Productivity Commission – Submission

mcc_admin
June 12, 2024

The Multicultural Communities Council (MCC) is calling on the Government through Treasury to appoint a Commissioner to the Government’s Productivity Commission with a skill set built on the benefit multiculturalism brings to the Australia economy.

Multiculturalism in Australia is an asset to be enhanced, developed and capitalised on, supporting our economic success:
• increase in productivity both nationally and to individual businesses
• added value to international trade
• improved supply of goods and services
• increased tourism
• added value to Australia’s international standing
• added value to Australia’s strategic security
• quality, sustainability and resilience of the Australian economy
all flow from directly our multicultural society.
However without fully engaging with this multicultural asset, our productivity growth (measured in inflation adjusted output per hour) will continue to slow as it has for the past 40 years.

Productivity Commission:
As the cultural makeup of Australia becomes increasingly diverse, acquiring the capabilities, skills and experience to operate effectively in multicultural environments is crucial in improving educational, economic, cultural and social outcomes.

Within the Productivity Commission, some Commissioners are required to have particular skills and experience:
(a) in applying the principles of ecologically sustainable development and environmental conservation
(b) in dealing with the social effects of economic adjustment and social welfare service delivery
(c) acquired in working in Australian industry
(d) dealing with policies and programs that have an impact on Indigenous persons and dealing with one or more communities of Indigenous persons.

A Commissioner should also be appointed with specific skills and experience in cultivating the national asset value of multiculturalism.
It is here that evidenced based researchers in the field can be brought together to bring collaborative expertise to the Government, civil society and industry.

The Productivity Commission should be required to report on the national support framework for enhancing the economic and social return from our multicultural asset in industry, service delivery and international trade.

Employment:
National productivity is severely impacted by lack of attention by Government on employers not complying to Australian laws and basic human rights resulting in:
a. Low pay, unpaid overtime, illegal pay deductions or expense charges not previously stated;
An ABC investigation of foreign language newspapers by journalist Isobel Roe found that of 3,000 job advertisements, around 90 percent were advertising on the basis of below minimum wages. This further highlights the endemic nature of the exploitation problem.  
b. Unsafe working practices, inadequate training and support;
We do know of the recent spate of food delivery cyclists and motorcyclists who have been killed on the roads.  Coverage of deaths on farms and building sites does not appear to be an indicator the Commonwealth tracks.  
Farmers and labour hire companies have become accustomed to hiring temporary entrants and asylum seekers who may be more ‘compliant’.  Without a substantial strengthening of the role of unions and settlement service organisations in this space, exploitation of multicultural communities will likely continue to rise.  
c. Sexual harassment
d. Racism. As well as direct vilification, there is also scapegoating, racial profiling, absence of cultural competence. The lack of a genuine welcome, inclusivity and comfort due to poor cultural awareness and cultural competency leads to skilled migrants either not staying or working for themselves in unskilled or gig economy roles.

One in six migrants are paid less than the national minimum wage according to the Grattan Institute May 2023 report which says governments have failed to stop exploitation of migrant workers with sexual harassment, bullying, and unsafe working conditions also rife.

Cultural Awareness and Cultural Competency:
People want to know how they can bring cultural competence into their worlds, into their work.

The capacity of Australia’s skilled migrant intake is seriously undermined by the lack of cultural awareness and cultural competency within employers and the community. Too many highly skilled members of multicultural communities withdraw form their skilled career employment area and work for themselves in unskilled roles. While there are cases of blatant vilification within the workforce, far more extensive is the lack of welcome, inclusivity and comfort due to poor cultural awareness and cultural competency.

Mechanisms need to be established that ensure:
(a) the teaching of cultural awareness is compulsory throughout all years of Primary School, including exposure to cultural diversity; and
(b) the implementation accredited cultural competence training within the workforce, to the extent that cultural competency is given similar employer status to that now granted to Occupational Health and Safety.

National Recognition of Multicultural Communities’ Contribution:
This is required to both reduce racism and to enhance national economic productivity.
Programs that support multicultural communities should be complimented by awareness throughout the broader Australian society of the benefits of multiculturalism to the nation.
Creating a greater and wide-spread awareness of these positive benefits for both the nation and for the quality of life of individuals throughout the broader Australian society, the positive engagement of the nation with multiculturalism, is essential in order to make Australia both a harmonious and highly productive nation.

It is important to ensure there is not a disengagement between multicultural communities themselves and with main stream society. Empower people, not separate or divide.

This approach can be enhanced by:
– programs encouraging the mainstream to learn and practise using a second language
– cultural activities focused on the mainstream to lessen misunderstanding and encourage cohesion.
– heritage projects that recognise national or international links of multicultural communities with Australia need support and funding. This should be proactively pursued by the Government, not a reaction to the strongest lobbying. For example, the Sikh community have found it incredibly difficult to get the Australian War Memorial to host Sikh heritage (relating to Sikh soldiers who fought with ANZACS as well as in broader battles across the world and in history).

Teaching of Languages and Culture in Schools:
In 2008 the Commonwealth Government commendably allocated $62.4M over four years to help school students to become familiar with the languages and culture of China, Indonesia, Japan and Korea. In 2010 the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations produced a Report on the state of these four languages in schools. However the policies of State Governments have often circumvented these commitments. For example only in 2022 did the NSW Department of Education remove the many decades old discrimination specifically targeted against these four languages at the Higher School Certificate level. This causes many students not to study the language of their ethnic background at all – something that is detrimental for retaining their culture and intergenerational and transnational ties but also detrimental for our nation’s economic and cultural development.

In addition, the MCC is aware (particularly from interactions during the last National Census) that many young people avoid studying their families first language as doing so is perceived as diminishing their attempts at achieving an ‘Australian identity’.

A broad and proactive national implementation program is needed with a great range of languages to strengthen the protection and resilience of vulnerable multicultural communities and to also enhance all multicultural communities’ contribution to our international trade and tourism.

Second Language Proficiency:
There should also be community encouragement and support for adult study of a second language. It is vital for our productivity, international competitiveness in trade, education and tourism, and for our international reputation and security that the teaching of a second language should be enthusiastically facilitated at all stages of life.

Academic Research:
Improving productivity requires a systemic approach to collect data on migrant communities to inform evidence-based policy and service planning and implementation. This should include formal research links with academic institutions and traditional indigenous cultural approaches to embracing diversity. A significant lack of knowledge here is the process of immigrants’ integration from a life course perspective, that is, during the educational stage, commercial stage and later stages of life, when they need to interact with and navigate through organisational and support systems.

The Productivity Commission with the inclusion of a Commissioner specifically with skills and experience built on the benefit multiculturalism brings to the Australia economy is an essential for accelerating Australia’s productive capacity.

We look forward to your response and would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues further with you.

Yours sincerely

Mark Franklin
President

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