Anti-Racism & Multiculturalism | Policies

Anti-Racism & Multiculturalism

The ACT is a multicultural community and this should be celebrated and respected in our social, business and political institutions. With a third of the population born overseas, or one generation removed, ensuring peoples of all cultural backgrounds feel safe and hold space to practise their way of life is necessary to creating an inclusive society. 

 

THE ACT GREENS BELIEVE:

  • achieving an inclusive and harmonious society requires everyone to be actively anti-racist and cognisant of their own ethnic, racial and national positioning and privilege
  • achieving a just, equal society requires that we be willing to dismantle the legacy of white supremacy wherever we recognise it
  • stereotyping, discrimination, racism and the colonial status quo must be eliminated
  • that we must actively listen and provide safe, culturally appropriate spaces for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people to engage in policy without fear of judgement or retribution
  • democratic processes and government decision-making should be done in active collaboration with people from CALD backgrounds
  • full and supported access to education, training and economic opportunities should be provided to CALD people
  • cultural and linguistic diversity should be actively fostered and promoted within the context of respecting democracy and universal human rights
  • the ACT should continue to be a safe and welcoming place for asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and people who identify as CALD
  • CALD people should be included and supported to fully participate in the ACT community
  • cultural and linguistic diversity in the ACT community greatly enriches our community, and multiculturalism should be embraced and celebrated.

THE ACT GREENS WANT:

  • the fostering of anti-racism through raising community awareness and encouraging actively anti-racist behaviours
  • to actively dismantle systemic and structural legacies of racism and white supremacy
  • the elimination of discrimination and protection of equal opportunities for all people, regardless of ethnic, cultural, linguistic, national and religious background
  • the ACT community to embrace and celebrate cultural, religious and, national and linguistic diversity
  • to ensure that people from CALD backgrounds have full access to legal support, education and information on their rights and entitlements
  • CALD communities to be included, engaged and connected with the broader ACT community, as well as supported to build networks within and between CALD communities
  • active outreach and engagement to ensure CALD communities can participate fully in ACT Government processes and policy development
  • to strengthen the capacity and ability of government to work with people from CALD backgrounds
  • adequately resourced, responsive and culturally responsible support for humanitarian entrants, asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and other CALD people who settle in the ACT, including trauma-informed services and other support for health, housing, education, life skills and social connections
  • community programs to foster harmony and social cohesion, particularly for new and emerging CALD communities
  • to support community groups to retain and maintain their language and culture including support for community-based language schools
  • important community information to be made available in a range of languages, including information about health, education, justice and government services.