL HEALTH 62 CONFIDENTIALITY 63 LEGAL ISSUES 63 BECOMING INDEPENDENT 63 COUNSELLING AND SUPPORT SERVICES 64 CULTURAL AWARENESS 64 ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG ABUSE 64 INCOME SUPPORT 64 BELIEFS ABOUT MULTICULTURAL YOUTH 64
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Preface
This paper is a report on consultations held during 2003 and 2004 with young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds living in Tasmania.
The Office of Youth Affairs (OYA), the Multicultural Council of Tasmania (MCoT) with their hired consultant, Yabbo Thompson and the Multicultural Youth Group (MYG) with the support of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) worked together on this consultative process.
The paper will be used to inform government and non government organisations, youth and community organisations and other relevant bodies about the issues affecting these young people and will be used for the next stage of this project as a discussion paper for the next State of Our Youth report.
Using this paper as background information, OYA will work with Tasmanian government agencies to compile information about what is happening in their areas together with any future directions and priorities that might have been identified, and in mid 2005 publish a State of Our Youth report which focuses specifically on young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
In preparing this document, we recognise that considerable work is already being undertaken by a range of government departments, local government and non- government organisations, for young people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background.
Overall, young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, especially Humanitarian Entrants, are very appreciative of their lives in Tasmania. Young people often stated that their lives in Tasmania are better than that of their home country and/or refugee camps they have lived in previously. Many young people were reluctant at first to say anything negative about their experiences in Tasmania as they did not want to appear ungrateful. Participants were encouraged to talk about their good and not so good experiences in Tasmania.
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Acknowledgements
The Office of Youth Affairs would like to thank the following agencies, organisations and people for their assistance with providing information and/or organising consultations to aid in the development of this consultation report:
Multicultural Council of Tasmania Multicultural Youth Group: - Katerina Castrisios - Ceilan Kidega Severino - David Kuel - John Ladu - Neha Malhotra - Martha Obwona - Carolina Valencia - Lara Wasilewski Burnie High School Colony 47 Inc Jobs Placement Employment and Training Program Department of Education’s English as a Second Language Program: Principal Education Officer and Teachers Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs Don College Elizabeth College Hellyer College Hilliard Christian School International Students’ Union - University of Tasmania (Sandy Bay) Launceston College Migrant Resource Centre (North) Migrant Resource Centre (South) Multicultural Tasmania New Town High School Number 13 - Burnie City Council Ogilvie High School Phoenix Centre (North) – Fatenaneh Scott St Patrick’s College The Friends School The Zone - Devonport City Council Women Of The World Multicultural group (North West) Yabbo Thompson, Consultant.
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SECTION ONE - Context
1.1 State of Our Youth Report
The Office of Youth Affairs (OYA) assists in the effective development and co-ordination of youth policies, programs and information across Australian, State and Local Governments and relevant service providers in the youth and community sectors in Tasmania. OYA is responsible for the publication of the State Of Our Youth Report. This report provides an overview of the government programs and polices for young people.
The first State of Our Youth Report (Office of Youth Affairs [OYA] 2002a) was released in March 2002 together with a background discussion paper, Young Tasmanians: Attitudes, Aspirations, Beliefs, and Directions (Department of Health and Human Services & Office of Youth Affairs [DHHS & OYA} 2001) which includes an analysis of the expressions of young Tasmanians as to their needs and directions. (Both documents can be found on OYA’s website at www.youthaffairs.tas.gov.au).
In forming State of Our Youth (2002) young people (students, jobseekers, employed young people and young people who were considered to be marginalised) were asked to identify their top five priorities issues from a list of issues collated from the Your Say Youth Survey (OYA 2002b).
The priorities identified were housing, transport, alcohol and drugs, income and employment.
At this time it was recognised that these were general issues and that there was also a need to determine specific issues pertaining to young people with disabilities, young Aboriginal people, and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
This discussion paper focuses on the issues of young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Tasmania. The issues nominated by these young people will be addressed by Tasmanian Government agencies in another edition of State of Our Youth to be published in 2005, specifically around these young people. Future editions of State of Our Youth will focus on the issues of young people with disabilities, and young Aboriginal people.
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1.2 The Partners
In 2002, OYA, the Multicultural Council of Tasmania (MCoT) and the Multicultural Youth Group (MYG) commenced working together to document issues for young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The MCoT is a volunteer organisation with a coordinator employed on a part time basis. A youth program is one of many focuses of the organisation.
The MYG is a youth group initiated originally by young Humanitarian Entrants from Africa. The Executive of the group now includes young people with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds from Greece, India, Poland, Columbia, and Tasmania.
In 2002 MCoT and MYG received Community Support Levy Funding from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to run a specific youth program. This program resulted in the Ready Willing and Able Conference held in March 2004 which focused on the needs of young people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background.
MCoT, MYG and DHHS also worked together to consult with young people to compile the Multicultural Youth Health Issues ‘On the Move’ (2003)’, containing strategies and action plans to address multicultural youth health issues within Tasmania.
1.3 Current State Government Goals and Policy
The following are specific goals/benchmarks for State Government in relation to young people from multicultural backgrounds
1.3.1 Tasmania Together (Government’s 20-year social, environmental, and economic plan for Tasmania)
Goal 9 – Foster an inclusive society that acknowledges and respects our multicultural heritage, values diversity, and treats everyone with compassion and respect.
1.3.2 Learning Together (Government’s vision for Tasmanian public education, training and information systems) Goal 3 - Safe and inclusive learning environments. 3.1 Ensure that all childcare services, schools and training institutions are safe and supportive places. 3.2 Ensure that students who are ‘at risk’ have the opportunity to participate. 3.3 Ensure that our learning organisations successfully target the acquisition of literacy skills 3.4 Ensure that all learning organisations successfully include all students.
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1.3.3 Tasmanian Multicultural Policy (Department of Premier and Cabinet)
To recognise and value the diversity of cultural and linguistic resources and the skills of all Tasmanians as social and economic assets, and to develop and use these resources and skills for the overall benefit of Tasmania.
To accept and respect the culture, language and religion of all Tasmanians within the framework of the laws of the Commonwealth and the State.
1.4 Definitions
Young people are defined by the OYA as those aged between 12 and 25 years.
Young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds include people aged between 12-25 years of age, who were born outside of Australia, or whose parents were born outside of Tasmania. This definition includes migrants and Humanitarian Entrants (which includes refugees, international exchange students and international fee paying students.).
Migrants include persons who enter Australia under the Migration program.
Humanitarian Entrants include people who enter Australia as a part of the Humanitarian program.
Refugees are referred to in the United Nations Refugee Convention as people who are outside of their home country and cannot return to that country because of a well founded fear of persecution because of their; race; religion; nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
Migration program (source: http://www.immi.gov.au/migration/index.htm)
There are two programs designed to help people wanting to come to Australia permanently. One is the migration program which is made up of:
a skill migration stream, which has a number of categories for people who have particular occupation skills, outstanding talents or business skills; a family migration stream, where people can be sponsored by a relative who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident; special eligibility migrants, who are former citizens or residents wanting to return to Australia, or certain New Zealanders.
The migration program for 2004-05 has 120,000 places available for migrants, with a strong focus on attracting skilled people and people who agree to live in regional areas of Australia.
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Humanitarian program (Department of Immigration and Multiculitral and Indigenous Affairs 2004c):
The second program is the separate humanitarian program which is designed for refugees and others in special humanitarian need.
A major component of the humanitarian program is the offshore resettlement program, which assists people in humanitarian need overseas for whom resettlement in another country is the only option.
The onshore protection component is for those people already in Australia who arrived on temporary visas or in an unauthorised manner, and who claim Australia’s protection.
The size of the 2004-05 humanitarian program is 13,000 places.
Some participants stated that they, or others they knew, came to Australia through individual sponsorship arrangements.
Social Justice:
Social Justice is the full and equal participation of all groups in a community….[it] ranges from knowledge of and input to legal issues affecting young people, to accessing meaningful, income generating employment, and creating equitable access to resources and opportunities. (DHHS and DoE 2001, p. 71)
1.5 Statistics
During 2003-04 there were 446 offshore permanent arrivals under the refugee and Humanitarian program settling in Tasmania. Major source countries include Sudan, Afghanistan and Ethiopia.
Settlement was spread throughout Tasmania with 55% of entrants settling in Hobart, 30% in Launceston and 14% on the North West Coast. (DIMIA 2004b)
DIMIA has provided the following information from their Settlement Database which contains records on: Migrant visas issued and settler arrivals processed overseas; Permanent residence grants processed in Australia.
The statistics present information on the number of young people (aged 12-25 years) who arrived in Tasmania during 1/7/2003 to 30/6/2004 (DIMIA 2004a).
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A total of 251 young people came to live (permanent entry or residence) in Tasmania on Migration and Humanitarian programs visa sub-classes. Of those 251 young people, 127 were female and 124 were male.
Young people came from 26 countries with the top five countries of origins being: Sudan (79); United Kingdom (20); Republic of South Africa (16); Malaysia (12) and Philippines (10).1
1 Young People in Tasmania (2003) published by OYA and based on data from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing, provides a comprehensive statistical and demographic profile across a broad range of social and economic issues impacting on young people. For information on this report please refer to Appendix A. State Of Our Youth page 10 Consultation Report for Government 2004
SECTION TWO –The Process
2.1 Purpose
The aim of this consultative process was to allow young people from culturally and linguistically diverse background to present their perceptions of the issues that they face living in Tasmania.
This information will be used to: Provide a report on issues facing young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, one of three youth sub-groups identified in the State of Our Youth Report (OYA 2002) as needing special consideration; Inform government and non-government organisations, including youth and community organisations and other relevant bodies about these issues ; Provide information to all Tasmanian government agencies to increase knowledge and understanding of these issues for the purpose of future strategic policy and program development; and Provide a base document for collecting information from Tasmanian government agencies on what is being done for these young people with the aim of identifying gaps and new priority areas for action.
2.2 The consultation timeline
In 2002, OYA, MCoT, with consultant and MYG began planning for a consultation around the issues for young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Between January 2004 and March 2004, MCOT , with consultant and MYG supported OYA in conducting consultations with young people around the state.
In March 2004, OYA supported MCoT and MYG to run the Ready Willing and Able Youth Conference.
Additional consultations were conducted after the conference from April 2004 to May 2004.
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2.3 The consultations
Twenty three consultations were undertaken with 163 young people at the following locations: Burnie High School Colony 47 Inc JPET – Hobart (x2) Coolock – Launceston (x2) Don College – Devonport Elizabeth College - Hobart Hellyer College – Burnie Hilliard Christian School – West Moonah Launceston College MCoT -Hobart (x3) Migrant Resource Centre – Hobart New Town High School – Hobart Number 13 Youth Service - Burnie Ogilvie High School - Hobart St Patrick’s College – Prospect (x2) The Friends School – North Hobart The Zone - Devonport City Council University of Tasmania – Sandy Bay (x2)
(See Appendix B: Location of participants (by Tasmanian residence))
Some young people attended more than one consultation. The total of 163 participants reflects the number of individual people involved (i.e. no-one has been counted twice because they attended two consultations).
In addition, approximately 130 young people attended the Ready Willing and Able Youth Conference in March 2004. The OYA documented the feedback from the three conference workshops on education, employment and health and well-being. Information was also accessed from the panel discussion on Your Rights, Our Justice which was co–convened by the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner and the Commissioner of Children, and the Resolutions section of the conference.
The consultations and conference workshops were structured to enable young people to identify their own issues. Adults (teachers, parents, support workers etc.) who attended, who were not part of the age target group were not encouraged to participate in the discussions. The majority of adults complied with this request, whilst a few adults chose not to participate in the discussions, but stayed in the room.
The format of the consultations was designed by OYA with support from MCOT, the consultant, the MYG, the Department of Education’s English as a Second Language (ESL) program staff and the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues (based in Victoria).
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2.4 Diversity of participants
Consultations were completed in each of the three regions of Tasmania (South, North and North West).
Number of participants by the City
10 3 7 Hobart Launceston 86 Devonport 58 Burnie Other/Unknown
Number of participants by age
2; 1% 4; 2% between 12 - 25 years of age 26; 16%
people either did not know their age or chose not to disclose this information between 26 - 28 years of age
11 years of age at the time of 132; 81% the consultation
Overall the highest numbers of participants were aged: 18 years (n=19 or 14%); followed by 14 and 15 year olds each containing (n=15 or 11%); and The total number of young people was spread evenly between 12-17 years of age (n=66 or 50%) and 18 – 25 years (n=66 or 50%). State Of Our Youth page 13 Consultation Report for Government 2004
Number of participants by gender
64; 48% Male 68; 52% Female
For those young people born outside of Australia: Sudanese young people were the most represented in consultations (n=56 or 34%); Ethiopian young people were second (n=8 or 5%); and Chinese young people were third (n=6 or 4%).
Overall young people who were born outside of Australia represented the following 30 countries
- Afghanistan - Indonesia - Singapore - Africa* - Iran - Somalia - Australia** - Iraq - Spain - Bosnia - Japan - Sudan - China - Kosovo - Taiwan - Columbia - Latvia - Thailand - El Salvador - Malaysia - Turkey - Eritrea - Philippines - United Kingdom - Ethiopia - Poland - Vietnam - Germany - Rwanda - Vietnam - India - Sierra Leone
*Some people put Africa instead of nominating a specific country ** This includes young people with either one or both parents born outside of Australia
(Please see Appendix C: Map of participant’s country of birth)
2
2 Sixteen young people either chose not to provide this information or did not know which country they were born in, and three people did not nominate a specific country in Africa. There were 18 young people who were born in Australia: 8 people had both parents born outside Australia; 9 had one parent born outside of Australia; and 1 person had both parents born within Australia. State Of Our Youth page 14 Consultation Report for Government 2004
Of those young people who were born in Australia the most common countries of birth for their mothers’ were: Vietnam (3) Columbia (2) Australia (2).
The most common countries of birth for their fathers’ were: Australia (6), United Kingdom (2) Malawi (2).
Of young people who nominated themselves as Humanitarian Entrants, the most common countries of first asylum were: Kenya (n=18 or 42 %) Uganda (n=15 or 35%) Egypt (n=10 or 23%).
The length of time those Humanitarian Entrants have lived in Australia varied from one month to fourteen years and four months.
Of the 77 (or 47%) of consultation participants who provided information about their religion, the most common religions were: Catholicism (n=27 or 35%) Christianity (n=19 or 27%).
2.5 Supporting the consultations
The Migrant Resource Centre (North and South), public and private education ESL teachers, the Adult English Migrant Centre (Hobart), Community Support for Refugees, multicultural societies and associations in Tasmania, and other relevant bodies and individuals were contacted in relation to setting up the consultations.
Members of the MYG and Fatenaneh Scott from the Phoenix Centre (Launceston) provided translation where appropriate, and in some instances consultation participants translated for their friends.
Where possible members of the MYG co-facilitated the consultations with OYA and the MCoT consultant, specifically Miranda Sonners and Yabbo Thompson.
On most occasions food was provided for participants, and at one consultation in Launceston, MCOT provided gift vouchers as an incentive for young people to participate. All participants received a certificate of thanks from OYA.
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Participants were informed that their personal details would not be released without their permission and that participation was voluntary.
2.6 The Consultation workshops
The facilitator/s gave a brief introduction on the State of Our Youth (2002) Report, including its purpose, process and the importance of young people’s contribution.
The facilitator/s presented 12 topic headings (in no particular order) that were identified from the State Of Our Youth (2002) report. These were:
Income (how you get money, amount received, etc.); Employment (access, type, availability etc.); Education and Training (school, pre-employment training e.g. VET, stress, barriers etc.); Housing and homelessness; Transport (including access to driver’s licences, cars/bikes, buses, walking, cost factors etc.); Recreation and Entertainment (activities in free time, sports etc.); Health and well – being (mental, physical, stress, access, availability, drug and alcohol issues, future health, nutrition etc.); Rural isolation (for rural communities); Connectedness and relationships (family, friends, school ,work, community); Criminal Justice System and Safety (e.g. Police, legal matters, safety); Social justice (full and equal participation in the community e.g. employment, volunteering, education, on committees, access to resources etc.); and Bullying and discrimination.
Participants were asked if there were any other areas they wanted to discuss, and if so, this was added to the list.
The workshop was then delivered in three sections:
1. Activity One Participants were asked to individually choose the five topics which were relevant to them at that particular time. Participants were to indicate their choices by voting with five stickers (i.e. place one sticker on five topics of their choice). The facilitator/s used this voting procedure to determine the group’s top five responses.
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2. Activity Two To enable a structured discussion around each of the five topics, questions were presented for the young people to use to brainstorm about their experiences. The questions were:
What are your experiences with each topic? What are the good things and the not so good things? What could be done about each of the topics raised? How could things be different in each of these areas to make your life in Tasmania what you want it to be? What would make Tasmania a better place for young people? 3. Activity Three The consultations concluded with questions on solutions to any of the issues raised through the consultations. This was a brain storm exercise and was presented by the facilitator/s as a wish list that could provide some proposals for solutions for both government and non-government bodies to consider3.
2.7 Positive actions
We found that we had acted at times as a resource and catalyst for community development, for example it gave local organisations like council youth groups, the realisation that they can do more for these young people. (MCOT 2004, p.12.)
There have been several positive actions from the consultations to address issues raised by young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Fresh Express: After Devonport City Council’s Youth Staff attended the consultation held at The Zone, the council developed a youth group, Fresh Express, specifically for young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in that area. Increased awareness: Many school staff indicated that before these consultations, they had not had the chance to hear the views of young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, on their life in Tasmania separate from the school perspective.
3 Participants were informed at the beginning of all the consultations that any information supplied was not necessarily guaranteed to be included in the report and there was no guarantee that any of the solutions listed would be implemented. At the end of each consultation participants were asked to indicate if they would like to receive and comment on a draft of the discussion paper before publication. Two meetings were held with young people who wanted to comment on the draft report, based in Launceston and Hobart. All North West based participants were sent a copy of the report for their comment. Young people’s feedback was added to the report where applicable.
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2.8 Issues with the consultations
2.8.1 Access to participants Accessing young people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background was difficult.
Several methods of contacting young people were employed: through other young people and youth workers (‘word of mouth’ was the best method); teaching staff ; and MRC staff.
Some consultations were held in the same venues on different dates. The initial timeframe to undertake the consultations was extended by two months (after the Ready Willing and Able Youth Conference) to gain a larger representative number of participants.
A large proportion of young people were accessed through schools and colleges and through the International Student’s Union at the University of Tasmania (Sandy Bay Campus).
Whilst most ESL teachers and the Department of Education’s Principal Education Officer (ESL), were most supportive of OYA coming to talk with young people in their facilities, it was felt at times that caution was being exhibited by some school and college staff around access to these students.
Also it was not always seen by personnel at schools that it was vital to speak with all young people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background and not just humanitarian entrants. Perhaps this was due to a perception by some that young people who had settled in Tasmania (i.e. lived in Tasmania for more that 6-12 months) would not have any particular issues to address.
2.8.2 Coordination Upon trying to access young people throughout Tasmania there appears to be little connection between the youth and community sector and specific services for young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
There also appears to be ad hoc coordination between multicultural organisations in developing coordinated approaches in dealing with the issues of young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
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SECTION THREE – The Issues
Information gained from each of the 23 consultations, the three workshops and plenary session conducted at the Ready Willing and Able Youth Conference, and the Multicultural Youth Health ‘On the Move’ (2003) report, is consolidated under the following 12 topic headings listed in priority order4 as determined by young people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background in the consultations:
1. Employment (access, type, availability etc.); 2. Recreation and Entertainment ; 3. Connectedness and relationships (family, friends, school ,work, community); 4. Transport (including access to drivers licences, cars/bikes, buses, walking, cost factors etc.); 5. Bullying/ discrimination; 6. Education and Training (school, pre-employment training (e.g. VET), stress, barriers etc.); 7. Health and well – being (mental, physical, stress, access, availability, drug and alcohol issues, future health, nutrition etc.); 8. Housing and homelessness; 9. Criminal Justice System and Safety (e.g. Police, legal matters, safety); 10. Income (how you get money, amount received, etc.); 11. Social justice (full and equal participation in the community e.g. employment, volunteering, education, on committees, access to resources etc.); and 12. Rural isolation (for rural communities). The following pages provide a general overview of the discussions and a summary of the issues and ideas raised by young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds during consultations in 2004 (from here on referred to as young people).
Where specific ideas related to more than one topic, these have been repeated. At the end of each section, young people’s suggestions for solutions are included.
4 Numbers 1-2 had equal priority; numbers 3 and 4 had equal priority; and numbers 5 and 6 had equal priority. The final priority order for these numbers was allocated alphabetically. State Of Our Youth page 19 Consultation Report for Government 2004
3.1 Employment
The most common perception held by young people in this area was that regardless of where you live in Tasmania, there are not enough jobs for young people. The majority of young people believed that there were more employment opportunities in other states and territories, and that the reality was that they (specifically Humanitarian Entrants) would eventually move interstate to secure employment.
3.1.1 Types of Employment Only a small number of young people who were consulted with were in some form of paid employment. The majority of these people were employed on a casual or part-time basis in: hospitality (e.g. in restaurants), primary industries (e.g. fruit picking), community services (e.g. translators, assisting with consultations) and retail (e.g. shop assistants, stores).
A common source of employment for African Humanitarian Entrants is seasonal casual fruit picking work, primarily cherries. Many young people said that this work provided little money on an ongoing basis as it was seasonal and unreliable (i.e. may only have two days work then have to wait a couple of days before more cherries are ready for picking). Transport barriers also made it difficult to participate in this form of employment. Often young people relied on another person with a licence and a vehicle to transport them to orchards (travelling times may range from 30 minutes to one hour). Payment for petrol was expected from the driver, often before any wages were received.
Some young people disclosed that employers were paying them cash in hand (not declaring their employment details to the Australian taxation office) for their work. They were aware that this was illegal, but did not want to lose the work.
Some young people were told by employers that they were too old to work as soon as they turned 18 years of age. Often upon reaching 18, employers either terminated the employment, or intentionally gave fewer hours of work per week; this often made it unviable for a young person to continue to work for that employer. Conversely, many young people in casual employment who were under 18 years of age, complained that they often felt pressured to take on additional hours in peak times, and that this greatly affected their ability to study, and participate in social activities. They felt they could not say no to extra hours offered by employers in fear of losing their job.
Common feedback by employed young people was that their level of income was also influenced by the length of time in unpaid or low paid training. Only when these young people had completed the training time, did they receive a pay increase, or more commonly, began to receive any payment. Young people thought it was unfair that some employers had an indefinite training period (e.g. one young person’s experience of training without pay was four months).
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University students agreed with another student’s comments that whilst a student, it was relatively easy to find part time/casual work for pocket money (so long as they were willing to give up their free time); and after finishing university it was harder to find employment - which impacted on their ability to survive (e.g. income for rent, food, clothing etc.).
3.1.2 Finding paid work Most young people (male and female) were seeking employment including students at high school, college, Adult Migrant English Service (AMES) and university. When asked what sort of work young people were looking for, most had long term plans of gaining professional work such as teaching, medicine and policing. Regardless of any long term employment goals, all young people indicated they would do anything, so long as it was a paid job.
The majority of young people wanted to work, not only to increase their income, but to feel part of their ‘new’ community. Many young people spoke of work as a major part of family and community life in their home countries, and expected to participate in this way in Tasmania. They associated their happiness with their ability to find paid work.
Many young people spoke about the mental stress placed on them and their families due to not being able to secure employment. Income difficulties and the associated pressures surrounding paying for rent, food, clothing etc. were discussed (please also refer to the section on income).
Many young people expressed that they felt caught in a cycle of trying to find work without any Australian work experience, and not being able to gain the work experience because they could not get employment. Young people believed that employers think migrants and Humanitarian Entrants have no or little work experience, regardless of what employment and training background they have.
Some young people held the perception that to find work in Tasmania you have to know someone either in the business, or industry (such as the boss) to get a job; the amount of work experience was not always relevant or necessary to find employment.
Young people with English as their second language believed that many employers overlooked them because of this factor. Accent, clothing, and country of origin also presented additional barriers to securing employment. Some young people felt that employers assumed that they could not speak any English because they had a non Australian name.
Young people felt frightened to indicate on employment applications forms that they were born overseas or spoke another language apart from English, as they felt this may be used negatively against them.
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Some young people stated that employers were frightened to employ migrants and Humanitarian Entrants because they may not have permanent residency. Therefore the employer often thinks it is illegal to employ them.
Some fee paying and exchange students felt discriminated against because their visa conditions did not allow them to gain paid work in Australia.
Young people felt frustrated and confused about their experiences with the Job Network. Many young people claimed that they had filled out all the relevant forms given to them by providers, but jobs were not being given to them. There appeared to be a common perception that finding employment was the responsibility of the Job Network provider, not the young person themselves. There was consensus among young people that the successfulness of the Job Network to assist them to find work relied on the following factors: which agency you were registered with (some agencies were perceived to provide better assistance than others), and which agency the jobs were registered with (some perceived that some agencies had access to more or better jobs than others).
Casual or part time work obtained by young people appeared to be more from ‘word of mouth’ (being told information) opportunities from other young people, rather than by assistance from employment agencies.
The high costs associated with preparing and giving out resumes to potential employers on a regular basis, was deemed as another barrier to securing paid work.
3.1.3 Volunteering As outlined above, there is an issue for young people of how to achieve Australian work experience. Volunteer work was considered very beneficial in achieving this experience, but was perceived as hard to get by some young people. Some of the older participants (18-25 years) who had gained volunteer placements, (and in some cases multiple placements) appeared to have become cynical, and saw volunteerism as the use of their skills for no payment. Some young people were frustrated that the only work they could find was volunteer work. Others felt that volunteer work was too guided, and it did not allow them to gain new skills, or increase their confidence by applying their skills without supervision.
3.1.4 Suggested solutions on employment from young people
Initiate a special employment agency for young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, or have existing Job Network providers employ and train a specific person to assist young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with their needs.
Skill staff at schools, colleges and universities to inform young people how:
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a. the Job Network system operates; b. to find employment; c. to establish a network of contacts to assist finding work when school has finished; and d. to access information on the range of TAFE courses. Provide employers with cross cultural awareness training including providing information about the value of providing work experience opportunities to migrants and Humanitarian Entrants.
Define unpaid training periods for all employment. Then make it law that employers have to pay you for the work you do after this period.
Provide young people with the employment related knowledge they need e.g. about occupational health and safety, employees’ rights etc.
For newly arrived people with little English speaking skills, provide employment opportunities where spoken language is not essential (e.g. packing shelves, fruit picking etc.).
Migrants and Humanitarian Entrants with a good level of English should be guaranteed a job, or at least work experience upon arrival in Australia.
Forums are to be established to enable young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to provide feedback to relevant government agencies about employment opportunities in Tasmania.
Where possible, all government, non-government organisations and private business to encourage employment applications from young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
3.2 Recreation and Entertainment
The majority of young people participated in sporting and recreational opportunities at school, college and university. In general young people liked to participate in a wide range of recreational and entertainment activities, not only for the purposes of having something to do, but also to feel part of their community and to meet other young people (including young people not from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds).
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3.2.1 Types of participation Common recreational and entertainment activities participated in by male and females in Tasmania were: Basketball, swimming, soccer, hockey, playing with friends at home, softball, netball, rock climbing, computer games, watching television, playing in the park, roller blading, skateboarding, bike riding, walking, having a good time, dancing (organised classes and at night clubs), boxing, car racing, tennis, singing (at school, church and home), music, badminton, shopping, athletics, reading, football (mostly soccer), cinema, videos/DVDs, gym, table tennis, pool /8 Ball, going to BONZA (a recreation program at Migrant Resource Centre South), and applying for jobs.
The activities that participants wanted to do for future recreational and entertainment purposes were: Tennis, swimming, activities similar to what BONZA runs in the south, Australian Rules Football, hockey, out of school activities, formal soccer club, volleyball, karate, soccer, bushwalking and camping, tennis, different areas to play in other than school grounds, concerts, more activities for women at university, snowboarding, swimming, dancing, and visiting Mount Wellington.
Many young people wanted to visit other areas in the State, such as Cradle Mountain, the Franklin River and Port Arthur. Humanitarian Entrants in particular rarely had had the opportunity to visit other areas outside of the town/city they had been relocated in, i.e. Hobart, Launceston, Devonport or Burnie.
Afghani and African males who came to Australia from refugee camps play the same sport in Tasmania as they played in the camps. Most of these young men played soccer, some in soccer clubs, but mostly in backyards or local parks. Sports such as Australian Rules Football, rugby, cricket and hockey were unlikely to be played in camps. So these sports are therefore less likely to be played upon arrival in Tasmania.
The majority of females, from all countries, did not play any organised sport within camps, or in their home country. In Tasmania, females played sport, but only during school/college hours.
3.2.2 Barriers to participation Very few people participated in out-of-school sports or recreational activities because of their lack of income, and lack of access to transport. Some young people commented that another reason not to be involved in recreation and entertainment activities after school was that they felt they did not have enough time to cope with their homework and household chores.
Many young people stated that they often did not hear about recreation and entertainment opportunities, until after the event, or too close to the event occurring. These factors limited young people's ability to participate as well.
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Many African males, who played soccer, stated that they dreamt about representing Tasmania and Australia in soccer, not only to show their talent, but to also show their friends and families in their home countries how successful they were in their new country. Some young men had been accepted into affiliated soccer clubs, but could not afford the fees or clothing requirements to participate, in most cases.
It was a common response from Horn of Africa and Afghani females, that their parents, and in general males in the household, had control over most of their recreational and entertainment options. It appeared that males are allowed to go out and participate in activities of their choice (as long as they could afford them), whilst females were more limited to activities such as helping out around the home (primarily because their parent/s would not give them permission to do other things). Some females stated that their brothers occasionally took them to the cinema, or to organised events such as activities run for young people by the local Migrant Resource Centre, or church activities. It appeared that for these young women watching television, playing/meeting with friends in their home or other families’ homes, and church related activities were their main recreation and entertainment opportunities.
In comparison, young women without males in their families (i.e. no fathers or brothers) appeared to have more choices of recreation and entertainment opportunities outside of the home. Parental consent for these African and Afghani girls/women still seemed to play a major part in their lower level of participation. Other barriers, as stated above, impact on this group of young women’s participation rates as well.
The lack of recreational and social activities for multicultural youth was also identified by DHHS & MCOT (2003).
3.2.3 Suggested solutions on recreation and entertainment from young people
Provision of recreation and entertainment programs in the North and North West of Tasmania such as the BONZA program ran by Migrant Resource Centre South. More low cost recreation and entertainment activities in general were needed. Development of intercity and intrastate sporting competitions. A regular youth club/group for social activities such as music/dancing and lobbying/advocacy, including ways of including females who otherwise find it difficult to participate outside of school activities.
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3.3 Connectedness and relationships
Young people need to feel supported by, and connected with, their new Tasmanian community. They also need to retain their homeland culture to enable them to continue to feel connected with their families (both in Tasmania and overseas). Cultural differences that exist between homeland cultures and Tasmanian culture often lead young people to feel caught in the middle in terms of feeling part of their community (including family, school, friendships etc.).
Young people in general had a sense of feeling of isolated within their community.
3.3.1 First experiences There were many examples of individuals’ experiences of arriving in Tasmania to find only a limited number of people being able to speak their own language and/or with similar religious beliefs. Many young people commented that even though they had limited English language skills upon arrival, they were expected to become ‘translators’ for their parents/relatives. This often caused anxiety and stress.
Some Humanitarian Entrants commented on their first connections within their local communities as that of receiving initial help from people who were part of church or a Community Support for Refugee (CSR) group. Whilst most young people either spoke highly of these relationships or not at all, some young people were confused as to the nature of these relationships. For example some stated that when they and/or their families did not want to continue to go to church with these people, the support seemed to disappear. Also some participants were confused and upset about their families being forced into signing house leases upon arrival by these groups. Families felt like they couldn’t choose their own house, and often the price and quality of the accommodation found for them by these people, were not satisfactory for long rental periods (e.g. 6 or 12 month leases). One young man stated”…they just wanted to put us somewhere and get rid of us…” (Northern participant). It was clear that many young people who talked about these groups did not understand their role in assisting the family.
Some young people stated that they felt let down by government when they arrived in Australia, as they were not given free homes and cars, and access to employment etc. Some people stated that this perception was generated within refugee camps (please refer to the section on Social Justice).
3.3.2 Family Young people’s levels of connectedness within their family were often stated as being the most important relationship for participants. Young people relied on the family to
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provide emotional, financial and physical support, as well have having a major influence on (and providing the teaching of) their cultural nurturing as well.
Young people whose parents had been in Tasmania for several years, felt as though their parents were in a time warp. They felt their parents were trying to hang on to their homeland culture as it occurred when they lived in that country. Young people acknowledged that they learned the Australian way of life very quickly because they had more opportunity to do so (e.g. by attending school), whereas their parents often relied on their children to teach them about Australian culture.
Gender issues play an important role for members of the family and their relationships within the family. Young Africans in particular stated that females were not permitted to do their own thing after school hours unless their family gave them permission to do so; and usually this meant their brothers and older male relatives accompanying them to activities and events. Males were often not responsible for any house cleaning or associated chores, whilst females were. Some young African women stated that they thought this was unfair. When asked why they thought that this difference occurred, the young women commented that in their culture parents were a lot more concerned about girls than boys; in particular parents believe that girls can not defend themselves and had to be protected. There were comments from a small number of girls (African) about their brothers hitting them if they did things without their permission e.g. go out with their friends after school, and talking back to their brothers when not asked to do so. (Please refer to the section on Criminal Justice System and Safety).
For those young people who arrived in Tasmania without their parents (mostly Horn of Africa and Afghani young people) but accompanied by other relatives, have additional concerns with their family relationships. Many of these young people spoke about their loss and grief for their parents, especially the common loss of a father. Many knew that their fathers were dead or living in another country, with little hope of being reunited with their family.
Some Horn of Africa participants gave several examples of women and girls arriving with their uncles and his family members in groups of up to ten people. One southern participant stated that ”Often they [the uncles] are cultural extremists who believe that the child belongs to them – that they own the child. The adults do not give the child the same basic support and protection they give their own [biological] children.”
Single men arriving from Africa, without family, appear to be placed under more strain to cope with their circumstances, than single women with children for example. Two young African men stated that they felt extremely isolated, not only from the mainstream community, but also their African counterparts in Tasmania. The men stated that they were “…not in the picture…” in terms of African communities helping each other in Tasmania. “We miss the love and being part of a family” (Southern participant).
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There were various experiences with relationships with neighbours. Some young people reported that their families had never spoken to their neighbours; whilst some young people stated that they often visited their neighbours. It appeared that those young people who did visit neighbours, had other social connections in common such as attending the same school as their neighbours’ children, or they were also from a culturally and linguistically diverse background.
The majority of International Students (fee paying students) stated that they often felt that their relationships with their families changed upon return to their home country. Some participants stated that because of the necessity of coping with being in Tasmania without their families, they had to grow up and learn to be more self supporting, than those young people who were not studying overseas. Young people described their relationships with parents as difficult when they returned home as they were more independent compared to their siblings and friends.
3.3.3 Family and school Cultural conflict between school and family life was experienced by many young people. Young people are taught their rights and responsibilities in Australia. Many young people felt that these newly found rights and responsibilities often did not fit, or clashed with their families’ expectations of their rights and responsibilities as sons and daughters in family with a culturally and linguistically diverse background.
Many young people stated that their parents often felt that services including schools were encouraging or interfering with their children, and that their children were being encouraged to leave home and/or disobey their parents. Whilst some young people agreed with their parents’ thoughts on this topic, others felt a sense of being caught in the middle in respect to being a young person in Tasmania from a culturally and linguistically diverse background.
Some young people identified that Australian culture appeared to be individualistic in nature as opposed to their own cultures of being family/community oriented or communal in nature. Removing children from the family (for example encouraging young people to live independently or police dealing with young people regardless of age without the involvement of parents), was not seen as an appropriate thing to do by some of the participants. They felt that issues should be resolved within the family, in a culturally appropriate way, and not by outsiders.
Some young people often assisted teachers, police, youth workers etc. to connect with their communities, and that this often resulted in the young person getting into trouble with their parents and blamed for taking sides (i.e. between their homeland culture and Australian culture). “Now we don’t help as much because it causes a lot of conflict”(Southern participant).
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Of the few Exchange Students who were consulted with, most of them considered their Home Stay families to be of great support in all areas of their lives in Tasmania.
When asked about the amount of Tasmanian born friends young people had at school, the majority of participants indicated that whilst they knew other students at school, they were not friends with them.
A large number of African female students at one southern consultation stated that they were scared of “…white people”, even after being in Tasmania for a period of time.
3.3.4 Making friends A lot of young people only had friendships within their local cultural communities. This appears to be aided by parent’s reluctance for their children to do additional activities outside of school (especially for girls). The majority of young people stated that they spent a lot of their free time watching TV or playing computer games, or playing with friends within the home. Some African females stated that they often spent time with cousins and other family members on week – ends to “…keep the family happy”(Northern participant).
Whilst it was felt that making friends in Tasmania was a really important way of gaining support, most young people acknowledged that relationships within the family were often more important, because friends were often an unreliable means of support. This statement appeared to be more about participants feeling that friends could lead them into ‘bad situations’ such as alcohol and other drug taking which was against their culture, than an inability to make and retain friends.
The need for opportunities to network with their friends was also identified by DHHS & MCOT (2003).
In general, participants stated that they believed it was not easy to make friends with Tasmanian born young people, but many stated that it was a lot easier to do if you did not show your cultural differences (e.g. not practice your customs whilst in their company).
It appeared that many young people (12 – 25 years of age) who come to Tasmania as Humanitarian Entrants tend to keep friendships with people within their own cultural backgrounds in the first few years of settlement. International students also tend to do this, but have wider ranging friendships earlier on in their time in Tasmania, especially with other international students and other students at the University. International students acknowledged that there were rifts within the multicultural societies at uni, and this often made it difficult to make and keep friends from other cultures.
Most university students generally felt that their relationships with other non – multicultural background young people were affected by their cultural differences. For example some Muslim Hindu participants stated that life in Tasmania for them was very
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lonely, as making friends was hard if they didn’t understand their cultural beliefs and practices. “We can’t party for one month because of our practices, and at one place where I shared a house, I had to move out because they didn’t understand”(Southern participant).
Alcohol consumption appeared to be a focal point of contention between young people and their Tasmanian counterparts in defining their ability to form relationships. Many participants stated that they tried to fit into the “party” and/or “Uni” scene as a way to make friends and for relaxation. But often cultural differences surrounding alcohol often made this difficult. For example a Sudanese man stated that in his culture people were not allowed to drink until they were married and had children. In Tasmania, he knew of other Sudanese people breaking this cultural practice because alcohol was readily available, and it was acceptable for young people to drink alcohol.
Cultural differences, especially language, were seen as a barrier for both males and females obtaining Tasmanian born or people from different cultural backgrounds as boyfriends and girlfriends. Young people made comments such as it’s hard or difficult when there are cultural differences. One African male commented that “…it’s very hard to get an Australian Girlfriend if you’re black, if you’re white, it no problem” (Northern participant). Several other males within this consultation agreed with this statement (including African and non-African males). Some African females stated that they had had conflict within their families when they had started smoking, (upon encouragement from their Tasmanian born boyfriends) as African women are not permitted to smoke in their culture.
Some older males (20-25 years of age) living alone (predominately African men) stated that it was very hard to find and maintain friendships outside of cultural groups, as income did not allow for socialising to meet other people. Rent, transport and food appeared to be the main priorities for these men. Other males living alone in Tasmania (including African males) stated that because they did not have any contacts with young people from their own country of origin, they only had Anglo friends.
A large group of African female students in one southern consultation concluded that the reason for the difficulty in making friends is that parents from non culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds did not like ‘…brown or black people…’, and therefore did not allow their children to mix with young people from other countries, particularly African.
Some males and females reported abuse (physical and mental) from non culturally and linguistically diverse background people (both students and non students). One group of African females from a southern consultation stated that “Tasmanian girls want to beat us. They are not nice to us. I don’t know why”.
Fighting (physical and verbal) often appeared to be the result of name-calling by non culturally and linguistically diverse students and other members of the community in general. When questioned further about the type of incidents leading to fighting, the
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following examples were commonly given: name calling such as “…Nigger…”; being told to “…go back to the bush [or mud huts] where you come from…”; and generally being picked on when they didn’t understand what the other person was talking about.
Sporting pursuits, in particular soccer clubs were seen by many male participants as a way of bonding and forming new friendships. “If we had a soccer team we would have more friends.”(Northern participant) It appeared that young males felt they could connect with other young people if they could show they had skills and interests in something similar other than culture, such as an universal sport such as soccer.
3.3.5 Relationships in an educational setting Most young people who experienced ESL programs at school reported that ESL teachers were very supportive and relationships were very good, even after the students’ program participation had ceased. Although many young people reported that during, and for long periods after ESL support had ceased, other teaching staff not associated with ESL in schools and colleges were not as supportive. Examples of negativity towards ESL students and the overall lack of general teaching staff’s cultural awareness and understanding added to young people’s resulting feeling of isolation, within the school and local community.
It appeared that in an educational setting young people often did not form long term friendships with other young people from non culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. They tended to make and stay friends with other young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and preferably members of their own cultural background. These observations are particularly true of young Humanitarian Entrants’ experiences in general.
More detail is provided on educational connections and relationships in the next section on education and training.
3.3.6 Suggested solutions on connectedness/relationships from young people
Better integration of the offender’s family and community role, as opposed to the formal legal system, in first time offences. Encourage young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to give presentations on their cultural backgrounds to primary schools and high schools. To enhance relationships at school: - Provide opportunities that enable young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to be part of a general classroom as well as in an ESL program;
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- More training in cultural understanding for other teachers; - Build the capacity of teachers to support students and develop relationships with parents; and - When introducing new students to classes, include some of their cultural background and experiences so students are made aware of the facts. Develop a statewide network to enable young people to keep in contact with each other and have connections with service providers.
3.4 Transport
The majority of young people either walked or caught public transport to school, college, university, work, and social activities. Access to private cars was very limited. Taxis were considered to be too expensive.
The lack of transport options, timetabling of public transport and cost of transport were the major barriers for young people participating in activities after school and on weekends. Access to other towns and cities, and recreational facilities such as national parks etc., was also hindered by these barriers to transport.
3.4.1 Public transport The biggest issue for young people, particularly in Launceston and the North West Coast, was the lack of access to buses after 6 pm and on weekends. Young people stated that they always had to consider transport before doing anything outside of the house. Young people and their families will often choose not to participate in any event or activity if it occurs after 6 pm as they cannot get home after this time. At times, young people had to stay with friends overnight if they had missed their bus, or the activity was on in the evening. Other young people commented that they rely heavily on friends with their own transport to take them to activities, or they do not attend. The lack of transport to recreational activities was also identified by DHHS & MCOT (2003).
Young people from Hobart recognised that there were a larger number of buses in Hobart compared with Launceston, but also for those in outlying suburbs 0f Hobart there is lack of access after 6 pm and on week ends, and suggested that more buses were required. It was reported that in Hobart buses often did not run on time (often up to half an hour late), and this caused young people to miss out on sports activities and to get into trouble at school for being late. It was a common response from young people in Hobart that some bus drivers were rude to them (for example becoming impatient when a young person was trying to speak English).
On a statewide basis, the lack of buses at night often impacted on young people’s ability to study in the library after school. Due to cramped living spaces, and/or the responsibility to help out at home after school, young people felt that they couldn’t do homework at home. Therefore access to college and university libraries after hours was essential.
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Young people thought that the cost of bus tickets was often restrictive even though they received a concession rate. Students complained that the Centrelink concession card enabled them to access transport Monday to Fridays only, and this restricted what the young people did on the weekends.
Some young people stated that often they did not know how to get to the places they had to for sport etc. It was not easy to find out which bus would take you where and what, if any, were other transport options.
There were particular comments from students from two consultations on the North West Coast about bullying on school buses. It was reported that other students picked on them by calling them names and throwing papers at them on the bus. One consultation group said it was mostly high school students picking on primary school students, and another group stated it was Australian students picking specifically on Humanitarian Entrants.
3.4.2 Drivers’ licences Holding a drivers licence and having access to a car are really important to young people. The majority of young males considered their lack of income as the major barrier to getting their drivers licences. Other associated issues nominated were: not having access to a car (their own or others); limited access to a licensed driver; and unable to afford to buy enough driving lessons to meet the 50 hours driving experience required to gain a provisional licence. Young people stated that without paid employment they could not afford to buy a car after gaining a licence. Some young people considered they were disadvantaged in gaining drivers licences because of their levels of English language skills.
Some young people from countries such as Singapore and the Sudan stated that in comparison to their own countries, obtaining and drivers licence was cheaper in Tasmania than in their own countries. Regardless of this observation, these young people stated that they currently did not have enough money to get a Tasmanian Licence.
3.4.3 Suggested solutions on transport from young people
Bus timetables to be extended to 10 pm at night, and within this include frequent services to fit in with activities going on in the community. Provide a dedicated bus (a community bus) to take young people to activities and employment E.g. a special bus to take young people to soccer fields on week ends or to cherry orchards in season. Establishment of a support group with resources to assist young people to get to activities e.g. car share, mini bus options etc.
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More buses around Central Business District every 10 -15 minutes, as opposed to every hour. Put more zebra crossings around schools. Introduce $1 return bus tickets around towns (without time limits). Extend the Student Concession Card transport entitlements from Monday to Friday to include weekends. Ensure that the costs of obtaining drivers licences are kept at a minimum.
3.5 Bullying and discrimination
Throughout the consultations, and as documented in the workshops and Plenary Session at the Ready Willing and Able Conference, people spoke about direct experiences with bullying and discrimination. The biggest theme highlighted in relation to this area is Tasmanian’s general lack of cross cultural awareness, and their lack of understanding about the often harsh experiences of Humanitarian Entrants, before coming to Australia. It must also be stated that some young people also claimed that they had not had any experience of discrimination and/or racism in Tasmania; and some young people said they had not been living in Tasmania long enough to experience it yet (perhaps alluding to their perception of the inevitability of it) but they were keen to know how to tackle it.
Most young people gave the impression that bullying and discrimination affected them negatively; their feelings of isolation and lack of connectedness were attributed to the way they were treated in the community.
Some young people felt that some members of the community blamed them for the recent terrorist attacks.
Some participants commented that the level of bullying and discrimination appeared to differentiate between races as well. Participants expressed that Africans tended to receive more of the insults because of their noticeable skin colour compared to others with lighter skin. Some Malaysian and Singaporean participants stated that they were offended when people did not distinguish which country they came from. For example they stated that many Tasmanian born people thought that all Asian looking people were Chinese.
It appeared that the most common forms of bullying and discrimination were incidents of name calling (such as Nigger, Chinese guy-chigger, etc.) and physical assault.
The majority of young people who claimed that they had been subject to bullying, especially verbal abuse, claimed that the initial taunts was largely due to the young people’s ability to speak English fluently.
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Ready, Willing and Able Youth Conference participants detailed a number of physical and verbal abuse/harassment incidents that had occurred to them primarily by non young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Common incidents included being pushed into swimming pools, and being called hurtful names.
Many consultation participants stated, or inferred, that they had to assimilate into the Tasmanian culture to feel that they were part of the community. Some young people stated that they were often singled out because of their differences, e.g. their name. Some participants reported that even when they tried to fit in by copying what other young people did, wore, etc., they found themselves still not being accepted by non young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and the broader community.
Young people became confused and embarrassed when people made jokes about them and their culture. There were many reports from participants of being asked, often in front of others, constantly silly and confusing questions and/or saying hurtful statements such as: Do you wear shoes in your own country?, Did you wear clothes in your country? Did you live in a mud hut? Why are you black? “…Go back to the bush…,” and “…get back on the boat and go home…”. These statements and questions were clearly hurtful to the young people concerned, and highlight a lack of cultural awareness within the general community about the issues facing Humanitarian Entrants, migrants and others from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Some participants suggested that the level of knowledge of non culturally and linguistically diverse people was equivalent to what was portrayed on television. For example movies that are based in the African desert, may lead some people to believe that this lifestyle represents the way of life for all people in the continent of Africa.
One Sudanese participant spoke openly about his experience of feeling discriminated against especially in the first year of arrival in Tasmania.
“In first year it was awful. Any people staring at me, not nice…Lots of difficulties for people to understand that I feel put down. Affected me mentally, I was sick. Very narrow minded young people here but things are changing” (Southern participant).
3.5.1 Experiences at school, college and university Some young people in consultations stated that they thought school would offer them protection from bullying and discrimination, but said that it didn’t. There were reports from several consultations that some non culturally and linguistically diverse school students were ganging up (mostly verbal abuse and some physical abuse) on young people.
In some schools and colleges around the state, young people often get called a lot of negative names by both teachers and students. A participant (southern based)
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commented that she was not called by her name throughout primary school, by students or teachers. The person was called ‘La Bamba’ because of her Latino heritage. And, the young woman stated that “When I was young all I wanted was to be blonde with blue eyes”. Another participant (north western participant) stated that at school she is always called ‘Manila ice-cream’ because teachers and students could not, or chose not, to pronounce her name properly.
Many young people considered talking with teachers an ineffective way to address bullying, as they stated this often made the situation worse because of the way they felt the teachers addressed the situation which led to more fighting and name calling. For some young people they felt they were blamed, or not believed by some teachers, for causing trouble even though they were the ones asking for help. Some young people also stated that when their parent/s complained to the school, that the situation often did improve.
There were some cases of both males and females reporting that in schools, some students who were not from a culturally and linguistically diverse background pretended to be their friends, but when their non culturally and linguistically diverse friends were around they acted very differently towards them: “…my best friend [Anglo heritage] is not really my best friend. He calls me names in front of others” (North West participant).
For more information please refer to the section on Education and Training.
3.5.2 Employment experiences Young people felt discriminated against by employers. Young people often felt that the reason they could not secure work was that employers simply did not want to employ them because of their non-English speaking background. Many young people who had secured employment said that the training element of most of the jobs they secured was unfair. As often this meant they were expected to work like every one else, but without any pay for long periods of time. (Refer to Employment section)
3.5.3 Experiences in the community As outlined in the Criminal Justice Section there were several instances of young people in Launceston and Hobart being physically and verbally abused in public (commonly on the streets). Some young people who attended a Launceston consultation agreed with a participant’s comment that young people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background “…don’t feel safe walking around Launceston by ourselves.” Some young males in one consultation made comments like “People have just hit me for no reason” and “I’ve had people throwing stones at me”.
Incidents of discrimination and bullying have occurred both at schools and colleges, and in the general community. When these incidents were reported to the Police, young people believed the issue was not addressed. One young person claimed that a group of
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people bashed his African brother, and later at the hospital, a police officer claimed that the people responsible were not arrested because”…it would bring a big problem to the government” (participant from Launceston).
Bus drivers’ attitudes were also discussed (school bus, public and private operators). Some young people felt that they were often asked a lot more questions than non young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds about concession cards for example, and that the general attitude by drivers toward them was often rude: “…refused to give me change on bus and told me to be quiet…”, “Bus drivers…don’t even look at us….and rips it [the concession card] out of my hand.” There were some comments about bus drivers not picking up young people from bus stops.
One participant from the University of Tasmania relayed an incident where she was physically and sexually harassed by five ‘Australian looking’ men at a crowded bus stop. She was very upset about the incident, not only about what happened, but also about the fact that no one at the bus stop helped her at the time of the assault.
Some Humanitarian Entrants stated that the nature of being assigned accommodation upon arrival was discriminatory (refer to section on Housing and Homelessness).
3.5.4 Experiences within cultural communities There appeared to be some recognition by consultation participants in Hobart and Launceston, that discrimination was occurring within some multicultural groups, particularly from some members of the African groups. This discrimination was based on cultural and historical reasons related to the effects of, and reasons for war. Examples were provided of negative rumours being generated amongst the African communities (e.g. Ugandans and Sudanese), regarding defamation of people, and tribal factors being blown out of proportion to the Tasmanian community (e.g. people telling service providers). For example, some young people were quite distressed at other Africans telling stories about emerging tribal issues in communities occurring that were not true. Such as that there is a lot of tribal fighting between Dinka and Nuer (two of ten ethnic groups from Southern Sudan).
3.5.5 Young people’s responses to bullying and discrimination Some participants indicated that because of language difficulties and differences, physical and verbal fighting appeared to be the only methods that showed that they could stand up for themselves.
It appears that young people will try to find other young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds for support, and to reduce the incidence of bullying and discrimination. Some university students stated for this reason they spent a lot of their spare time with other international students (regardless of whether they were fee paying students or Humanitarian Entrants).
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Also, some young people relied on attending church as a way of making friends in the community, and getting through any negative thoughts and feelings due to discriminative remarks etc.
Many participants felt that young people often do not feel socially connected in Tasmania because of their experiences with discrimination and bullying, and that this was a direct result of not feeling valued by Tasmanians.
3.5.6 Suggested solutions on bullying and discrimination from young people
Advocate organisations to provide information to young people about their rights as workers, including working conditions and wage levels. Provide anti-discrimination training to young people including strategies to cope with discrimination and racism. Inform young people of the process of reporting bullying at school and in the workplace. Develop a resource for young people informing them of who to go to (both inside schools and in the community) to deal with complaints. Work with young people to improve the process of reporting bullying at school or in the workplace. Develop peer mentoring programs to teach young people how to cope and seek appropriate help in response to discrimination and bullying. Cultural awareness training for the Tasmanian public in general. Everyone should be friends even if they don’t wear cool clothes or have the right coloured skin. Celebrate Refugee Week, Harmony Days, Human Rights Week etc. in places such as schools, to enable young people to speak and educate others about their experiences here in Tasmania, and overseas. Add subject of multiculturalism along with global issues to the school curriculum. Parents to teach their children manners. Provision of self defence classes for young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds including how to cope mentally after being attacked.
3.6 Education and Training
The majority of young people consulted with were attending or had recently attended school, college or university in Tasmania. Most young people indicted that they liked
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school in Tasmania for a variety of reasons including meeting new people, access to sports, and the ability to gain a profession or career as an outcome of participation. Many young people said that their first experience of the Tasmanian education system was scary as it was a new and different system often to that of what they were used to (this includes physical surroundings and relationships with teachers and other students).
For the majority of young people (particularly Humanitarian Entrants), the amount and level of school work was commented on as difficult, even with English as a Second Language (ESL) support. Students considered that their English language skill levels were the biggest barrier to their education and training experience.
Some young people were distressed at attending school immediately upon arrival in Tasmania instead of going to English classes first (such as Adult English Migrant Services with their parents).
Some young people felt that they had been educationally disadvantaged by being placed in a grade according to their age and not their ability. Some of the young people attended English speaking schools before coming to Australia and/or attended classes in refugee camps. A few young people felt as though they were being labeled as dumb because they came from another country, and/or had lower levels of English language skills. One group of participants complained that teachers often told them that the school work that the whole class was doing was too difficult for them. They were given different work which they felt was too easy. Young people commented that by receiving different work from the rest of the class, that this made them feel less part of the class.
Young people who had arrived in Tasmania between the ages of 20-25 years felt additionally disadvantaged. They felt as though they were competing with other younger young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who had more experience, or the ability to gain more experience, in the Tasmanian education and training system.
Some participants, especially in a school setting, found it uncomfortable to be placed continually in a group with other young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, especially when different languages other than English were being spoken. They felt as though at times others in the group were talking about them.
3.6.1 ESL experiences The ESL program (both public and private) and its teachers were highly praised by young people. For all Humanitarian Entrants and exchange students, ESL was the first introduction to school in Tasmania. Most young people who experienced ESL programs reported that ESL teachers were very supportive and relationships were very good, even after student participation in the program had ceased.
Some of the things young people said they liked about the ESL program were:
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Good teachers with the ability to: - speak slowly so it is easier to understand the language - give direction - assist with learning, reading, computing - be friendly - build up confidence by being there to help - teach coping strategies - assist when there are problems - help find way around school - help with discrimination issues including inequality in the class room; and
Content of ESL program especially in areas such as explaining the meaning of words (especially those words that had multiple meanings), and assistance with slang words.
Many young people suggested that the ESL program was not long enough to provide them with enough skills and confidence to manage their educational experience after ESL and that they need more transition support in their progress from school to college, and into post school activities.
The issue of having mixed classes (containing both non and culturally and linguistically diverse students) versus classes specifically for multicultural students were discussed at great length in most consultations and at the Ready Willing and Able Conference workshop on Education. Some young people suggested that multicultural students should be together in one class for all subjects. Other young people said that being part of a class with other Tasmanians was of great benefit and enjoyment. Some young people commented that classes only for multicultural students could not happen as there are not enough students to make this viable for schools. Some other young people thought that it would be better for everyone if all students were in one class and that multicultural students kept their “…eyes and ears shut to the bad things…” other students were saying to them. Other participants agreed with this statement, but suggested young people needed support to deal with discriminatory remarks and actions from other young people.
The majority of young people agreed that teachers’ skills to teach both culturally and linguistically diverse background and Australian born students were the key to addressing the issue of young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds enjoying and participating in any class.
Some students stated that when their ESL participation had ended, they felt forgotten about in general classes. They often referred to their experiences and feelings that non – ESL teachers expected them to cope with school life without any support.
Some young people indicated that they believed ESL teachers were discriminated against by other teachers; ESL teachers were not seen as equal or as good as other teaching staff.
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3.6.2 Mainstream educational experience Young people reported less favourably about teachers who were not part of the ESL program. Although many young people reported that during, and for long periods after ESL support had ceased, other teaching staff not associated with ESL in schools and colleges were not as supportive of their needs.
Examples of negativity towards ESL students and the overall lack of general teaching staff’s cultural awareness and understanding added to young people’s resulting feeling of isolation, within the school and local community. Some examples given by young people included non ESL teachers: Not saying students’ names properly, even after one year of teaching them in a class; Not listening to them in general; Picking on students for long periods of time after they were involved in one negative incident at school; and Acting as though they didn’t want to know about young people’s culture or what was happening to them as student with a culturally and linguistically diverse background.
3.6.3 Experiences with Tasmanian born students When asked about the amount of Tasmanian born friends young people had at school, the majority of participants indicated that whilst they knew other students at school, they were not friends with them.
It appeared that young people did not often form long term friendships with other young people from non culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. They tended to make and stay friends with other young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and preferably members of their own cultural background. These observations are particularly true of young Humanitarian Entrants’ experiences in general.
Young people remarked that discrimination towards them did occur at school/,college and university. For those young people who had attended primary school in Tasmania, they felt that discrimination from other students became worse in high school and college settings. Those young people who were attending, or had attended University, stated that they found University less discriminatory in terms of other students’ behaviour, as they were able to practice and share their culture more openly. For example Multicultural Week was celebrated on campus and Multicultural Societies were accepted as part of university culture.
Examples of discrimination by other students at school were: Being teased about their accent or inability to speak English fluently;
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Some female students were being physically harassed by non culturally and linguistically diverse male students; and Being called names like “Nigger” and being told to “go home and/or back to your own country”.
3.6.4 Involvement in non-curriculum school activities Males saw sport as the main way they included themselves in non-curriculum based activities). Young people suggested that activities such as sport are much easier for young people to participate in, as language is not always a barrier to participation. It appeared that if girls participated in non-curriculum activities, it was more likely to be through volunteer activities (like groups and events).
Income impacted on many families’ and individual’s abilities to enable access to out of school activities such as participating in school soccer club or extra excursion fees. Access to transport – as outlined in the Transport section also is a major barrier.
In several consultations, some young people recognised that participation at school and outside of school sometimes came down to the individual's personality.
“It’s usually the same people doing everything in sports, groups, events etc.. You have to get involved in school things yourself, and then people will know you are interested and ask you to join in” (Ready, Willing and Able Conference participant).
Others commented that often they wanted to participate in activities, but they did not receive the information, or they could not understand the information because of language difficulties.
3.6.5 Career planning experiences Knowledge about who to contact within the schools and colleges to find information and support about career planning, and gaining employment, was mixed. Participants in the Ready, Willing and Able Conference Education Workshop listed a variety of school resources they could access for information about future careers such as: career counselors; participating in the Careers subject in Grade 9; visiting Job Network providers; looking at the employment section of the newspaper; and using the course guide with information on the 20 most popular careers.
In other consultations, some young people stated that they did not know who to access within or outside of schools for this type of assistance.
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3.6.6 University of Tasmania An overwhelming response from university students was they felt Humanitarian Entrants were treated differently to overseas fee paying students in relation to assistance by lecturers and tutors. It was reported that some lecturers have told Humanitarian Entrants that they are locals and that they should not be receiving any additional help or special treatment compared with international fee paying students. “We still struggle with English and everything else” (Launceston participant). There were many comments about lecturers and tutors being rude to students either in class or on a one-to-one basis. For example Asian students in one consultation stated that their tutors “…don’t value our comments…don’t like us using examples from our home country….say get a better accent so we can understand you” (southern participant).
Those students who had been to high school and/or college in Tasmania before going to university, also found the teaching style very difficult to adjust to.
University students also felt discriminated against by their inability to find out about, and secure, scholarships for their studies. Young people indicated that they received great pressure from friends and family members to attend university, as this is seen by them as the way to secure employment in Australia.
Some students did not know about Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS), and did not realize that they would owe a lot of money after they completed university or dropped out during the university semester. Some knew about Centrelink loans to buy text books, but many young people did not want to go further into debt. Mentally and sometimes physically, young people found it hard to stay and perform well at university, because of financial pressures.
Some students participated in the flexible learning centre for African Students at University, but it was considered not viable, as little assistance was provided to them in terms of directt support.
University of Tasmania students commented upon the “…beer and meat culture…” that dominated most social activities at the Sandy Bay Campus. Some could not believe that there was a bar onsite at the university. Many felt that they could not participate in student union activities because this conflicted with their own cultural practices (e.g. no alcohol, lack of halal meat, too much meat involved). One young person who once was employed in the university’s canteen stated that she felt discriminated against because she suggested to label the contents in the bain marie e.g. pork, lamb, non–halal etc.
Some university students said if they did attend university activities with Australian friends, they would try to use several tactics to fit in with the Australian culture, but without compromising their own. For example students substituted apple juice instead of beer (as it looked like beer but did not contain alcohol).
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International students felt that having relationships with Tasmanian born people is vital to secure employment in Tasmania.
3.6.6 Suggested solutions on education and training from young people Upon arrival in Tasmania, young people should be made aware of the various types of education systems in they can access such as TAFE, university, registered training organisations etc.
School staff including ESL program need to: - Speak slower, and carefully and be open to students who may need something explained again. - Have a greater understanding of different cultures, global issues and religions. - Assist more with understanding laws, rules and regulations in Tasmania and be able to direct students to organisations that can give assistance. - Be friendlier and talk with students.
Provide students with learning materials in their own language; also issue a dual language dictionary.
Include multiculturalism (also global issues and awareness of other countries, issues and connections) as a subject for all students at school; including involving students from a culturally and linguistically diverse background to be part of the “teaching team” for this module.
Upon and arrival and up to one to two years after arrival, culturally and linguistically diverse background young people to have only teachers that have attended regular cultural awareness training.
All school staff to accept young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are part of the Tasmanian and student community and that their role is of support.
Develop a process with young people and others that are supporting them in the community (such as family and other services) to address the social, emotional and educational needs of young people.
All teachers including ESL, to attend regular cultural awareness training, including pre-service teachers and support staff in schools (office etc.).
Provide young people with some training in English language and about the Australian culture before going into a school environment.
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Provide more than one ESL teacher within schools, which can also mean students able to continue having extra help with English if they need it, even after the standard one year.
Have Career Planning Officers based at high schools and colleges that assist young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Take into account the wishes of students around education and employment goals and create transition plans around what young people want.
University Of Tasmania: University staff are to: - address the issues of young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds regardless of their fee-paying status - attend regular cultural awareness training - resource more student support staff - provide more time for reading of exam questions before exams commence, and enable some people to have longer times for exams generally. - provide Australian mentors as part of students’ university experience.
3.7 Health and Well being
3.7.1 Experiences The majority of consultation participants stated that they, and their families, accessed the public health system (e.g. bulk-billing doctors). Only a few young Humanitarian Entrants accessed fee-for-service professionals, and that was primarily due to their Sponsors paying for their treatment.
Some mention was given to long waiting times at the Department of Emergency Medicine at public hospitals, and a lack of access to bulk billing doctors and dentists. Young people who had visited a doctor in Tasmania, generally felt that the consultation was too short, and that often miscommunication occurred, due to language and cultural differences. Also some young women stated that they would prefer to see a female doctor but found it difficult to gain access.
Some young people spoke about negative experiences with accessing health and other services by translators who did not keep their conversations confidential. This resulted in their family and community finding information out them and their issues they did not want disclosed.
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One group of young people in Launceston claimed that Humanitarian Entrants did not receive their free health checks upon arrival as did Humanitarian Entrants settling in Hobart.
For many young people the move to Tasmania has often been stressful (to say the least!). Regardless of the reason for coming to Tasmania (i.e. war, exile, by choice etc.), the physical and mental strain of adapting to a new environment and community, with little or no social support, is extremely high for a long period of time. This strain has some affect on the health and well-being of many young people (and their families), and would test their resiliency and coping mechanisms to the highest degree. For some young people, there is another layer of stress imposed as they deal with the physical and psychological changes that adolescence brings as well.
Consultation participants suggested that young people from culturally and linguistically diverse background faced additional mental health pressures when dealing with torture and trauma issues, as the negative labelling associated with having a mental illness, impacted on their ability to cope. In some cases where young people also struggled with their English language skills, they faced extra stress to participate in the community with a mental illness.
The consultations and conference workshops identified the following as statewide health and well-being issues: The need for cross-cultural awareness and training for all service providers’ staff. Peer education was considered the most appropriate method of learning about health issues. There is a lack of access to information to young people and their families about available services for young people. Some young people from multicultural backgrounds do not know about doctor – patient privileges (or confidentiality) in Australia.
Participants stated that they felt a lack of understanding by their parents and other people about Australian culture, beliefs and practices relating to health, in particular mental health issues. Some cultures actively hid or ignored signs of mental illness, as they were ashamed if they or a family member was diagnosed with a mental illness.
Some young people were concerned about the amount of young people taking drugs (young people in general and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds). Binge drinking was raised as an emerging issue in some Hobart consultations.
In the OYA and MCOT consultations some people linked their health and well being to their level of income, and their ability to find paid employment. Their ability to access health professionals quickly (i.e. non-bulk billing services) relied upon them being able to
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pay up front fees. Many felt that they would feel more physically and mentally better if they had more income and access to employment.
This issue of negative bias towards young people was identified in some consultations.
The Ready, Willing and Able Conference workshop on health focussed on stress, depression, anxiety and feelings of isolation and loneliness and bullying. Both male and female participants felt that they were very isolated upon arrival in Tasmania, due to cultural and language differences and this had an impact on their physical health and their emotional well-being.
Some conference participants talked about the effect of divorce often having great impact. They often were shut out by their culturally and linguistically diverse communities, leading to isolation from the communities and their support resources.
Throughout the OYA and MCOT consultations, many young people commented on the huge amount of protein in Australian diets; and those vegetables that they were used to, were not readily available. Also easy access to cheap, fatty and sugary foods was seen as a negative aspect of living in Tasmania, and its resulting negative impact such as obesity. Some schools and colleges were also criticised by young people for not having a variety of foods available instead of “…meat and spuds”, including boarding facilities. More vegetables and a range of food from other countries were considered as necessary. A lack of Muslim food (halal) was signified as a statewide issue.
Some young people felt stressed about the amount of homework given from school. Some students reported getting rashes at exams times and feeling stressed about school in general. Parental pressure for their children to do well at school often causes great pressure and stress on students, including Humanitarian Entrants and fee paying students from other countries. One young person commented that in Africa “…if children turnout successful, it reaps a good reputation for the whole family.” They also thought that there needed to be more recreational/outdoor activities included in school time.
The Multicultural Youth Health “On the Move” Report (2003) provides more information on the health and well being issues for young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Please see Appendix D for a summary of this report.
3.7.2 Suggested solutions on health and well-being from young people
Doctors and other health service providers to use accredited interpreters. Access to more female doctors. Encourage young people to talk with friends and family first if feeling stressed, before going to a doctor.
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Provide information to young people about which services are free including a list of bulk billing doctors. Provide more preventative health care measures and specific counselling services (which are free of charge) aimed at people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background. Lessen the amount of school homework given at school and provide more recreational and outdoor activity including inside of school hours. All young Humanitarian Entrants to receive a free health check upon arrival in Tasmania. Provide a recreation centre with many opportunities for activities and creating connections between young people. Provide a radio program for all the communities living in Tasmania with equal coverage of music and talk back opportunities.
The provision of legal information for young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, particularly in the areas of age of legally consent for sexual intercourse, legal drinking age, contractual matters such as those relating to a mobile phone. University of Tasmania to sell halal food and set up an Asian restaurant. Teachers to discuss incidents of teasing and fighting with the whole class, so other students don’t find out who brought the issue to the attention of school staff. Develop a way of young people keeping in contact with each other to enable effective peer support mechanisms to occur. Assist young people to have increased self esteem and confidence so they can make choices to participate in their own and others’ cultures. Create ways to monitor and assist young people’s mental health issues in schools and other services they attend. Provide more mental health services for young people.
3.8 Housing and Homelessness
Compared to their accommodation in refugee camps/ home countries, young people liked their housing in Tasmania. Positive comments on access to facilities such as washing machines and gardens, illustrated their appreciation of their housing in Tasmania. There was concern expressed at the lack of reasonably priced rental accommodation available.
Family sizes, particularly with Horn of Africa families, had great impact on the way young people felt about their accommodation. Some of the young people who lived in larger families commented that their accommodation was very squashy with up to four
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people sharing bedrooms, people sleeping in lounge rooms, and often sharing one bathroom and toilet. Some young people commented about having a lot of noise close to their homes such as traffic and being able to hear the neighbours through the walls.
Many young people are very confused about the way to access the rental property market, and the role of Housing Tasmania and its process of distributing housing.
For Humanitarian Entrants, accommodation upon arrival is mostly found by assistance from volunteers’ groups, in the private rental market or with Housing Tasmania. Many young people reported staying in either hotels or caravan park cabins for periods up to four weeks whilst waiting for permanent accommodation.
Some families felt caught in inappropriate rental properties (either too small, poor quality or rent too high) for a long time. Families had often signed leases for six to twelve months, and they thought that leases were restrictive if they found a more suitable house in the meantime. For more information please refer to the section on connectedness and relationships.
Some young people commented that their parents’ English language skills impacted on their ability to find a job, and therefore this impacted on the families’ ability to find and secure a better house.
Young people commented on some private landlords refusing their families’ offer to take up their housing. Young people believed that landlords were frightened of the larger numbers of some families and their perceived higher risk of possible destruction of property such as making the carpet dirty.
There were some reports of landlords either taking a long time to repair white goods, leakages etc. or failing to do repairs at all. Some young people stated that they did not have enough money to pay someone to repair things like leaking taps, and that they often didn’t know how to do it themselves, or who to contact if they did have money to pay for repairs themselves.
Many young people complained about the cost of heating in their homes. Young people said that if they had heating (e.g. electric or wood fires) that their families could not afford to use them. This resulted in many families having a debt to their electricity provider, and many residences without any heating.
Two young people reported that they, or their friends, had moved between friends’ houses on a regular basis after family conflict had occurred within their home.
Young people’s responses to what they thought of their neighbours depended on how long they had lived in residences. There was a mixed response about neighbours; some had met them and found them to be nice, and some had not. For further information please refer to the section on connectedness and relationships.
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The high cost of rent was of major concern to many young people including the international students at University of Tasmania. Some people commented that the cost of private rental properties had risen by $100 - $200 a week in most cases during the last twelve months.
University students commented that they were often ‘forced’ into living together as a large group, in small accommodation, to make ends meet. Some commented that they believed landlords gave Australian born students preference over Asian students. Some students also voiced their concern over the proposed increase of university student enrolments by 3000 in 2005. They thought that this will have negative implications on student accommodation in Hobart (including Tasmanian University Union Housing).
3.8.1 Suggested solutions on housing and homelessness from young people
More housing stock to be made available (either private rental plus more low cost accommodation through Housing Tasmania) and preferably larger housing stock (i.e. to cater for families of 11).
Provision of additional government benefit (or paid employment) to buy household goods and for house repairs.
3.9 Criminal Justice System and Safety
It appeared that nearly half of the young people who spoke on this topic stated that they had had no, or little first hand experience, with police or the criminal justice system in Tasmania. Generally young people have a high regard for Police in Tasmania. A lot of comparison was made between Tasmania Police and police in the countries from where they had come from. For example, some young people spoke about not being able to trust the police in Africa
There appears to be confusion by young people about Tasmania’s criminal justice system (specifically how it works, Tasmanian’s laws, and the role of Tasmania Police). Some young people said that they and their families were confused about the law and its ability to protect everyone, as this was often not part of their homeland culture or experience.
When asked how they found out about the laws in Tasmania and the ways they operated, the majority of responses from young people were around obtaining information from school and friends. Upon arrival some young people stated their family was given a rule book on the laws in Tasmania in English. Some mentioned that signs helped, for example skate board no go zone signage around the streets.
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One participant said he had not been told about the laws in Tasmania, and he only found about them when he had to study rights and responsibilities as a part of gaining Citizenship (people have to wait two years before becoming a citizen in Tasmania).
There appears to be a lack of understanding of the legal processes in Tasmania. Some young people made statements that referred to the police as not doing anything about people who commit crime. When further questioned about how they knew this, they stated that they had not heard anything back for the police about results, or said the police stated they could not do anything about the incident/s. There were numerous examples given by young people of incidents that they reported to police, and the police said they could not do anything about it. These incidents ranged from harassment (name calling) in the streets, to burglaries, and physical violence. Some young people thought that this perceived inaction by police encouraged people to bully and discriminate.
Conversely some participants gave examples of police helping young people when they were lost, had been attacked, or drunk.
Young people from consultations in north and south of Tasmania talked about the existence of gangs after school and at night. These gangs tended to be young people and older people in cars (particularly in Launceston), or groups of young people walking around the streets. Some young people reported that they feared walking around the streets alone or even in groups because of these so called gangs. At the Launceston consultations, it was brought up by several African men that they had been verbally harassed by other people, including other young people in cars, whilst they were walking around Launceston after school and at night. The males were very frustrated at the Police’s apparent lack of interest in their requests for help. They could not understand the why the police could not do anything about these situations unless the young person had been physically hit. For further information please refer to the section on Connectedness and Relationships.
Girls appeared not to have experiences with gangs (or at least did not disclose these incidences), but faced other issues at home. For example reports of violence and psychological and verbal abuse at home were more common incidents nominated by females. When asked if anyone in the family, or their close friends had contacted the Police about these incidences, some of the girls stated that they did not know what role the police would have in such matters. Also some anecdotal information was given about other young people who had brought the police into family matters, and how it often made the situation worse for young females after the police had left.
Some young people told of experiences where they often assisted services including police, teachers, and youth workers to connect with their communities. In most cases this resulted in the young people getting into trouble with their parents, and blamed for taking sides (i.e. between their homeland culture and Australian culture). “Now we don’t help as much because it causes a lot of conflict” (Southern participant).
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Some participants identified that Australian culture appeared to be individualistic in nature as opposed to their own cultures of being family/community oriented or communal in nature. Police dealing with young people (even over the age of 18 years of age) without involvement of parents was seen as inappropriate by some of the participants, as they felt that issues should be resolved within the family in a culturally appropriate way, and not by outsiders.
3.9.1 Suggested solutions on criminal justice system and safety from young people
Provision of information on Tasmania laws to be distributed to international students in O Week, at all campuses of the University of Tasmania. Distribution of information on Australian laws and peoples rights and responsibilities to be given to people before settling in Tasmania. Better integration of the offender’s family and community role, as opposed to the formal legal system, in first time offences. Young people to attend workshops run by Tasmania Police on Tasmanian law and their rights and responsibilities. Facilitate meaningful communication between parents and their children about issues that may lead or have led young people into the criminal justice system, by adequate resourcing of programs within schools and the general community. Police need to make non young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds aware (particularly in Launceston) that they should not abuse young people from culturally and linguistically diverse background. Young people from a linguistically and culturally diverse background need to know more about the law in Tasmania and their rights and responsibilities. This could be done by a series of workshops with police and young people. Young people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background need to be encouraged to join the Tasmanian Police Force.
3.10 Income
Young people were concerned about the total amount of income they received, and the amount of spare or left over money for personal expenses (including lack of left over money for sport and leisure activities, meeting with friends, buying clothes to wear outside of school/work etc.).
The majority of young people consulted with received Centrelink payments as their main source of income. Some young people have a combination of Centrelink benefit and casual/part time work. Very few young people indicated that they had employment as their main source of income. There was consistency statewide in terms of young people
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commenting that Centrelink payments were not enough, as the benefit only covered basic items such as rent, food, minor clothing etc.
Generally young people considered their level of income (after paying for basic living expenses such as food, rent etc.) limited their ability to do the things they wanted to do.
Some young people suggested that they, and their families, became passive members of the community by receiving a benefit upon arrival in Tasmania instead of a job. Young people stated that having paid employment not only increased their level of income, but it also provided a means for migrants and Humanitarian Entrants to feel part of their new community, and a sense that they were contributing to the community.
It appeared that some young people’s Centrelink payments went into their parent’s bank accounts as opposed to their own; whilst some young people who were living independently from their parents did receive their benefit directly. Some young people stated that it was unfair that other young people could receive their benefit in their own bank accounts, as opposed to their parent’s. Regardless of this factor, many young people‘s income was primarily used to assist their family to remain in accommodation, and pay for food, clothing and other living expenses. A common observation from the consultations was that some young people perceived that young people from who are not from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds received more money than they did from Centrelink.
Young people were not aware of any information being available from Centrelink in their language or any Centrelink staff being able to speak with them in their own language.
Young people, who had settled in Tasmania without any family members, indicated that after paying for living expenses, that there was little money left for other things. Even though they did house share they expressed the opinion that they would have more money available if they could share other expenses such as larger families did.
When asked about the effect of having little or no money to spend on the things they wanted to, most young people indicated that it prevented them from: participating in sport and leisure options, meeting friends, having girlfriends and boyfriends, and buying things such as computer games etc.
As outlined in the Employment Section, common feedback by young people who said they were employed was that their income was very low or non-existent due to their length of time in training with the employer. Only when these young people had completed the training time, did they receive a pay increase or begin to receive any payment in many instances. Young people thought it was unfair that some employers had indefinite unpaid training periods.
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Many young people stated that they were unable to move out of home until they found employment, as they felt responsible for supplementing the family’s income with their Centrelink benefit.
Very few young people said they received pocket money on a regular basis; whilst others commented that they received a one off sum from their parents to buy their clothes or personal items. Many young people said they did not know of the concept of pocket money before coming to Australia; they felt that it was their duty to their family to help around the home as their way of contributing to the household.
Many African young people reported that due to their larger family sizes e.g. between four up to 15, that this factor also impacted what the family could afford on essential items such as food, let alone have any disposable income. Some African young people reported on the strain on the family’s budget of trying to send money back to family members in Africa as well.
Many University of Tasmania students stated that they were only able to participate at university because other people (such as parents, siblings, home stay hosts) supplemented their income by providing additional money. Students used various budgeting techniques such as house sharing, selling off their second hand books, and taking on casual jobs (such as working in restaurants and newspaper delivery) to supplement their incomes. One student stated that due to the fluctuations in currency at the moment, he was struggling to meet the basic costs of living.
3.10.1 Suggested solutions on income from young people
Leave Tasmania and find paid work in other states/territories. Increase access to more employment opportunities for the whole family. Provide lower skilled jobs to migrants and Humanitarian Entrants whilst they are learning English, to ensure they have an adequate income, and feel part of their community. Centrelink to provide and publicise staff who talk in languages other than English. Provide cross cultural training for employers so young people who are migrants and Humanitarian Entrants have an increased opportunity to compete in the ‘open market’. Centrelink benefits need to be increased, especially for families with children. University of Tasmania to create more employment opportunities for international students by employing them as tutors for other international students. All government and non-government organisations and private business to reimburse young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
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for their time in consultations, and any associated volunteer activities, such as marketing programs to their communities.
3.11 Social Justice
Whilst this topic was one of the least chosen topics to talk about as an individual topic, the issue of social justice has been mentioned many times throughout the report under every heading. When discussing this topic with participants, consultation facilitator/s simply explained it as what people thought was fair or unfair in the community.
Some young people believed that they did not have the same rights as young people not from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
One young person suggested that participating in the community, other than going to school, was very hard as there was little time to do anything else apart from school and home life.
The issue of participating in school at an appropriate level was raised. Many young people disliked being treated as though they had a mental disability just because they were learning English. They often felt they should have the opportunity to attempt the same work as every other student of the same age.
Many international students felt that it was unfair they could not access any Australian Government benefits and/or scholarships because they were not Australian citizens. Some international students felt that marking standards were often biased in some faculties. Several students stated that they had compared assignments with Tasmanian born students, and that Tasmanian students have received higher assessments for the same standard of their failed work. International Students wanted to know how assessments were done, and why it appeared that international students in particular, were at some sort of disadvantage.
Some young people stated that they thought the lack of access to employment, and specifically only access to manual work, was unfair. Participants did not like feeling that they were at a disadvantage because they were born outside of Tasmania.
As stated in the section on Connectedness and Relationships it appeared as though some great Australian myth had been created, particularly in refugee processing camps, which did not match the reality upon arrival in Australia and Tasmania. During the consultations, many humanitarian entrant participants reported that many families come to Australia thinking they will receive cars, homes and employment quickly. Some participants said that their families were told in the camps about how good it would be in Australia, and of all the things they would receive upon arrival.
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Often many families had assets and sources of income (such as homes, cars and employment) before war or natural disasters had forced them from their countries. Young people’s families seemed to think that this level of wealth would be recreated immediately upon arriving in Australia.
Some young people spoke about their perceived inability to reunite their families left behind in other countries due to financial reasons. Some young people knew their relatives were still alive, particularly fathers, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles etc. It appeared to be of great anguish and anger for some young people to know that there they did not have the financial means here in Tasmania to be able to afford to reunite their family members in their new country.
3.11.1 Suggested solutions on social justice from young people Create a Turkish Club that is similar to other multicultural clubs (e.g. Greek, Italian clubs). All people to be treated the same and have respect for different cultures. All staff within the Department of Education to undertake regular cultural awareness training. There needs to be more discussion within communities, talking things through, creating better opportunities for instance, for girls. More cross cultural events to involve the broader community for better understandings.
3.12 Rural isolation
Due to the small amount of young people who chose to comment on this issue, it is hard to come to any major conclusions. For those few young people who did comment, their issues were around the lack of transport from their home to school, work and recreation and entertainment opportunities5.
3.12.1 Suggested solutions on rural isolation from young people There were no specific suggestions for this topic.
5 The majority of Humanitarian Entrants are settled in major towns and cities in Tasmania. State Of Our Youth page 56 Consultation Report for Government 2004
Conclusion
The MCOT Youth Conference’s theme of Ready, Willing and Able adequately sums up the attitudes young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Tasmania.
Whether the young people who took part in the consultations had lived in Tasmania all their lives, or were in Tasmania for a short time as international exchange students, or were newly arrived from war-torn countries with little else than hope for a new and happier future, their attitudes refected their readiness, willingness and ability to participate.
Tasmanians should feel privileged to have young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds as a part of their community, giving a richer fuller expression of how locally we are a part of a global community.
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References Department of Education 2000, Learning Together, Department of Education, Hobart.
Department of Health and Human Services, Multicultural Council of Tasmania & Multicultural Youth Group 2003, Multicultural Youth Health Issues ‘On the Move’, Report on the Multicultural Youth Health Workshops, Department of Health and Human Services, Multicultural Council of Tasmania & Multicultural Youth Group, Hobart.
Department of Health and Human Services & Office of Youth Affairs 2001, Young Tasmanians: Attitudes, Aspirations, Beliefs and Directions, Discussion Paper, Department of Health and Human Services & Department of Education, Hobart.
Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs 2004a, Settlement Database Report Number PRRPHA01, Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, Hobart.
Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs 2004b, Tasmania Settlement Update, Issue 1, Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, Hobart.
Department of Immigration and Multiculitral and Indigenous Affairs 2004c, DIMIA, Canberra, viewed 5 November 2004,
Fraser C & D 2003, Young People in Tasmania – A Statistical and Demographic profile of Issues and Service provision for Young People, Office of Youth Affairs, Tasmania.
Multicultural Tasmania 2001, Tasmanian Multicultural Policy, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Hobart.
Office of Youth Affairs 2002, The State Of Our Youth. Department of Education, Hobart.
Office of Youth Affairs 2002, Your Say Youth Survey. Department of Education, Hobart .
Tasmania Together Progress Board 2004, Tasmania Together, ISBN 0-9579447-0-5, Hobart.
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Appendix A
The demographics of young people in Tasmania (Fraser C&D, 2003)
In 2001, young people aged 12 to 25 years made up 18% of the Tasmanian population, and just over 50% of that age group were males. 51% of 12 to 25 year olds were living in the Southern Region of the state; 28% in the Northern Region; and 21% in the North-West Region. The numbers of young people have declined throughout the state, but by the most on the West Coast, and in the North-West Region. Between 1996 and 2001, the number of young people in the North-West Region declined by 2,416 (11.8%). The West Coast statistical sub-division experienced the greatest loss of young people in the State with a decline in numbers of 45% between 1991 and 2001. The Northern Region of the state had a drop of 2,179 (8.3%) in the number of young people between 1996 and 2001, compared with a decline of 11.8% between 1991 and 2001. Between 1991 and 2001, Greater Launceston experienced a decline of 12%. Of the three regions, the Southern Region experienced the lowest decline in the number of young people since 1996, with a loss of 2,006, or 4.4%, which was just under the rate of loss of 4.6% from the region between 1991 and 2001. Over the twenty year period from 1981 to 2001, only one statistical sub-division in the state experienced any increase in the number of young people; that was Greater Launceston, and the increase was a very slight 0.3%. Culturally diverse young people
The proportion of culturally diverse young people in the community as a proportion of all 12 to 25 year olds fell from 2.5% to 2.2% between 1996 and 2001. No culturally diverse young people under the age of 20 were parents at the time of the 2001 Census, compare with 3.6% of the overall youth population. Nearly twice as many culturally diverse young people (8.5%) have a university degree at bachelor level or higher when compared with young people in Tasmania overall (4.6%). 22.6% of culturally diverse young men, and 20.7% of young women were members of group households; this is significantly higher than 7% of young men and 6.8% of young women in the total population of young people in Tasmania. Similarly, 10.9% of culturally diverse young men, and 10.5% of young women, were living with families other than their own, in comparison with 4.9% and 4.2% of young people in Tasmania overall.
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APPENDIX B Location of participants (by Tasmanian residence)
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APPENDIX C Map of participant’s country of birth
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Appendix D A summary of the Multicultural Youth Health Issues ‘On the Move’ Report (DHHS & MCOT 2003).
The objectives of the workshops were to provide an opportunity for young people from multicultural backgrounds to:
Develop the skills needed to initiate health promotion in their communities or take action on other matters that they identified as important. Identify health and wellbeing issue of importance to them and suggest solutions to be worked on in partnership with Tasmanian services.
The report identified three statewide issues for consideration:
The need for cross-cultural awareness and training for all service providers’ staff. Peer education was considered the most appropriate method of learning about health issues. There is a lack of access to information to young people and their families about available services for young people.
The report outlined 11 key issues as follows:
Access to information and services
“It was pointed out that before young people could participate fully in Australian society, services and organisations also needed to provide information and support to families” (DHHS & MCOT 2003, p. 9).
The groups discussed difficulties with the English language that meant young people found it difficult to access the information, and understand how the health systems works, and learn local customs and social norms. Because of these factors, young people were less likely to continue accessing health services and/or have a negative outcome.
“Concerns were also expressed about the lack of information on services generally, location of some services, and provision of conflicting information on what was available’ (DHHS & MCOT 2003, p. 9).
Sexual health
Participants agreed that there were significant differences in Australian attitudes and beliefs about sexual behaviour, marriage and relationships compared to their own
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cultures. The liberal nature of these attitudes and practices in Australia often conflicted with the young people’s parents’, community and peers’ beliefs. It was concluded that this could lead to a possible limitation of ‘…access to appropriate information and support in terms of contraception and sexually transmitted diseases’ (DHHS & MCOT 2003, p. 9).
The workshops identified that there were marked differences in approach to gender and the role often and women; the perceived limited access by young people to services was of particular concern. “Cultural differences and issues like sexual health needed to be discussed with older people too if the needs of young people are to be addressed” (DHHS & MCOT 2003, p. 9).
Gaining information from their parents about sexual matters was often hard for participants due to communication barriers and/or parent’s own lack of knowledge (due in part to some cultures having sexual matters as a taboo subject or different sexual practices).
Confidentiality
Some young people from multicultural backgrounds do not know about ‘doctor – patient’ privileges (or confidentiality) in Australia. Some cultures do not have this factor in medical and other service provision and therefore believed that information would be given to their parents. As the authors state”Again this limits their access to appropriate information and support, particularly in relation to sexual health services” (DHHS & MCOT 2003, p. 9).
Legal issues
Knowledge and information about the law in Australia was lacking with participants. Issues included attitudes and beliefs about violence in the home, sexual abuse (particularly or women and children), age of consent for sexual intercourse, legal drinking age and contractual matters such as mobile phone contracts. “Again there was tension between the knowledge of young people about their rights in Australia and the beliefs of their families and friends.” (MCOT & DHHS 2003, p. 10).
Becoming independent
Competing cultures and conflict with parents and families were highlighted by participants as affecting their transition to independence.
“It was felt that young people from multicultural backgrounds often had more in common with other young people than their parents with respect to issues such as dating, sexuality, leaving home and eduction. In general, they want more freedom and independence so that they can choose their own friends, socialise and make decisions” (MCOT & DHHS 2003, p.10).
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For families who were reliant on their children to interact and communicate on their behalf in the community, these expressions of independence often lead to family conflict; and participants acknowledged that some young people “…misused the freedom that is available in Australia” (MCOT & DHHS 2003, p.10).
Counselling and support services
Depression and trauma as a result of violence and loss of family, country and culture was identified by participants. The need for specific counselling and support services for young people are required to assist with these issues, as well as address the clash of cultures and provide information on the range of services that are available for young people.
Cultural awareness
“Participants at the workshops identified the need for services to be culturally appropriate and service providers to be sensitive to the needs of the individual. This includes the recognition and knowledge of their religion, culture, tradition and beliefs” (MCOT & DHHS 2003, p.10).
Alcohol and other drug abuse
“There was widespread concern about the involvement of young people in alcohol and drugs and the physical and mental damage that is caused, as well as the social a community effects. There was also concern that young people from multicultural backgrounds used alcohol and [other] drugs as a coping mechanism” (MCOT & DHHS 2003, p.10).
Income support
Participants’ lack of income made it difficult to access health services and other services including entertainment.
Beliefs about multicultural youth
Negative bias of the media towards migrant and multicultural issues was identified. Participants felt that media and the community in general “…need to acknowledge and accept cultural differences” (MCOT & DHHS 2003, p.11).
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