multicultural mayhem in melbourne, page-31

Hello cerhob

"... The election of John Howard's Liberal-National Coalition government in 1996 was a major watershed for Australian multiculturalism. Howard had long been a critic of multiculturalism, releasing his One Australia policy in the late 1980s which called for a reduction in Asian immigration - a policy he later retracted, citing his then position as wrong. ..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiculturalism_in_Australia

At other times on this forum I posted about 'the melting pot' and the contribution of our public education system to that end - my commitment is to concepts such as those you listed; integration, part of a larger national family, but also a few others such as mutual respect and understanding!

Post WW2 and throughout the massive immigration Australia experienced, the great majority of young Australians were educated in public schools. They grew up together, learned English as their prime language and played together.

But we also allowed some immigrant groups to form exclusive enclaves that exist to this day; thereby establishing a benchmark that has led other groups to copy.

We must always ensure that these enclaves form an integral part of wider society and that they are neither allowed to become detached from nor alienated from it. This partially explains concerns I have expressed about the private education sector; even more so when government actually funds it!