Presenter Rania Yallop: The Government says it’s taking a new approach to multicultural affairs this term, moving the ministry into cabinet and establishing a new Office for Multicultural Affairs. It follows concerns about how multicultural issues have been treated by the government, with communities feeling like they’re being monitored rather than assisted. After becoming Australia’s first female Muslim cabinet minister last month, Anne Aly spoke to SBS News about her new role in the Multicultural, Small Business and International Development portfolios.
Dr Anne Aly: So the Office for Multicultural Affairs is a recent announcement, just announced today, actually, by the Albanese Labor government. And it’s going to be an office within the Department of Home Affairs that is specifically focused on the multicultural interests for Australia.
It’s actually a really important move by this Government that demonstrates the important value that we give to multiculturalism in Australia. It’s the first time, actually, that a government has had a standalone Multicultural Affairs portfolio within the cabinet, and I’m incredibly honoured to be taking on that role.
Carving out the multicultural portfolio within the Department of Home Affairs also answers some of the concerns that we heard from multicultural communities across Australia, and that is that they were concerned about the securitisation of multicultural interests and multicultural affairs and multicultural communities. So this gives them a kind of standalone function within the Department of Home Affairs. And, as I said, I’m incredibly honoured and incredibly excited about how this elevates multicultural affairs within our caucus, within the government and for Australia.
Rania Yallop: On that review, there were concerns about the Department of Home Affairs saying it was more about surveillance of communities, and that was before the AFP and ASIO were part of that department. How are you going to deal with those issues, those perceptions and feelings within multicultural communities whilst working within that broader Home Affairs department?
Dr Anne Aly: Well, we’ve heard those concerns from multicultural communities. And I must say also, Rania, that I heard those concerns before I was a member of parliament. As a professor and a researcher it’s something that I’ve written about myself and expressed my own concerns about that securitisation of multicultural communities and securitisation of multicultural affairs. That’s why we’ve established this office – to carve out multicultural affairs and to giving it a spotlight within the department and within the caucus and within the government more generally as well.
I think this is a really exciting time for multicultural affairs within Australia. It’s an opportunity to lift multicultural affairs as a profile, to move it beyond the celebration of diversity to actually being about valuing diversity.
Rania Yallop: One of the review recommendations was that there be a standalone department and that would encompass – the ministry would encompass citizenship and immigration as well. Why hasn’t that full recommendation been met?
Dr Anne Aly: Well, this is in response to some of those recommendations. To be quite honest with you, for too long multiculturalism has been about citizenship and immigration. Carving it out from citizenship and immigration, whilst recognising that there are some crossovers there gives Multicultural Affairs portfolio a standalone remit. Having a standalone portfolio in the Cabinet gives it its own remit, but also lifts multiculturalism.
I want to make multiculturalism about all Australians. I want to make all Australians proud of our multicultural character, our multicultural nature. I want it to be more than about celebrating diversity. I want it to be about valuing diversity in all its forms. And this is the opportunity to do that.
Rania Yallop: The last term of parliament we heard a lot about social cohesion and within the Department of Home Affairs. Programs focusing around social cohesion have made up a lot of that multicultural policy area. How do you feel about the term 'social cohesion', and do you think there’s been too much of a focus on it?
Dr Anne Aly: Okay, so I’m going to make two points about social cohesion, and the first one is that social cohesion, I believe, is a worthwhile pursuit in its own right, and we should pursue social cohesion and we should be vigilant about social cohesion.
The second point I’ll make is that multiculturalism isn’t solely about social cohesion. And multicultural communities aren’t solely responsible for social cohesion. Social cohesion is about everybody. So I think that having multicultural affairs as a separate portfolio, looking at the crossovers with social cohesion – yes, it is a part of multiculturalism, it is a part of our multicultural character that we need to be vigilant about social cohesion – but making multicultural communities solely and wholly responsible for social cohesion I think has added to that perception of multicultural communities being over securitised, being responsible for things like social cohesion.
In terms of social cohesion itself, the way that I define social cohesion is that it has three components to it. Social cohesion is about the trust that we have with each other, between each other, between individuals, but also the trust that individuals have in our institutions. And it’s about the capacity and the ability of ensuring that every individual, every citizen, is able to fully participate in the social, political and economic life of Australia.
That is how I view social cohesion. And that is why I will push for social cohesion programs to be part of that kind of – that framework of ensuring that everybody is able to participate.
Rania Yallop: Just on a slightly different issue, you’ve got new colleague in Western Australia with Darinda Cox joining the Labor Party. She enters with a series of allegations of bullying and harassment from former Greens staffers. Is that a culture you really want to see imported into the Labor Party?
Dr Anne Aly: Well, first of all, let me say I welcome Senator Cox into the Labor fold. I believe that she will make a great contribution. She is joining the most diverse parliament Australia has ever had, the most diverse Government Australia has ever had. She has given her own reasons for coming into Labor, stating that her values align with Labor values. And so I welcome her with open arms to the Labor caucus.
On the matters that you raise, the Prime Minister said yesterday that we have done our due diligence, we have looked into that and we believe that those matters have been dealt with.
Rania Yallop: On a different portfolio of yours, former cabinet minister Ed Husic has called on the government to impose sanctions on the Netanyahu government over its policies in Gaza. Since then there’s been limited humanitarian assistance in Gaza and people are getting killed when trying to access aid. What would it take for Australia to take that action and either threaten or impose sanctions?
Dr Anne Aly: Well, you know, this government has over the last three years made significant progress on ensuring that the people in Gaza and the people in Palestine can live securely. We have voted with the United Nations on ceasefires. We have voted with the United Nations on Palestinian self-determination. We have repeatedly called on the Israeli government to allow the unimpeded access and distribution of aid.
Right now the critical issue for those in Gaza is access to aid, to food and to medical assistance. And we will continue to push and to raise our voice – a significant voice – with like-minded countries to ensure that Israel abides by humanitarian international law and allows access to aid, to critical supplies – medical and food supplies – into Gaza. And we will continue to use our voice to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Rania Yallop: if Israel isn’t allowing access to aid and complying with international humanitarian law, do you think sanctions would be appropriate?
Dr Anne Aly: Look, I think that that’s something that we would look at in conjunction with other like-minded countries. Right now, as I said, the most important issue is for us to use our voice and to use our voice in conjunction with other countries to push for unimpeded access for humanitarian aid, to push for access to medical and food supplies into Gaza. And we are doing that.
Rania Yallop: So just on that, you said that Labor and the Australian government has been using its voice around these issues, and that seems to have, I guess, stepped up since the end of they election. In retrospect, do you think that the dismissal of former WA senator Fatima Payman was mishandled, especially given recent commentary around the crisis?
Dr Anne Aly: Look, I think, you know, Senator Payman chose her pathway. She had several options, and she chose her pathway. And I wish her all the best of luck in choosing that pathway. There are different ways to make change. From my perspective I think the best way to make change is to work from the inside. And that’s what I will continue to do – to work with my like-minded colleagues in the Labor Party, in the Labor caucus. And there are many of us in the Labor caucus taking on a collective voice to push for the things that we have pushed for, the things that we have achieved as a government in respect to Gaza and Palestine.
Rania Yallop: Thank you so much.
Dr Anne Aly: Thanks, Rania.