Multiculturalism and Local Governance: A National Perspective

This monograph reports findings of the first extensive survey of local councils across Australia regarding their policies and practices for addressing cultural diversity. The emphasis is on how this relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) and non-English speaking background (NESB) people. It is the initial publication in an ongoing research project on multiculturalism and local government, which is being undertaken by academics from the Schools of Geography and the Built Environment at The University of New South Wales. The focus of the research is a primary analysis of the responses to a multi-faceted questionnaire which was sent to all 750 councils in Australia, and which evoked a near 50 per cent response rate. Council annual reports and policy statements were also analysed. The survey findings are contextualised by a literature review on the development of the "Multicultural Project " in Australia, and a geographic analysis of recently released demographic data from the 1996 Census. The study examines the incorporation of multiculturalism at the local government level in relation to four policy areas: • Symbolic representation, local identity and citizenship • Equitable access to services and decision making processes • Inter-communal relations and ethnic intoleranc