The Local Area Multicultural Partnership (LAMP) Program is promoting access, participation and cohesion in Queensland’s culturally diverse society. Established in 1998, the project is a partnership between State and Local Government and the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ).
Sixteen Councils are currently involved in the program but the knowledge that has developed through the partnership is available to all Councils through the LGAQ website (www.lgaq.asn.au).
LGAQ LAMP Coordinator and Steering Committee member for the StepOne project, Lindy Drew, said that through Council leadership, there have been real changes to community relations environments in many parts of Queensland.
“A few years ago, one local Mayor said to me, ‘I can’t quantify it, but this program has changed our community – really changed it for the better,” Lindy Drew said.
Under the program, each participating Council employs a staff member who assists Council to develop a community relations plan that addresses key needs and opportunities in that area.
Lindy Drew said that while there are a few key similarities, there are striking differences in how Councils and communities work together to implement the program.
“The plans focus on two key areas – firstly, improving access to enable migrant and refugees to have full participation in the life of the community,” she said. “This includes all Council services, celebrations and events, as well as participation in the Council decision making and consultation process.
“The second focus of the plans is to increase understanding of the value that these people bring to the whole community.
“For any Council to achieve these goals, it is crucial that they form and work in partnerships with Government departments, businesses, media, schools, community agencies and so forth. LAMP has formed working partnerships on key issues with approximately 22 State and Federal Government Departments.
“With the program celebrating its tenth birthday this year, a proliferation of exciting projects, partnerships and focuses have been introduced. We have had many positive outcomes across the State and we are hopeful and fairly confident that the program will be funded for another four years – through to March 2012.”
Lindy Drew said that while appreciation of food and festivals are still important and supported by the LAMP program, they should not be stand alone initiatives.
“They do not tackle the hard end of the issue, such as understanding of the potential benefits of cultural diversity through changes to political mind sets and policy implementation,” she said. Once we achieve progress here, we see real benefits for communities.”
Lindy Drew outlined the following five programs, currently operating under the LAMP program.
Walk With Me: Building
Peace in Cairns West
Introduced in September 2007, the Walk With Me – Building Peace in Cairns West Project aims to develop a cultural and community based model to address conflict management.
Cairns West has a population of approximately 17,000 people and includes Cairns’ largest population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as large population groups from Pacific Island nations and Papua New Guinea, and an emerging African refugee population.
Some of the issues identified through the project are culturally sensitive and deal with how some policies are impacting on sections of the community.
The project identified that in some cases what is perceived as discipline or protection by some cultural groups, may also be perceived in Western understanding and within Australian law, as simply ‘abuse’ and in effect a crime. This means that some cultural groups are afraid to access services that can help and support them as they fear their spouses or children will be removed or arrested. Other observations are the impact of Welfare Reform on single parents and the lack of effective holiday programs for children and youth in the Cairns West area.
This project aims to get a cross section of Cairns West demographics, including Council, community organisations, elders and church leaders working together to provide opportunities for communities to engage in open dialogue and discussion around issues of conflict, in a safe environment, with people who they feel understand their issues.
It is a two year project that will provide better communication, improved understanding and greater respect between cultures in the community. It is funded by the Queensland Government’s Community Renewal program coordinated by the Department of Housing and delivered in partnership with Cairns City Council.
Southeast Queensland Intercultural Cities Forum
The South East Queensland Intercultural Cities Forum comprises Local and State Government, as well as academic and community sector stakeholders, including Brisbane City Council, the Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Queensland, the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland, Brisbane Institute, LGAQ and others. Formed in 2006, the main objective of the Forum is to become aware of and address both positive and negative intercultural relations experienced by young people in the region. It identified that many young people were experiencing issues that were not being addressed, as generally they were only heard of or witnessed by the young people themselves and frontline community workers.
In September 2007, the Forum conducted the ‘Out of the Shadows’ Symposium, which captured raw and uncensored accounts of intercultural violence experienced by a number of young people from various communities throughout southeast Queensland, including Anglo Australians.
Frontline workers, community leaders, parents, academics and government representatives were engaged to listen, share their own perspectives and contribute to a grounded deliberation over possible solutions and ways forward.
Key contributing factors identified in the symposium as leading to intercultural hostility in the region were the legacy of certain aspects of colonialism for all Australians, systemic racism, relations with police and the criminal justice system, the role of the media, identity and belonging and contested public spaces.
Recommendations for planning and policy departments of Councils and government are currently being developed as possible ways forward in dealing with current issues and preventing future escalations or outbreaks of intercultural violence.
LGAQ Skill Migration Project
In 2007, with funding from the Queensland Government the LGAQ contracted the University of the Sunshine Coast to assess the impact of the skill migration process on Councils and their communities, as well as migrants and their families. It found that while an increasing number of migrants were moving to rural and remote regions and were very much needed to fill increasing skill gaps, Councils, businesses and community organisations had little to no experience in welcoming or supporting people with diverse cultural or religious backgrounds.
As a result, these new residents were unable to fit in and fully contribute to their communities.
The project also found that while Councils were not in the business of providing settlement services, many were developing new ways of providing leadership through welcoming events, tailored services and appropriate information provision. This has been found to ward off potential tensions before they arise.
The project is due to be launched in February at Charleville – a small community in west Queensland. With approximately 100 new arrivals in the last year, the town now has a population of approximately 3,500, including people with Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Indian and South African backgrounds.
Roma Cooking Classes
Roma Town Council wants to ensure all new residents are made to feel a part of the community. In 2007, Council introduced a series of multicultural cooking classes, which culminated in a community multicultural food festival. These initiative ignited the community’s interest in the joy of food, flavours and friends, while also celebrating the diversity that exists within the region.
Community members with a culturally diverse background hosted the classes and residents embarked on the process of learning how to cook, prepare and present new and exciting dishes from around the world. Participants got to know each other, gain an understanding of different nationalities, form meaningful relationships and have a lot of fun.
The Community Multicultural Food Festival further encouraged the participation of the whole Roma and district community in recognising and celebrating cultural diversity and its importance to the future development and harmony of the region.
The project made it easy for new residents to connect to the community, while also showcasing their country of origin and its culture and providing new and interesting experiences for all Roma residents. The project was funded by the Queensland Government through Multicultural Affairs Queensland.
Caboolture Community Ambassador Project
In a Shire where people come from 129 different countries, communication can often be a challenging experience. As such, Caboolture Shire introduced the Community Ambassadors’ Program in 2004/2005.
The Ambassadors act as conduit between multicultural communities and service organisations, both community and government based, to overcome language and cultural barriers.
Some 14 Community Ambassadors now represent new and emerging communities in the area, including Filipino, Indonesian, Maori, Pakistani, Papua New Guinean, Samoan, Spanish speaking, Thai, Afghan and Iranian communities in the area. They have undertaken professional training in counselling, advocacy and problem solving to equip and assist service providers and their respective communities by becoming a ‘go-between’ to ultimately improve communication and service delivery.
Their training has come from many Government and non Government agencies, which have equipped them with practical knowledge about the role of agencies and make them aware of where to refer when people from their communities are in crisis seeking assistance
The project has evolved into a highly resourceful and potential tool for Government Departments to be utilised using Fee for Service Agreements.
