Australian Institute of Polish Affairs

Australian multiculturalism—a policy strategy aimed at facilitating effective social integration of non-British immigrants and managing cultural diversity—was devised in the 1950s and 60s, and adopted as government policy in the 1970s. As a number of recent publications in the European and Australian media suggest, this multicultural strategy has been misunderstood and confused with ethnic pluralism and assimilationist ‘melting pot’ approaches. These confusions, particularly widespread in Europe, mar public debates about multiculturalism. This is hardly surprising considering the scarcity of public clarifications of what multiculturalism is, the strong political backlash against uncontrolled migrations, and the paucity of informed debate about long term strategies of migrant settlement and adaptation. The paper outlines the principles of Australian multiculturalism, identifies its theoretical foundations, and highlights some of the popular confusions about its meaning, objectives and effectiveness.