Australia’s story of multiculturalism begins with the rich and enduring cultures of First Nations peoples: Minister Anne Aly

The Hon Anne Aly MP is Minister for Multicultural Affairs. In November last year at the Alfred Deakin Institute, the Minister gave an important speech, 'Reimagining multiculturalism in Australia'.‍

Defending Country recommends the speech in its entirety. It is thoughtful, multi-layered, and provocative. It was especially notable for Defending Country, however, because the Minister spoke not just about 'those who've come across the seas' but those who were here already, Australia's First Nations people.

There's a lot more in the speech, too, which should serve as a caution to those, in politics and elsewhere, who too readily boast about our multicultural nation. Here are some extracts:

Australia’s story of multiculturalism begins with the rich and enduring cultures of First Nations peoples, our first cultures. More than 65,000 years Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have practiced deep traditions of language, law, kinship and connection to country. These are the first expressions of belonging on this continent. These are the foundations of belonging, respect and diversity upon which modern Australia stands, and they remind us – they remind us – that diversity is not a new phenomenon in Australia – it is, indeed, ancient ...

Australia’s colonial history is peppered with racism, sometimes violent, sometimes overt, but fairly consistently institutionalised. During World War II when the United States sent their troops to bolster Australia’s efforts, the commonwealth government quickly passed a law segregating the African-American troops and prohibiting any fraternising between them and white Australian women.

Now, we may gasp in horror at the thought of anything like that happening today, but it was only in 2016 when I was first elected to parliament that we were having a debate about section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act and whether or not people had the right to offend or humiliate their fellow Australians on the basis of race. And it was not long before that, in fact, in 2015 that the federal parliament was actually considering a proposal to separate women who wear the niqab or the burqa from the public viewing gallery.

These are just some examples of what the late Professor Laksiri – or Laki, as he was known - Jayasuriya - and others have reflected on as the legacy of white Australia – an imagining of Australia as a racially pure nation. And I quote Professor Jayasuriya. He says, “The legacy made ghosts of a white Australia and British Australia as a political narrative which continues to haunt all aspects of Australian public life.”

It is, of course, a false imagining, one that erases First Nations people and the 65,000 years of living and caring for the land and sea, their cultures, their languages, their very being. And yet despite it being a false imagining it has survived in the Australian imagination as witnessed by the recent protests by white nationalists, and it persists, albeit in more subtle ways, in our institutions that remain predominantly white Anglo Saxon both in their composition and in their structures ...

Despite its intent, the introduction of multiculturalism in the 1970s evolved as an expression of multiculturalism that not only favoured but solely focused on celebrations of food, dance and colourful costume. This expression of multiculturalism was nice and fun but has a number of side effects. Firstly, it devalues diversity by reducing it to the performative expression of culture and tradition, conveniently circumventing any meaningful discussion of the real economic and social benefits that diversity brings.

Secondly, it, in effect, imposes a conditional form of multiculturalism, that kind of gritted-teeth tolerance that, "You are welcome here,” as I said, “as long as your food tastes good, your celebrations are colourful, and your music is pleasant to the ears." But any questioning, any speaking out, any disruptive participation in any practice of citizenship will not be tolerated. Instead, acts of citizenship afforded to the broader community are viewed as acts of defiance when performed by the other and are met with cries of, “Go back to where you came from,” and “Love Australia or leave it.” ...

Now, detractors of multiculturalism – most notably Blainey – argue that multiculturalism is divisive and threatens national cohesion. What they actually mean is that multiculturalism challenges the concept of nationhood as ... an Australian identity in terms of a similar culture – one nation born from and of a single cultural Judeo-Christian tradition. One nation under God. Multiculturalism should challenge these ideas. When it doesn’t, when it prioritises celebration, when it reduces diversity to a nice trope, when it does not address substantive issues, when it perpetuates or at best allows institutionalised racism to continue, then it is not just a missed opportunity; it is an institutionalised legacy of white Australia.

And so tonight I’m here to issue a call to all Australians. This is a moment to reimagine multiculturalism, a multiculturalism that is befitting of the title of the most successful multicultural nation in the world.

So, what does a reimagined multiculturalism look like? Well, first and foremost it must acknowledge the unique status of our First Nations people. Secondly, it must define multicultural Australia not as a monolith of common cultural values or even multiple common cultural values but through equality of participation in political, social and economic life. Hence its premise must not be cultural pluralism but democratic pluralism recognising that difference is a hallmark of democracy and in doing so it must also recognise that a diverse society necessitates the adoption of diverse approaches to ensuring that all people can participate fully in social, political and economic life ...

Finally, our reimagined multiculturalism must recognise this simple but profound fact – that our nation’s character and identity is multicultural. A land that proudly boasts the longest living culture in the world – our First Nations – followed by generations of those who have come across the seas to share in our boundless plains, be they convicts, colonial settlers, Chinese workers during the gold rush, Afghan cameleers, post-war migrants, refugees fleeing conflict and persecution, non-Western Europeans who dreamed of a better life for their children or business men and women from the subcontinent, Australia is a nation of immigrants. Multicultural is not a descriptor for those who look like me. It’s not a "semi-colon and" it’s not an afterthought, it’s not a postscript, it’s not a, “Oh, we’ll get to you once we’ve done this for the mainstream”. My friends, multicultural is the mainstream.

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The extracts from the Minister's speech are republished under Creative Commons from the website of the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs. Introductory comments by David Stephens, editor, Defending Country website.

6 March 2026

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Picture credit: Minister Aly; Australian Parliament‍