I’m going to make a confession. I would love it if multiculturalism worked. I would love it if we could all just get along. Nothing would be better. I could enrobe myself in the latest ethnic wear and celebrate diversity. The world would be good.

Sure, there is the little thing about losing the last remnants of our rich and ancient culture and traditions, but hey, that’s old school these days. Besides, who needs traditional culture when we can have a multiculture? Multiculturalism is hip; who wants a culture that’s old and daggy? Multiculturalism is, like, way cool. All the young kids love it, and like, you know, they’re the future.

The only problem is that no matter how hard I try, I can’t get multiculturalism to work. I try to be hip, I try to be cool, and then another study shows that multiculturalism is having a detrimental affect upon Australian society. It’s like, take a chill-pill reality; I prefer the delusions of multiculturalism. But it won’t go away.

An article describing a study conducted by Ernest Healy, senior research fellow at the Centre for Population and Urban Research at Monash University, 'Fewer volunteers in migrant suburbs' (http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/fewer-volunteers-in-migrant-suburbs/2008/02/10/1202578600916.html), shows that “When you create societies from mixed backgrounds it may not lead to overt violence … but to something scarier, a withdrawal from the civic sphere”. It goes on to say that “ethnic diversity can hasten a withdrawal from ‘collective life’.”

The article concludes by saying that “the assumption multiculturalism would automatically lead to strong cohesive communities without government assistance may have been naive.”

So there you have it, multiculturalism amongst other things leads to a withdrawal from community life.

Way to go policy makers, thanks for implementing policies over successive governments that lead to the destruction of community life and withdrawal from the civic sphere. Yeah, that’s real cool. I didn’t like my country anyway. And who needs community? I’m on facebook. You can screw your community, I’ve got facebook and multiculturalism. The destruction of community is like, so lame, get over it. Take that reality.

NUNAWADING COMMUNITY CENTRE.

Unless you were privy to the background of this place, you would not know that initially, it was branded for one ethnic group.

That group used corrupt methods of manipulating council to fund the centre, and then promptly named it "The (ETHNIC NAME)centre of Nunawading"...

The council had to virtually threaten to cut off all means of life to them until they re-branded it 'Community' centre.

As I've long said .. multi culturalism simply facilitates ethnic minorities trying to advance their own cultural agenda at the expense of the host culture.

It's a fact of life, with ample evidence. Why even bother arguing against this?

Hence..the phrase "MultiCultural" is an insult.. it is offensive and is problematic in terms of nation bulding.
"Citizenship" is all we need, and any ethnic group should only be rewarded for things done which dismantle all cultural barriers between them and the mainstream society.

1/-Reward Unity
2/-Discourage Diversity. (this does not have to be active.. it is the obvious outcome of the first point.)

Polycarp,
It is this type of unmitigated tripe that gets you into trouble and reduces your credibility.
If I were to take you at implication value Every ethnic group is crooked and every good ole white Aussie group is on the up and up.
Give us a break old son You're smarter than that borderline racist comment,even if THAT centre was started by dubious means.

Surely you must realize that(you being such a vocal advocate for your church) comments like that reflect badly on them and what they stand for.

According to South Australian Department of Education & Children's Services: Australian multiculturalism accepts and respects the right of all Australians to express and share their individual cultural heritage within an overriding commitment to Australia and the basic structures and values of Australian democracy.
The study you refereed show that there are fewer volunteers in migrant suburbs, NOT that multiculturalism is bad for Australia.
Migrants from non English speaking countries have to solve many and basic problems and they are exhausted from the hard work, (they have the worst, harder, less healthy, low paid works and they have to work overtime or two jobs to cover their basic needs) and they do not have free time for volunteering or they do not know many things about the volunteering in Australia. In most countries Australian's volunteering goals have covered from the Union movements which are many times stronger than in Anglo Saxon world or from the governments.

Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaid

This thread is a reminder of the
'bad old days.' When the term
'New Australian' refered to any
migrant to Australia.

And, as my father used to ask,
"How long does a migrant have to live
here, to be called simply an Australian?"

Here's an excerpt from The Age, 24/1/1957,
letter to the Editor:

"I for one feel no apology is owing...
for...'racial prejudice' against foreign
immigration. It is nothing to be ashamed of
to prefer one's own kind...I want to see
Australia great, to be a united and strong
country - a British country with one
people...I make no apology for...not wishing
to see a mongrel, motley Australia. I
believe in a British Australia."

Here's another excerpt:

He said,"Fellow Australians, both old and new.
I'm glad to see yus all here for this important
ceremony. In welcomin' yus on behalf of Council
though, I would stress one point, important to all
of yus who are wanting to be nationalized.

I would urge yus all to learn to speak English properly.
I know that, in my own particular line, which is plumbin,'
I often have the greatest difficulty in understandin'
what some of yus are talking about ...

Now, this is only one instance of how important it is
for reffos...er... citizens...to learn to speak English
properly; I mean ter say, if yus can say 'comment tallez vous'
in your own tongue, isn't it just as easy to say, 'How are yus
goin,' in English?

So listen to the old Aussies around yer, and in next to
no time yus'll be spoutin' English left, right and centre just
like the rest of us."

Is Australai's 'down under' label today, still a
label for backwardness?

Do Australians today still
have an intolerance towards "new Australians?"

Restaurants today serve food of many nations. As
Australians travel overseas, they become aware of the
different ways of life in other parts of the world,
But have they learned to be more sympathetic to the
problems of the migrants here?

Let's wait and see and judge from the responses
this thread produces...

If you've ever had the displeasure of visiting 'TheRealists' website, you'll know it is a thinly-veiled race hate site. The initial post is just a copy of their latest blog entry. With articles like "Appeals won’t stop gang crime" (refering the black gangs), you get the picture pretty quickly: feeding on fear, ignoring the real statistics, etc.

The lead in "I’m going to make a confession. I would love it if multiculturalism worked." is laughable.