Multicultural groups welcome Federal Government’s plan to begin collecting ethnicity data

·

The Federal Government has announced it will start collecting ethnicity data as part of measuring diversity in Australia, ABC News has reported.

Speaking at a conference organised by the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA), Andrew Giles MP said Australia “does not effectively measure our diversity.”

Currently, Australian government agencies use country of birth and language spoken at home as the main diversity indicators, compared to countries such as New Zealand and the US which collect data on ethnicity and race.

Mr Giles, who is the new Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, said this was a “fundamental barrier to understanding the issues that face multicultural Australians.”

“The pandemic showed us some pretty hard truths about our society,” Mr Giles added.

“The truth that someone born in the Middle East was 10 times as likely to have died during the pandemic, than someone born in Australia, is unacceptable.

“I don’t want that to happen again.”

In response, Mr Giles said a culturally and linguistically diverse data collection working group with representatives from peak multicultural bodies, along with data collection and demography experts, would be established to develop national standards for diversity data collection.

The Chief Executive of FECCA, Mohammad al-Khafaji, has welcomed this announcement and said he was pleased the new government recognised ethnicity data collection as a priority.

“We’ve been calling for this for the past few years, and we’re glad that that call has been answered,” Mr al-Khafaji said.

Australia’s Racial Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan, also welcomed Mr Giles’ announcement, but said the Australian Human Rights Commission wanted to see greater data collection on race issues and racism.

He said Australia was still “lagging far behind” other countries in terms of multicultural policies and programs.

“Our multicultural future needs to be enhanced, and needs to be strengthened, and reinforced,” Mr Tan said.

Advertisement

Share:

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH TGH

By subscribing you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Advertisement

Latest News

Capturing legacies: The proika exhibition’s emotional tribute to Greek migrants

On Wednesday, November 20, the proika exhibition opened to a crowd of eager guests at the Thematikos x MBO Tailors creative space.

Golden Era Gala: A reunion with a cause to combat brain and rare cancers

White Pearl Foundation and Cquence Foundation have announced the Golden Era Gala to be held at the Hyatt Regency Sydney on November 30.

Melbourne scientist Steven Petratos offers hope to thousands with multiple sclerosis

The image of Steven Petratos’ grandfather, confined to a chair with trembling hands, left an indelible mark on his childhood.

Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett to launch book on Nick Thyssen’s legacy

Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett, supporter of Greece and its diaspora, will launch the biography of Nick Thyssen (Nikos Theodosiadis).

Ithacans in Melbourne enjoy sell-out film screening to support archaeological preservation

On Sunday, at Palace Como in Melbourne, a sell-out crowd of 135 Ithacans and friends gathered to see the historical epic, The Return.

You May Also Like

Thousands of migrants searching for ways around shut Greek border

Thousands of migrants searched for ways to cross Greece’s land border on Tuesday, days after Turkey declared its borders with Europe open

The Battle of Crete told through the brushstrokes of New Zealand’s war painter, Peter McIntyre

The Greek Herald spoke with the Peter McIntyre’s daughter, Sara McIntyre, about what impact the Battle of Crete had on her father.

Turkey plans to send streams of coronavirus-infected migrants into Greece, officials say

Intelligence reports show Turkish authorities moving refugees from remote inland areas to Turkey’s western shores, where they can smuggle them into Greece.