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By Sid Astbury, [RxPG] Sydney, Feb 1 - After 30 years of believing that multiculturalism had the power to hold their settler society together, Australians are losing faith in what was always a tangled concept and are returning to the simpler formula of integration.
'We have moved from scepticism to disenchantment,' said ruling Liberal Party luminary Peter Coleman. 'It has now sunk in that some immigrants and their children, many of whom know us well enough, profoundly despise our way of life and even consider themselves at war with it.'
And then up popped a YouTube video made by Lebanese Muslim youngsters in their suburban Sydney heartland, glorifying notorious gang rapist Bilal Skaf and predicting that Australia would one day be a Muslim country.
Multiculturalism, the doctrine that immigrants be encouraged to retain their culture, language and religion, is officially an orphan. Prime Minister John Howard now has a department of immigration and citizenship, formerly the department of immigration and multicultural affairs.
The opposition Labor Party has also shifted ground. What the main rivals at a general election later this year have to say on the integration is now virtually identical.
'People are understandably going to retain a place in their heart for their home culture and we don't discourage that in any way,' Howard said when announcing the ministry name change. 'But the premium must be upon...the integration of people into the Australian family.'
That policy statement was echoed by Labor's spokesman on immigration, Tony Burke, who said that 'Labor wants new immigrants to be integrating into Australia from day one.'
The fall from grace of multiculturalism as a concept has been mirrored by a raft of policy initiatives intended to promote unity rather than diversity.
Immigrants now have to wait four years - double the previous waiting period - to become citizens. By the end of the year, a tough new citizenship test will be in place to assess proficiency in English, knowledge of Australian history and the applicant's grasp of civic responsibilities.
The change in rhetoric is quite profound. This week Howard laid out the new deal for intending settlers, telling them that the path was 'you come to this country, you embrace its customs, its values, its language, you become a citizen'.
The most important change is the reaffirmation that Australia has a mainstream culture and that newcomers must swim with it rather than against it. As Howard has stated: 'Cultural diversity should never come at the expense of a clear strong compelling national identity.'
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AN online video glorifying gang rapist Bilal Skaf and boasting of a Lebanese takeover of Australia has reignited the sensitive politics of race in western Sydney.
With the NSW election less than two months away, Labor and the Coalition were quick to express outrage yesterday at the racist video - posted on the YouTube website before being removed - and to demonstrate they were prepared to take tough measures against extremist elements in ethnic communities.
Insignia used in the video appear to connect it with Granville High School in Sydney's west. Premier Morris Iemma described the video as "sickening" and said the state Education Department and police were investigating who was responsible.
Prime Minister John Howard was quick to draw broader lessons from the video, just as he was after the Cronulla revenge attacks in December 2005, and again following recent comments from firebrand Mufti of Australia Taj Din al-Hilali.
"It's a reminder that there is undoubtedly within a section, a small section, of the Lebanese Muslim community a group of people who are antagonistic to the values and the way of life in this country," Mr Howard said.
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jeunemaghrebine02
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