Opportunities for
Partnerships
Inaugural MAV Multicultural Policy
Development Forum
Friday 12 September 2014
Wyndham City Civic Centre
Report
MyriaD Consultants
Diversity Specialists
1
FORUM REPORT 2014
MAV Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the traditional owners of the land and we pay our respects to
their Elders, past and present.
We support local government’s capacity and knowledge to strengthen relationships with Victoria’s
Aboriginal communities and for it to encourage greater unity, knowledge and respect for the first
occupants of our land – through its strong community links and local representation.
Acknowledgements
The MAV Multicultural Conference Planning Group would like to extend its gratitude and
appreciation to all of our speakers and sponsors for their invaluable contribution and support over
the course of the Conference. Particular thanks to Wyndham City Council for hosting the
Conference.
We would also like to thank all of the delegates who attended this important and pioneering event.
We hope you found the Conference delivered an exciting, motivating and stimulating program and
provided you with the opportunity to network with colleagues.
Conference Planning Group
The MAV Multicultural Conference Planning Group included:
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Con Pagonis: MAV Multicultural Policy Adviser & VLGMIN Co-convenor
Clifford Eberly: Team Leader Community Development, Leading Communities Wyndham City
Council
Eugenia Grammatikakis: Social Policy and Program Coordinator, City of Monash and VLGMIN
Chairperson
Eilis Hughes: Senior Policy and Planning Officer, Social Development, Wyndham City Council
Kriss McKie: Leading Communities Coordinator, Social Development, Wyndham City Council
Cr Kris Pavlidis: Councillor South West Ward, City of Whittlesea
Dalal Smiley: Manager Community Planning & Customer Service, Community Planning and
Customer Service, City of Darebin
John Smith: Coordinator Community Planning Unit, Community Planning & Development,
Brimbank City Council.
Publication Information
This Report was compiled by MyriaD Consultants on behalf of the MAV Conference Organising
Committee.
A webpage has been developed comprising conference resources that have been provided by
presenters, including papers, PowerPoints, keynote addresses, etc.
See: http://www.mav.asn.au/policy-services/social-community/multicultural/Pages/opportunities-forpartnerships-conference.aspx
© Municipal Association of Victoria 2014
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Contents
Acronyms
4
Foreword
5
Forum Summary and key outcomes
7




About the forum
Structure
Key outcomes
Ways forward
About the Inaugural MAV Multicultural Policy Development Forum
15
Introduction
 Background
 About the forum
 Purpose of the forum
16
Main Program
19
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Welcome
Keynote presentation
Plenary presentations
Key issues and discussion
Breakout sessions
34
Settlement Planning
 Session overview
 Summary of presentations
 Key issues and discussions
 Summary of recommendations / suggestions
35
Social Cohesion
 Session overview
 Summary of presentations
 Key issues and discussions
 Summary of recommendations / suggestions
41
Access and Equity
 Session overview
 Summary of presentations
 Key issues and discussions
 Summary of recommendations / suggestions
53
Forum Summary and Close
58
Post Forum feedback
60
Appendices
62
Program
Speaker Biographies
List of Forum Delegates
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FORUM REPORT 2014
Acronyms
ABS
Australian Bureau of Statistics
ACELG
Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government
AHRC
Australian Human Rights Commission
ALGA
Australian Local Government Association
AMEP
Adult Migrant English Program
AMES
Adult Multicultural Education Services
BVE
Bridging Visa E
CALD
Culturally and linguistically diverse
CMY
Centre for Multicultural Youth
COAG
Council of Australian Governments
CR AC
CyberRacism and Community Resilience
DASSP
Darebin Asylum Seeker Support Project
DIBP
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
DSS
Department of Social Services
ECCV
Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria
FECCA
Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia
HSS
Humanitarian Settlement Services
LGA
Local Government Area
LOTE
Language other than English
LWB
Life Without Barriers
MAP
Multicultural Action Plan
MAV
Municipal Association of Victoria
MCA
Migration Council of Australia
MRC
Migrant Resource Centre
NAATI
National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters
NESB
Non-English-speaking background
NGO
Non-government organisation
OMAC
Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship
RAP
Reconciliation Action Plan
RDA
Race Discrimination Act
SCO A
Settlement Council of Australia
SGP
Settlement Grants Program
SOSOG
Senior Officials Settlement Outcomes Group
TIS
National Translating and Interpreting Service
TPV
Temporary Protection Visa
VEOHRC
Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
VLGMIN
Victorian Local Government Multicultural Issues Network
VMC
Victorian Multicultural Commission
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FORUM REPORT 2014
Foreword
On Friday 12 of September 2014, the Municipal Association of Victoria held its inaugural biennial
multicultural policy development conference. The event was hosted by the City of Wyndham at their
Werribee Civic Centre. MAV intends that this will be the first of a regular two-yearly event to
progress sectoral deliberations on broader cultural diversity issues arising at the municipal level.
The event had its genesis in the deliberations of the MAV’s Multicultural Committee which is
currently chaired by MAV Board member, Cr Peter Lockwood. Cr Lockwood chaired one of the
breakout sessions on the day. The committee has previously developed the MAV’s current
“Statement of Commitment to Cultural Diversity”, which I launched at our annual conference late in
2012. The document commits the MAV to provide leadership and support to local government
through a range of actions including this conference series. These conferences have the objective
of progressively enhancing the local government sector’s capacity to address cultural diversity
issues.
For our inaugural conference in this series, we chose to develop themes around building stronger
partnerships with the federal and state levels of government, and with the community sector;
focusing on achieving better outcomes in three broad areas: access and equity, social cohesion and
settlement planning.
We also chose to use the opportunity of this event to showcase an example of how another
jurisdiction – New York City – has developed strategies to address these challenges and are very
appreciative of the participation (via Skype) of our keynote speaker, Fatima Shama, the former
Commissioner of the New Your City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. A video of Ms Shama’s
conference address and related papers and presentations are now available on the MAV’s website.
We look forward to welcoming stakeholders to the second conference in this series in 2016.
Bill McArthur
President
Municipal Association of Victoria
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Forum summary and key outcomes
This Report provides a summary of proceedings of the Inaugural Biennial Multicultural Policy
Development Forum for Local Government.
About the Forum
The Inaugural Biennial Multicultural Policy Development Forum for Local Government was
hosted by the City of Wyndham on Friday 12th September 2014. The forum was organised by the
MAV Multicultural Conference Planning Group.
The focus of the forum was twofold:
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Firstly, developing clearer common understanding across councils of the potential leadership
role of local government in municipal settlement planning, CALD community relations and
access & equity; and
Secondly, exploring opportunities for closer partnerships with other levels of government and
the community sector.
Overall, the forum aimed to create significant space for dialogue and deliberation towards the
development of a more cohesive cross-municipal sectoral framework and policy direction. The intent
of this was to establish a collective voice in engagement with State and Federal governments in
relation to settlement planning, CALD community relations and access and equity more generally.
While the forum was primarily designed for local council managers and officers, it attracted over 130
representatives across a range of sectors including federal and state government, not-for-profit and
multicultural sector, police and peak ethnic bodies.
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Structure
Following a welcome from the hosts, Wyndham City Council, the forum opened with a keynote
presentation (via Skype) by Fatima Shama, former Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s
Office of Immigrant Affairs. The Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs works to promote and empower
immigrant communities through civic engagement initiatives and awareness campaigns.
Ms Shama provided an international perspective on the role of local government in multicultural
policy and shared some of the key learnings that emerged through her office’s strategy for
connecting with and serving the city’s immigrant population.
Ms. Shama’s team published a set of documents known as Blueprints for Immigrant Integration.
The Blueprints highlight successful practices in immigrant integration across a variety of program
and policy areas, including language access, police and community engagement, economic
development and entrepreneurship, civic engagement, and citizenship, and serve as detailed guides
to support the replication of New York City models in working with immigrant communities. The New
York’s Office of Immigrant Affairs has since become a prime resource, even a model, for cities
around the world seeking to better accommodate and serve their increasingly diverse populations.
More than 50 cities around the world are now using the blueprints to guide their work.
The remainder of the forum was structured in two key parts:

The first part took the form of a plenary session, gathering a range of representatives from
local, state, federal and peak body contexts who shared their knowledge, insights and
wisdom on the issue of partnerships and meaningful engagement. Plenary speakers
included:
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Cr Bill McArthur, President, Municipal Association of Victoria
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Cr Intaj Khan, Wyndham City Council
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Bernadette Ryan, Victorian State Manager, Federal Department of Social Services
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Hakan Akyol, Director, Victorian Government Office of Multicultural Affairs and
Citizenship
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Dr Irene Bouzo, Acting Executive Officer, Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria.
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Lidia Thorpe, Aboriginal Employment Advisor MAV
Following the presentations, conference delegates had the opportunity to participate in a Question
and Answer session with the panel.
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The second part of the Conference provided participants with a choice of two out of three
breakout sessions featuring various council case studies and related initiatives. The
concurrent sessions were themed around partnerships in:
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Strategic settlement planning,
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Achieving social cohesion, and
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Effective access & equity strategies.
Presenters in each of the sessions set out their vision of the role and responsibilities of local
councils and how other levels of government, and the community sector, can build more effective
collaborative partnerships with councils and the wider local government sector.
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The forum closed with an entertaining and insightful performance by Abraham ‘Abe’ Nouk, a
spoken-word poet, hip hop fanatic, MC and an author whose craft developed from the realisation of
the freedom of speech.
Key Outcomes
CHANGING DEMOGRAPHIC L ANDSCAPE
Victoria has recently experienced its biggest increase in settlement by people from refugee
backgrounds and asylum seekers in 30 years. The number of refugees settling in Victoria is
currently around 4,000 people per annum in addition to the unprecedented increase in asylum
seekers on bridging visas settling in the community, currently estimated at around 10,000 in Victoria.
Asylum seekers are among the most disadvantaged people living in Victoria, often receiving little or
no Commonwealth government income support.
The cultural diversity of Australia’s youth has also changed dramatically over the last quarter
century, particularly in Victoria. Yet the key issues remain resolutely the same – housing, education,
employment and racism. Influenced by an increasingly globalised and interconnected world, the
proportion of population born overseas could rise from a quarter to as much as a half over the next
25 years. How these changes effect policy development and service delivery are relevant
considerations for local government.
OPPORTUNITIES
Overall, the forum was an enriching and rewarding gathering which identified a range of ways to
achieve better coordination between the three tiers of government in working towards improved
outcomes for diverse communities.
There was unanimous agreement across stakeholders from all spheres of government and from
community organisations that to achieve the most effective community development outcomes,
collaboration and partnerships with local government were essential.
Feedback from participants suggested that much opportunity exists following the foundations that
have been established, to take the next step to move Victoria towards strong and sustainable social
outcomes and enhanced community cohesion across the state.
The forum highlighted that strong evidence exists around the need for effective partnerships. Indeed
multi-sectoral partnerships and collaboration continue to increase in response to rapidly our growing
diverse population. Presentations throughout the forum were largely consistent in demonstrating
how stakeholders were working together to address the ongoing social, economic and cultural
challenges facing particular geographic areas and communities across Victoria.
Presentations also suggested that there exists a growing evidence-base of good practice making an
impact in terms of real systemic and cultural change through partnerships and collaborative
approaches that deal proactively and responsively with the needs of multicultural communities.
They demonstrated that when we work in conjunction with each other in the same localities, we
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achieve sustainable community development and engagement. Breakout session discussions
suggested that leveraging off capacity building in community organisations, the power of networking,
awareness raising, and targeted research-based advocacy delivers outcomes and has impact.
Local councils, through their community development initiatives and the unique arrangement of
social infrastructure their activities have created, can provide the foundation for inclusive
partnerships, working in conjunction with a range of other commonwealth and state government
agencies and programs as well as with local services, to bring about social change and deliver
grassroots outcomes.
This forum has demonstrated that through the adoption of meaningful and genuine relationships, we
can build on the foundations that have been laid and continue to expand those partnerships that are
enhancing access and equity, social cohesion and contributing to the positive settlement
experiences of new arrival communities.
The rewards of collaborative approaches and genuine efforts to work together are becoming
increasingly evident where we see community harmony and the benefits that accrue from social
infrastructure partnership initiatives have created.
CHALLENGES
Whilst the overall sentiment expressed in discussions throughout the forum was positive in terms of
achievements that have resulted from partnerships, there were some ongoing challenges identified.
Many participants highlighted that where no cultural diversity advisory committee structures were in
place, this minimised the potential for identifying emerging issues that could be addressed
collaboratively and also the potential for local government to tap into existing resources and
initiatives Councils would be well placed to value add around. However, it was also acknowledged
that some Councils had similar structures in place such as social justice coalitions or were members
of regional and local networks that enabled access to collaborative opportunities and contributions.
Overall, experience suggested that the most responsive Councils demonstrated a balance of formal
engagement with the community through Council led committee structures together with Council
representation and participation in local community networks and settlement planning committees.
“We need a range of ways of engaging and we don’t need to over-structure
it in order for it to be effective.”
Conference participant
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Ways Forward
The following key outcomes emerged in relation to future directions resulting from the forum:

That local government, as a sector, should be positioning itself to play a
stronger and more active role in developing partnerships with state and federal
governments and the community sector around settlement planning, social
cohesion and access and equity.

That representatives across local government who attended the forum actively
contribute towards exposing the broader local government sector to good
practice around how other jurisdictions such as New York City approach
cultural diversity planning. The focus of these efforts should inspire innovative
thinking that will make Victoria a leader in this area of work
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That the MAV create a web page that serves as a clearing house for the breadth
of ideas and research that emerged through the forum. This should include
copies of conference power point presentations, the keynote speaker video and
the forum report.
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That an ongoing local government sector multicultural policy forum is
established and held biennially. The next event should be scheduled for mid
2016.
LEADERSHIP ROLE OF L OCAL GOVERNMENT
Local government is the level of government closest to the people and plays a significant role in
influencing community relations at the local level. This forum highlighted the breadth of innovation
and leadership being demonstrated by Councils across Victoria in settlement planning, social
cohesion and access and equity for multicultural communities. It also highlighted the need for
pathways that enable innovative practice to be shared, promoted and supported by state and federal
governments.
Unless local government is fully engaged and integrated within the broader planning and settlement
roles played by both the Federal, state and territory governments, its potential to contribute will be
underutilised.
Role of local government in strategic settlement planning
Councils are increasingly adopting collaborative approaches with settlement service providers and
other stakeholders to contribute to settlement outcomes. The forum showcased examples of local
government contribution and participation in networks, working groups, collaborative programming
and coordination of settlement data to inform service planning and limit the potential for duplication.
The range of best practice examples supporting local government to effectively contribute to
settlement need to be documented and shared and promoted more widely across the local
government sector.
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Role of Local Government in achieving social cohesion
The forum affirmed that local governments have an important role in racism and social cohesion and
are very well placed to contribute to building social cohesion in each of the key domains identified in
the Scanlon-Monash Index of Social Cohesion1: belonging; social justice and equity; participation:
acceptance and rejection, and worth.
Local government is a key point of contact for multicultural communities and a key player in
maintaining socially cohesive communities. The work of local governments are doing in this area
was highlighted throughout the forum and should be commended as it is indispensable.
Forum discussions accentuated the need for local government leadership in developing a social
cohesion framework on intercultural relations in a multicultural society.
Role of local government in effective access and equity strategies.
Improving access and equity in relation to the breadth of programs and services provided by local
government is a key commitment of Councils across Victoria. Many Councils are taking a proactive
approach in developing policies, strategies and programs that enhance access and equity for
multicultural communities.
Forum discussions drew attention to issues that continued to challenge local government around
access and equity including language services and other intersectional issues that impact on
communities. The most obvious challenge emerging in the forum related to employment and in
particular the role of local government in access to employment pathways.
There are an emerging number of innovative models being implemented by a small number of
Councils to eliminate employment barriers by working with communities and employers and these
are achieving sustainable outcomes. These also should be documented and shared and promoted
more widely across the local government sector.
Opportunities for partnerships at federal government level
Opportunities for partnerships at the federal government level proposed by forum delegates
included:
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1
Exploring opportunities offered by Australian Local Government Association (ALGA)
representation on the government’s Settlement Outcomes Senior Officers Group (SOSOG).
A key role of SOSOG is to improve information sharing between the three tiers of
government to facilitate appropriate planning and service delivery, and to ensure the
effective use of resources across government.
SOSOG offers a pathway to discuss the role of local government in relation to the
implementation of the National Settlement Framework.
http://scanlonfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/mapping-social-cohesion-national-report-2013.pdf
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
Exploring opportunities through the reinvigoration of State and Territory Settlement Planning
Outcomes Committees which will provide a single structure for action oriented settlement
planning in each state and territory. They will provide an important forum through which all
tiers of government, together with relevant non-government stakeholder can provide
coordinated support for migrants and refugee in line with the key priority areas set out in the
National Settlement Framework.
Opportunities for partnerships at state government level
The MAV has and continues to work closely with the State Government, for example through
participation:
 on the former Standing Committee on Local Government and Cultural Diversity chaired by
the VMC;
 on the former VMC Advisory Council;
 on the recently reconvened Translating and Interpreting External Advisory Group;
 on working groups organising previous VMC biennial local government and multiculturalism
conferences; and
 developing cultural competency professional development opportunities for local council
officers previously delivered by the VMC.
Local government as a sector, and individual local councils, are looking for a closer working
partnership with the Victorian Government through the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship.
In addition to civics and community relations, local government has a key role to play in related
areas such as the successful settlement of newly arrived migrants and refugees. It starts with
welcoming new arrivals through orientation to the range of services it offers and ensuring these
services are straightforward to access and useable for newly arrived people unaccustomed to living
in our local communities.
Local Government is uniquely placed to partner more systemically with the Victorian Government on
its civics agenda, on addressing related community relations issues arising from cultural diversity
and on improving the related settlement experiences of newly arriving migrants and refugees.
There remain many gaps and challenges that need to be met, and can be met more effectively if
there is a strong sectoral partnership with the Victorian Government through the Office of
Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship and the MAV.
The Victorian Government needs to support local government more, and strengthen and further
develop the role that can be played by peak bodies such as the MAV in facilitating a consistent
state-wide response to cultural diversity.
Opportunities for Partnerships with Civil Society/NGOs
The MAV primarily engages with community sector service providers and advocates through:
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
the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria who MAV collaborate closely with, particularly in
fostering better inter-sectorial working relationships in the delivery of aged care services, and
in addressing the issue of CALD people’s participation in the workforce;
and at the national level with:
•
•
•
the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia;
the Settlement Council of Australia; and
the Refugee Council of Australia.
These relationships offer a breadth of opportunity to strengthen the role of local government
fostering stronger relationships with civil society and partnering with service providers.
Opportunities for partnerships across local government
In 2011 the MAV Board established, for the first time, a Multicultural Committee to advise the Board
on multicultural policy development. This Committee is chaired by an MAV Board member. Senior
managers from both the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship and the Department of
Immigration and Citizenship have been invited to the committee’s early meetings and there has
been discussion this year about how that committee’s role might be further developed, including
strengthening its relationship with OMAC and the VMC.
The MAV Multicultural Committee brings together key stakeholders across Victorian Councils and is
ideally placed in encouraging and leading partnerships across local government in Victoria.
Councils have a clear legal obligation to take proactive and preventative measures to support their
role in building inclusive and cohesive communities.
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About the
Inaugural MAV
Multicultural
Policy
Development
Forum
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Introduction
Background
The communities represented by local government across Victoria are among the most culturally,
linguistically and religiously diverse in Australia; a diversity embraced, nurtured and celebrated by
the MAV and the seventy-nine Victorian local councils.
The idea for the forum emerged as a result of ongoing discussions by the MAV Multicultural
Committee in relation to working towards an agreed and effective inter-governmental strategy that
harnesses the potential of local government to a make consistent and planned sectoral contribution.
Although settlement planning and multicultural community relations strategies have historically
adopted a top-down approach through leadership at federal level, much of the work on the ground
has been undertaken at municipal level.
As the tier of government closest to the community, Local Councils are uniquely placed to provide
leadership in addressing community issues arising from cultural diversity. They can foster social
inclusion, social support and social engagement and facilitate inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue.
Councils have the opportunity to draw on all groups in the local community to contribute to the
development of a shared identity and future. Local Councils are also being increasingly called on to
provide inter-agency leadership in local planning and coordination for the settlement of newly
arriving migrants and refugees.
MAV Multicultural Committee
Following the demise of Federal and State-led inter-governmental forums, the MAV Board decided
in 2011 to establish its own Multicultural Committee, which now meets quarterly to advise the Board
on multicultural policy development. The committee is chaired by an MAV Board member and has
standing agenda items for Federal and State government representatives to engage and coordinate
with local government.
Background to Forum
The Background Paper ‘The Role of Local Government in Settlement and Multiculturalism’ was
prepared by Myriad Consultants following the VLGMIN annual forum held in September 2011 in
partnership with the Municipal Association of Victoria.
The VLGMIN had identified the need to consider the role of councils in the provision of settlement
services to newly arrived migrants and refugees and their relationship with the other tiers of
government in the context of changes by the Commonwealth to the way in which it manages the
coordination of settlement services across Australia.
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Local Government is the level of government closest to Communities and plays a significant role in
influencing economies and communities locally. Local Government is often the first port of call for
many residents including recent arrivals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
VLGMIN has observed that councils have increasingly been providing services, support and
programs to newly arrived migrants and refugees even though they are not funded to do so. The
provision of settlement services is viewed as critical to the support of newly arrived migrants and
refugees to successfully settle in the Australian community.
The Background Paper built on the 2011 Forum which examined the roles of the three tiers of
government in relation to settlement provision; systemic interagency coordination of settlement
services; and the role of local government in managing community relations at the municipal level as
issue arise from local diversity.
It specifically drew attention to international, national, state and local policy environments regarding
the provision of settlement services and would be a great resource for local councils and in
particular Council Officers who manage multicultural policy development and service provision.
This discussion paper underpinned the MAV Multicultural Committee’s inaugural biennial
multicultural policy development conference
As discussions increasingly highlighted the need for more systemic and coordinated partnerships
with state and federal governments and the community sector, both the MAV and VLGMIN
recognised that a broader dialogue involving stakeholders was needed.
Australia is experiencing a historic shift (i.e. unprecedented dis-engagement) from the Federal
Government, notwithstanding the development of a new “National Settlement Framework”. Local
government has concurrently experienced similar intergovernmental disengagement from the
Victorian State Government over the past few years. The withdrawal of professional development
investment, coordination and leadership from the other two tiers of government calls for a
fundamental re-think of how the local government sector collectively work in this space.
About the Forum
The Inaugural Biennial Multicultural Policy Development Forum for Local Government was
hosted by the City of Wyndham on Friday 12th September 2014.
While it was primarily designed for local council managers and officers, the forum attracted
representatives across a range of sectors including federal and state government, not-for-profit and
multicultural sector, police and peak ethnic bodies.
The forum was themed around opportunities for intergovernmental, NGO and community sector
partnerships.
The forum program was developed to engage rural/regional municipalities, interface/growth councils
and metropolitan local government areas and ultimately intended to support efforts by local councils
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to increase their capacity to deliver responsive and accessible local government to all, and to
promote positive intercultural relations and social cohesion within their local areas.
The breadth of participation in this full day event, together with the opportunity it afforded to
showcase the extensive and innovative collaborations taking place at local government level across
Victoria highlighted that by working together we can develop strong, inclusive and informed
communities across Victoria where people feel connected, valued and supported to participate fully
in all aspects of community life, regardless of their cultural, linguistic or religious backgrounds.
Purpose of Forum
The specific themes the forum aimed to address included:


Developing clearer common understandings across municipal authorities of the role and
responsibilities of local government around o enhancing accessibility and equity of local government services;
o potential for local government inter-agency/inter-governmental leadership in
settlement planning at the municipal level; and
o municipal community relations leadership in achieving social cohesion.
Opportunities for partnership with other levels of government (federal and State) and civil
society / community organisations.
The forum was attended by over 135 participants representing social policy managers and officers
from 34 Councils and key stakeholders from the federal and state governments and community
sector.
The forum focused on developing greater sectoral consensus on the role of local government in
relation to migrant and refugee settlement planning, broader community social cohesion on issues
arising from cultural diversity and access and equity in how local government deliver services. It
also aimed to look at how to juxtaposition the local government sector with State and Federal
Governments and civil society organisations (commonly referred to as the community sector).
Main themes covered in presentations included municipal leadership in migrant and refugee
settlement planning and CALD community relations/social cohesion within the context of local
government service design and delivery, access and equity issues and CALD social
inclusion/participation across all council programs.
Multiculturalism is in Australia’s national interest and speaks to fairness and inclusion. This forum
provided an important platform from which to explore opportunities for productive, creative and
sustainable partnerships and collaborations between all levels of government and community/civil
society within a multicultural context.
The forum created significant space for dialogue and deliberation towards the development of a
more cohesive cross-municipal sectoral framework and policy direction to inform a collective voice in
engagement with State and Federal governments.
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Main Program
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Welcome
The forum was opened by the Mayor of the City of Wyndham, Councillor Bob Fairclough who
acknowledged the Indigenous history of the area and the influence of the Italian community who
began migrating to Wyndham in the 1930’s. Cr Fairclough highlighted that Council is committed to
continuing to celebrate and support Wyndham’s increasing breadth of diversity.
Keynote Presentation
The keynote presentation for the forum was
delivered (via Skype) by Fatima Sharma, former
Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s
Office of Immigrant Affairs. The office’s mandate
is to serve as a bridge between the immigrant
population and city government, providing policy
analysis and recommendations to the mayor as
well as improving immigrants’ access to city
services.
Ms Shama provided an international perspective
on the role of local government in multicultural
policy and shared some of the key learnings that
emerged through her office’s strategy for
connecting with and serving the city’s immigrant
population.
The New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs promotes the well-being of immigrant
communities by recommending policies and programs that facilitate the successful integration of
immigrant New Yorkers into the civic, economic and cultural life of the City. Their municipal agenda
includes four key components:
1. Ensuring and Enhancing Access by promoting use of city services and access to
information and resources for immigrants
2. Building Partnerships by liaising with and promoting collaboration between city agencies
and offices and immigrant communities
3. Providing technical assistance by serving as a key resource to other agencies and offices
regarding immigrants
4. Celebrating contributions by coordinating programs celebrating immigrant contributions
and supporting immigrant heritage.
Key achievements under Ms Sharma’s leadership of the Office of Immigrant Affairs included:
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



Language access policy enshrined in legislation
A citizenship in schools initiative where schools were used as a medium for engaging
migrant families and providing legal support
A neighbourhood leadership institute and awards which produced strong community
advocates and leaders
Establishment of a New Immigrant Outreach Unit in the New York Police force – this has
resulted in improved youth engagement with police and a pathway for young people from
immigrant backgrounds to enter the NYPD.
Ms Sharma generously encouraged forum participants to access the Blueprints for Immigration
Integration developed by the Mayor’s Office. These innovative strategies can be employed by local
governments to foster economic, civic and cultural vibrancy by promoting the well-being and
integration of immigrants.
The Blueprints2 cover twelve key areas:
 Creating a municipal immigrant
integration agenda
 Language access
 Citizenship
 Civic engagement
 Economic development
 Police and community
 Education
 Financial Empowerment
 Public Libraries
 Health.
 Family and Child Welfare
 Public Benefits
Commitment at the leadership level and a commitment to partnerships were the critical ingredients
to what the Office of Immigrant Affairs were able to achieve.
Ms Sharma’s presentation offered a best practice case study that the local government sector
should be aware of and that should inform thinking in how local government progress policy and
program development in Victoria.
Following Ms Sharma’s presentation, participants were invited to ask questions or offer comments
relating to the key issues raised.
Participants agreed that, as a sector, local government need to be collectively exposed to alternate
local government perspectives from overseas as part of broader dialogue and deliberations and as
part of the wider multicultural and settlement planning agenda.
2
http://www.nyc.gov/html/imm/bii/html/home/home.shtml
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Plenary Presentations
The plenary session involved a panel of speakers representing all three tiers of government as well
as Victoria’s peak ethnic body who shared their extensive knowledge, insights and wisdom on the
issue of partnerships and meaningful engagement.
They included:
Panel member
Cr Bill McArthur
President
Municipal Association of Victoria
Bernadette Ryan
State Manager
Department of Social Services
Hakan Akyol
Director
Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship
Dr Irene Bouzo
Acting Director
Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria
Lidia Thorpe
Aboriginal Employment Advisor
Municipal Association of Victoria
Cr Intaj Khan
Wyndham City Council
Topic
Local Government Sectoral View
Federal Government Perspective: Settlement
and Multicultural Affairs
State Government Perspective:
Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship
Community Sector View
Koories in Council
Multicultural policy and planning at the municipal
level
Full copies of plenary presentations can be accessed at http://www.mav.asn.au/policyservices/social-community/multicultural/Pages/opportunities-for-partnerships-conference.aspx
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Cr Bill McArthur, President, Municipal
Association of Victoria
Councillor McArthur highlighted the forum as
timely given the confluence of developments
over the past few years that make it increasingly
important for councils to come together to
articulate how we collectively address issues
arising from cultural diversity in Victorian
municipalities.
Key points made by Cr McArthur included that:








The MAV is encouraged by on-going negotiations between the Federal and State
Governments on the development of a new National Settlement Framework and look forward
to a new phase of inter-governmental collaboration.
Local government are uniquely placed to deliver better social cohesion, settlement planning
and access and equity outcomes locally for all Australian communities.
To do this effectively, strong partnerships with the other two levels of government are
needed including better resourcing and stronger leadership.
Local government authorities need a higher level of commitment from State and Federal
governments to re-establish an agreed framework for inter-governmental planning and
coordination.
Local government also needs to forge strong partnerships with the community sector, both
as individual councils, and sectorally.
The MAV has a strong and collegiate partnership with the ECCV and FECCA and actively
collaborate across a range of policy areas including aged care services, workforce
participation and settlement of new and emerging communities.
The MAV work closely with the Refugee Council of Australia to facilitate local government
participation in Refugee Week and promote their Refugee Welcome Zone initiative. Thirty
Victorian councils have now registered.
The MAV is advocating to the Federal Government on issues arising for councils on asylum
seekers living in the community on bridging visas.
Cr McArthur concluded by highlighting that he hoped forum deliberations would explore the
development of stronger partnerships to address cultural diversity in Victorian municipalities and
result in good ideas for moving forward in this important area of social policy.
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Bernadette Ryan, State Manager, Department
of Social Services
Ms Ryan thanked the MAV for the opportunity to
participate in the conference and hoped that the
occasion would mark the beginning of a new and
reinvigorated
relationship
between
local
government and the Department of Social
Services in Victoria. Her presentation focused on
the opportunities that exist for productive
partnerships, particularly for local government
through the implementation of the forthcoming
National Settlement Framework expected to be
released late in 2014.
Ms Ryan provided an excellent summary of some of the relevant key developments that have taken
place since the election of the Abbott Government, particularly the transfer of Settlement and
Multicultural Affairs to the new Department of Social Services (DSS) in late 2013. She highlighted
that the transfer of settlement and multicultural programmes to DSS provides an excellent
opportunity to connect early settlement support with other mainstream programs.
She then outlined the range of activities undertaken by the Settlement and Multicultural Affairs
Section which continues to manage the Humanitarian Settlement Services programme; the
Settlement Grants Program; and the Diversity and Social Cohesion Program grants for Victoria.
She also reiterated that the Department will continue to be focused on fostering a diverse and
harmonious society by engaging directly with refugee and migrant communities and supporting
their participation in a socially cohesive Australia.
Ms Ryan also reflected on the question of ‘What makes for successful settlement?’, stressing the
importance of the Government’s vision of a society in which all Australians are valued and have the
opportunity to fully participate.
She emphasised that the approach taken by Government recognises the important support that
settlement services provide to newly arrived migrants and refugees as they adjust to a new life in
Australia and as they start to contribute to Australia’s economic, social and cultural development.
Settlement services, she explained aim to deliver services that assist eligible clients to become selfreliant and participate equitably in Australian society, with a focus on fostering social participation,
economic well-being, independence, personal well-being and community connectedness.
Ms Ryan explained that successful settlement is a key commitment of the federal government with
a particular emphasis on ‘the three E’s’ – English language, education and employment.
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Her presentation then turned to the important role that local government plays in supporting
successful settlement. Whilst acknowledging that all three tiers of government work hard to improve
the settlement experience of migrants and refugees and to support their economic, social and
cultural engagement in Australia, she commended the unique and particular role of local
government.
Local government she said, played a key role in providing services and infrastructure to the local
community, including specialised services to encourage migrant settlement in local government
areas. She also praised the work of the local settlement planning committees – of which there are
some twenty five operating across metropolitan and regional Victoria – and encouraged participants
to draw on local government’s unique position of being able to facilitate cross-community
collaboration and partnerships.
The final part of Ms Ryan’s presentation related to the forthcoming National Settlement
Framework expected to be released late in 2014. She explained that the Framework will provide
for the effective and efficient use of existing resources for mainstream and targeted settlement
services. It will also drive service delivery improvements by identifying and responding to gaps and
barriers. Under the framework, the three tiers of government are committed to three focus areas:



Planning, by creating supportive and collaborative settlement planning structures and
processes, including information-sharing.
Delivery, by supporting coordinated client-centric services eliminating gaps and duplications.
Evaluation and Review, by developing a robust evidence base for assessing and better
understanding settlement service delivery and outcomes.
Effective planning will be facilitated by the new Senior Officials Settlement Outcomes Group
(SOSOG) which is chaired by the Secretary of DSS and attended by the Department of Immigration
and Border Protection officials, each State and Territory Government and the Australian Local
Government Association.
She also stated that Settlement Planning will be supported by the reinvigoration of State and
Territory Settlement Planning Outcomes Committees which will provide a single structure for action
oriented settlement planning in each state and territory. Furthermore, they will provide an important
forum through which all tiers of government, together with relevant non-government stakeholder can
provide coordinated support for migrants and refugee in line with the key priority areas set out in the
Settlement Framework.
Ms Ryan concluded her presentation with a strong statement of support for ongoing communication
and engagement with local government to address the range of important issues related to the
successful settlement of migrants and refugees in Victoria.
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Hakan Akyol: Director Office of Multicultural
Affairs and Citizenship
Mr Akyol’s presentation set the scene with an
overview of Victoria’s cultural and linguistic and
religious diversity, with Victorian citizens
originating from more than 200 countries,
speaking more than 200 languages and dialects
and following more than 130 faiths. In setting out
Victoria’s demographics, Mr Akyol highlighted
that more than 26 per cent of Victorians are born
overseas, and nearly 47 per cent of Victorians
were born overseas or have one parent born
overseas and approximately 23 per cent of
Victorians speak a language other than English.
He went on to stress that because our diversity
delivers social, cultural and economic benefits to
all Victorians, a strong and cohesive multicultural
society will attract skilled migrants, international
students, overseas tourists and of course the
relocation of global companies to our great state.
In turn this contributes to the economy through
job creation, innovation and export activity.
Mr Akyol then went on to provide an overview of the policy and legislative framework informing the
Victorian government’s approach to multiculturalism.
In March 2014, Victoria’s new multicultural affairs and citizenship policy, titled Victoria’s
Advantage—Unity, Diversity, Opportunity was launched. The new policy outlines a plan to support
social cohesion and citizenship, while reducing instances of racial and religious discrimination.
In the policy, the State Government commits to:
“building understanding and respect by enabling communities to come together
in events across Victoria; support cross-cultural and Multifaith interactions and
partnerships; build strong, sustainable community organisations; works with
multicultural service providers and peak associations to better understand and
respond to the needs of diverse communities; address specific complaints of
discrimination and racial and religious vilification; and, gather data on the
prevalence and experience of racism and discrimination”.
The Policy which was developed following community consultation, focuses on three major themes:

Maximising the Benefits of our Diversity;

Citizenship, Participation and Social Cohesion; and

Responsive and Accessible Services.
Mr Akyol also highlighted that for the first time, the Policy contains a set of indictors which will be
used to measure the State’s progress in multicultural affairs. The indicators will help provide a more
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comprehensive picture of progress in multicultural affairs and citizenship and will assist government
to better identify trends in emerging issues. It will also monitor the rate of complaints made to human
rights bodies on racial and religious vilification.
Mr Akyol then outlined some of the key programs and initiatives being undertaken by the Victorian
Government to support multicultural affairs and citizenship. These included:

The Multicultural Language Services program aim to increase the supply of interpreters
and translators in Victoria and optimise the use of language services by government service
providers. This program includes scholarships and training. A key initiative included the
OMAC Multilingual Government Information Online Project which involved the development
of two booklets for the Victorian whole-of-government policy and procedures for Using
Interpreting Services and Effective Translations.

New and Emerging Communities Leadership Program which will provide training to build
the leadership skills and capacity of both existing and potential leaders form new and
emerging communities across Victoria. The initiative also incorporates funding for the new
Nelson Mandela Ubuntu Leadership Program, which extends the existing African Community
Leadership Program, specifically assisting diverse African communities. The Program will run
between 2015 and 2018 and will be delivered across metropolitan and regional Victoria.

The Peak Multicultural Organisations (PMO) Grants Program provides funding to peak
multicultural organisations that play a critical role in assisting CALD communities, especially
in regional and rural areas.

Multicultural Communities Infrastructure Fund, which will provide grants to maintain or
build new community facilities and enhance Victoria’s vibrant cultural precincts. Enhancing
our cultural precincts is an important way of preserving cultural heritage and acts as a draw
card for tourism and stimulating business activity. The three long standing cultural precincts
in the City of Melbourne consist of Chinatown in Little Bourke Street; the historic heartland of
Melbourne’s Italian community in Lygon Street, Carlton; and Melbourne’s Greek precincts in
parts of Lonsdale and Russell Streets.
The Victorian Government also supports the VMC through it grants to support, develop and sustain
local ethnic and multicultural organisations and programs, especially new and emerging
communities in the areas of:







Promoting Harmony: multifaith and interfaith
Building and facilities improvement
Multicultural festival sand events Round One and Two
Community language schools program
Strengthening multicultural communities
Organisational support
Multicultural senior citizen organisational support
Mr Akyol then provided an outline of the settlement coordination unit within OMAC which
coordinates a whole-of-government response to the needs of new arrivals in policy development and
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service delivery. In 2013–14 the SCU has facilitated a strategic and coordinated approach across
Victorian government, including via the multicultural services interdepartmental group and regional
management forums, to support strong engagement with the commonwealth on issues of settlement
needs and refugees and asylum seekers, and including my key departments—DEECD, Department
of Health and Department of Human Services—and Victoria Police in preparing for cost recovery
and memorandum of understanding negotiations with the commonwealth on asylum seeker matters.
In summary, Mr Akyol emphasised that as with any successful program or initiative, working in
partnership is essential, as is collaboration.
Dr Irene Bouzo: Acting Director Ethnic
Communities’ Council of Victoria
Dr Bouzo’s presentation titled: ‘Partnerships in
the Multicultural Community Sector’ provided
conference delegates with some important
insights in relation to meaningful engagement
and successful partnerships with multicultural not
for profits.
Dr. Bouzo began her presentation with a brief
overview of the Ethnic Communities Council
(ECCV) and its role. As the state-wide peak
advocacy body that advocates and lobbies all
levels of government on behalf of Victoria’s
multicultural communities
For over 30 years ECCV has remained the
principal liaison point between ethnic
communities, government and the wider
community and has been a key player in building
Victoria as a successful, harmonious and
multicultural society.
ECCV has about 200 members representing Victoria’s ethnic and multicultural organisations and
communities and regularly promotes relevant events and information to them.
She then went on to detail research undertaken by the ECCV in relation to better partnerships.
The best practice positive partnerships model presented by Dr Bouzo involved:




External influences
Trusting Relationships
Professional Capacity
Organisational Capacity and Unequal Power
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Key partnership requirements that should be established at the project outset included:






Equal spread of obligations and responsibilities
Equal power and financial responsibility
Shared acknowledgment of expertise
Equal balance of inputs and outputs
Shared aims and shared workload
Shared ownership
Lidia Thorpe: Aboriginal Employment
Advisor MAV
Ms Thorpe began her presentation with an
acknowledgement to Country. She introduced
herself as a Gunnai and Gunditjmara woman
from eastern and western Victoria and reflected
on the critical role that Elders, community and
family had played in her personal and
professional journey.
Ms Thorpe then provided an overview of Victoria’s Aboriginal population which is young and
growing. Children aged 0–14 years of age are approximately 36 per cent of the total Aboriginal
population compared to 18 per cent of the non-Aboriginal population (Australian Bureau of Statistics
2012). Of the Aboriginal population, 46.3 per cent live in metropolitan Melbourne, compared with
53.7 per cent in regional Victoria (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012).
The ABS estimates that the Indigenous population of Victoria will increase from the 22 600 people
listed in the census in 1991 to between 47 700 and 48 200 people by 2021 - more than a doubling of
the Indigenous population over the next 10 years. This is due to a range of factors, including
increased numbers of people identifying as Aboriginal in the census, continued high birth rates and
interstate migration to Victoria.
MS Thorpe stressed that these figures indicate that Aboriginal Victorians are potential employees for
councils as their current workforce rapidly retires and departs over the next 10 - 15 years.
Ms Thorpe went on to emphasise that an integral part of local government responsibility is to serve
all of their constituents, including Aboriginal communities.
She referred to the 2013-2018 Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework (VAAF) which guides the
Victorian Government's approach to Aboriginal Affairs and sets targets for improved outcomes for
Aboriginal Victorians. The VAAF acknowledges the pivotal role that local government plays over the
course of Aboriginal people’s lives. She also noted the Victorian Government's Aboriginal
Economic Strategy aimed at securing employment opportunities for Victorian Aboriginal people
with career pathways and growing Aboriginal business enterprise and investment.
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Ms Thorpe then provided delegates with an overview of the MAV Aboriginal Employment Project
and her role as the Aboriginal Employment Advisor at the MAV. The MAV is working towards
increasing Aboriginal employment in the local government sector.
Some key activities undertaken to date include:



Aboriginal Employment Forum which was held late last year and conducted in partnership
with the Department of Health, for human resource and home and community care program
managers It focussed on using the “Karreeta Yirramboi” Toolkit developed by the Victorian
Government and exploring how Aboriginal employment can be increased in councils’ Home
and Community Care programs.
Presentation by Ms Thorpe at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment
in Local Government Roundtable which provided an opportunity for Ms Thorpe to bring a
Victorian perspective. The event was hosted by the Australian Centre for Excellence in Local
Government.
As a result of the MAV Aboriginal employment project, the MAV State Council, which
comprises representatives from all of Victoria’s 79 councils, has included Aboriginal
employment as a priority in the MAV Strategic Plan for 2014-15.
Work is continuing on the Victorian Local Government Aboriginal Employment Framework, with the
last few months taken up with preparing the materials and arranging the transition to a web-based
format.
Ms Thorpe highlighted the importance of having a Reconciliation Action Plan and/or Aboriginal
strategy lets potential Aboriginal job candidates know your council is somewhere they might like to
work. The MAV Board have endorsed MAV developing its own Reconciliation Action Plan. A key
component of the RAP is to invite Victorian Aboriginal community members to be part of a series of
informal conversations on ideas and experiences for practical reconciliation.
Better relationships between Aboriginal and the wider community have been shown to be vital to
achieving reconciliation and reducing the gap in social and economic indicators for Indigenous
Australians. Local government in particular is ideally placed to strengthen participation of Aboriginal
people in local communities.
Ms Thorpe highlighted that The MAV Aboriginal employment framework and the MAV RAP are
aligned with the three key elements provided by Reconciliation Australia’s RAP program which
include:

Respect

Relationships

Opportunities
Reconciliation Australia’s RAP program provides a common framework to develop plans that outline
practical actions the organisation will take to build strong relationships and enhanced respect
between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians. Put simply, the RAP
program is about working with organisations across Australia to turn their good intentions into real
actions.
Ms Thorpe further highlighted some key points under each of the three core elements:
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Respect


Councils understanding and acknowledging the unique place of Aboriginal people in their
local community is often the first step in councils becoming an employer of choice for
Aboriginal people.
Having an informed stance about the Aboriginal community will better enable councils to
take the actions that will result in Aboriginal people wanting to work in local government.
An example is Yarra Council's award winning project Follow in my Footsteps: Celebrating Aboriginal
Culture in Gertrude St is an interactive community engagement and consultation project that
combines traditional storytelling (Walking Tours) with digital media.
Relationships

Organisations which have recruited and retained Aboriginal employees all say that having
meaningful relationships with the Aboriginal community is vital to success.
Opportunities for Partnership
There is a Victorian Aboriginal workforce ready and willing to work, but currently very few are
employed in Victoria's 79 councils.
She highlighted that ‘real engagement’ is vital.




Real engagement is not about engaging with one group
Don’t assume Aboriginal people belong to one group
Many Aboriginal people are not engaged with Aboriginal organisations
Create opportunities for Aboriginal people to
As an example, Ms Thorpe referred to the Local Government Aboriginal Partnership Project
aims to strengthen relationships between Aboriginal communities and local councils to provide a
platform for positive change and advance reconciliation. In seeking to build positive change it
acknowledges the hurt of the past as a result of the policies of all levels of government.
At its core, the Partnership Project is about recognising, celebrating and growing good practices
across Victoria. It is also about valuing and leveraging the contribution that Aboriginal people,
communities and organisations make to local life.
The Partnership Project seeks to promote greater participation of Aboriginal people in local council
activity. It also seeks to build respect and recognition for Victoria’s First Peoples and our rich
Aboriginal culture and heritage. The Project also seeks to achieve better coordination between the
three tiers of government in working towards better outcomes for diverse communities.
Ms Thorpe concluded by highlighting that celebrating and sharing the good work that local
government is doing will assist in connecting potential Aboriginal job candidates with the relevant
council areas.
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Cr Intaj Khan, Wyndham City Council
Cr Khan began his presentation by stating that
one of the reasons why Wyndham is such a
dynamic, energetic and resilient community is
because of its multicultural diversity. As
Victoria’s fastest growing municipality, most new
residents are largely from non-English speaking
backgrounds. He highlighted that Wyndham has
over 33.7 per cent of residents born overseas
and over 100 languages spoken within the
municipality This rapid pace of change was one
of the many reasons Council felt compelled to
develop a new Multicultural Policy and Action
Plan. He stated that the development of the
Policy and Plan demonstrates Wyndham City’s
commitment to social justice, equity and human
rights. It will be used, he said, to actively
promote cultural diversity by supporting
programs and events that foster understanding
and help to celebrate the benefits of
multiculturalism across the broader Wyndham
community.
Key points made by Cr Khan included that:




Council’s partnerships, with community members, community groups, community service
organisations, business and other levels of government are important in guiding Council’s
multicultural planning efforts;
Council has established a Cultural Diversity Strategy and Policy Development Committee
which has enabled Council to reach new communities;
Council benefit from partnerships with local service providers, especially through local
networks such as the Wyndham Humanitarian Network, the Best Start network and the
Wyndham Community Agencies Network;
Council is committed to building internal diversity capabilities and to contribute to creating
pathways to civic participation and employment.
Cr Khan’s concluding comments focused on Council’s commitment to continuing to grow
partnerships across all tiers of government and with peak state multicultural and ethno-specific
bodies in order to strengthen responsiveness to Wyndham’s multicultural communities.
Cr Khan also highlighted the Emerge in Wyndham annual arts and culture festival celebrating cultural
diversity as a highly successful example around partnerships and engagement that promote cultural
diversity and social inclusion.
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Key Issues and Discussion
Key points that emerged through open discussion following presentations included:

The potential for collaboration with federal and state governments - how government works
is not an absolute collaboration because of government systems and structures however
where there exist similar objectives there is scope for collaborative approaches. These can
be achieved in incremental ways however communities can become frustrated at the pace at
which this occurs.

The confusion resulting from Councils adopting different titles for staff working on
multicultural issues - engaging across all Councils to achieve consistency across these
issues is a long process. There has been significant progress over the last decade and local
government have come a long way. There are no solutions going forward and changes at
state and federal government levels have an impact. Local government bodies deliver over
one hundred services and some have a greater multicultural focus by nature of their
demographics. The MAV have shown strong leadership through statements, policies and
employment goals and are keen to continue to work across these commitments.

Addressing issues in relation to youth leadership, unemployment and engagement through
partnerships - the National Settlement Framework covers nine priority areas including
families and employment and emphasises a needs and outcomes oriented approach. Lots
of needs are consistent across all age groups. DSS is currently processing a huge grants
round to address gaps and ensure services are targeted where they are needed. The
Department does not ignore areas of need but is very much reliant on feedback from civil
society to identify where the gaps are.
The ECCV advocates to all levels of government for the development of recruitment
strategies targeting multicultural communities. They have also established a youth network
in partnership with OMAC which is soon to deliver a youth leadership training program.
In summary, the plenary session highlighted:



The importance of collective impact
That all sectors are operating in a complex environment
That partnerships and ongoing dialogue opportunities such as the forum are offer pathways
for working together to achieve more responsive and sustainable outcomes.
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Breakout
Sessions
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A. Settlement Planning
Session Overview
The Settlement Planning breakout session was facilitated by Eilis Hughes, Senior Policy and
Planning Officer, Wyndham City Council and involved presentations from Brimbank City Council,
City of Greater Geelong, Diversitat and the Wyndham Community and Education Centre.
This session offered an opportunity for participants to learn from best practice examples in
settlement planning involving local government and settlement sector agencies.
Presenters
John Smith, Coordinator of Community Planning
and Partnerships
Terri Soumilas, Community Planning &
Engagement Officer
Brimbank City Council
Veema Mooniapah, Community Development
Officer
City of Greater Geelong
Topic
Settlement Planning, local government and the
West.
Our journey so far..
Maureen O’Keeffe, Manager of Settlement and
Community programs
Diversitat
Jennie Barrera, CEO
Wyndham Community & Education Centre
Kriss McKie
Manager, Social Development
Wyndham City Council
Diversitat promoting harmony, cultural diversity
and social justice in our society
The City of Greater Geelong and Geelong
Settlement Planning Committee The Geelong Experience
Wyndham Humanitarian Network
Full copies of plenary presentations can be accessed at http://www.mav.asn.au/policyservices/social-community/multicultural/Pages/opportunities-for-partnerships-conference.aspx
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Summary of Presentations
John Smith, Coordinator of Community Planning and Partnerships
Terri Soumilas, Community Planning & Engagement Officer
Brimbank City Council
Brimbank Council’s settlement planning work focuses on international students, refugees, migrants
and asylum sekeers. Council has identified four key roles it underakes in enhancing engagement
and inclusion of these key groups. These incude:

Coordination (planning and system wide change). Council does this through
o The Asylum Seeker Inter- Agency Response Network
o The Western Region Management Forum on Meaningful Engagement of Asylum
Seekers
o Brimbank Settlement Action Plan

Collaboration (partnership projects). Council does this through
o The Brimbank Access to Justice Project
o Living in your Neighbourhood
o Service Directory
o Asylum Seeker Expo
o Asylum Seeker Focus Groups and Forum
o Employment Program for Young Asylum Seekers

Advocacy (speaking up as a tier of government). Council does this through
o Social justice coalition

Service delivery (responding to community needs). Council does this through
o Cultural Agility across all services
o Children's services
o Youth services
o Aged Care
o Libraries
o Customer services / Language Link
The ultimate vision of Brimbank’s approach is to ensure that the target communities are welcomed,
engaged, informed and included. The presenters spoke about the range of activities Brimbank has
established to achieve this sense of belonging.
To ensure international students, refugees, migrants and asylum sekeers are included Council has
adpoted the following:
 A living in your neighbourhood program to connect people locally
 Refugee welcome zone
 Welcoming places and spaces
 Albion Soccer Hub
 Playgroups
To ensure international students, refugees, migrants and asylum sekeers are informed Council has
implemented:




A service directory
A social justice coalition
A cultural ambassadors program
Professional development forums
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


An Asylum Seeker Inter- Agency Response Network.
A Brimbank Access to Justice Project
Cultural Diversity Week celebrations and activities
To ensure international students, refugees, migrants and asylum sekeers are engaged Council has
implemented:
 Asylum seekers focus groups
 A Western Region Asylum Seeker Expo
 A Leadership Training Program
 The Brimbank Access to Justice Project
The presenters closed by offering to share what they have learnt through their work at Brimbank
with other Councils. They also expressed interest in collaborating to develop a regional action plan
for working with new settlers.
Veema Mooniapah, Community Development Officer
City of Greater Geelong
This presentation began with an overview of Geelong’s changing landscape which highlighted:
 A community that is made up of established migrants, newly arrived skilled migrants,
refugee and humanitarian entrants, international students and asylum seekers
 Around 35,000 of residents were born overseas and 16% of these arrived in Australia within
the last 5 years.
Ms Mooniapah then spoke about the stages involved in the development of Council’s Multicultural
Action Plan (MAP) including a focus on community engagement. Council’s first MAP adopted four
pillars for Council action including respect and recognition, Access and Equity, responsive services
and support to community. Council also adopted a multi agency and cross divisional approach to
implementation of the MAP.
A specific commitment under the MAP was supporting multicultural businesses. Council has
achieved this by:




Pursuing a resourcing/partnership approach across the 3 tiers of government
In partnership with key businesses and service agencies, promoting Geelong to all CALD
communities as a destination of choice highlighting its cultural diversity, benefits for skilled
migration, international students and investment opportunities
Working with Family, Youth, Economic Development, Health and Local Laws, Sports and
Recreation services to better engage CALD community and increase their participation in
programs and services
Leading by example by offering work experience and Traineeship opportunities by and at
Council
Maureen O’Keeffe, Manager of Settlement and Community programs
Diversitat
The Geelong Ethnic Communities Council operated for 37 years before launching its new name
‘Diversitat’ in 2005 to reflect its growing diversity of services. The organization represents 50
cultural communities and operates across ten sites in Geelong and Colac with outreach services to
Ballarat.
Key service areas include:
 Aged care
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




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
Arts
a radio program
healthy eating
employment
settlement
training
youth programs
Key initiaves covered in the presentaion included:

The Northern Community Hub – a multi-purpose community and educational centre which
opened in February 2011 and won the 2013 Settlement Innovation Award. The Centre offers
services and programs for CALD and disadvantaged communities. Over 200 community
members access services at the hub daily. Along with spaces for community group functions
and activities the hub has a community garden being utilised by a broad number of
community groups.

The Pako Festa - Australia’s biggest multicultural festival that has been running for over 30
years. The festival now involves over 30 multicultural communities and attracts over 110,000
people. The last festival included 60 performers over 8 stages and a Giant Pako parade with
80 floats.

Settlement Services and Community Programs – these include Community Assistance
Support, Refugee Settlement, Settlement Grants Program, housing support, social
enterprise, a Family Support Program, Mental Health Program, Multicultural Problem
Gambling, Financial Counseling & Consumer Advocate Program, driver education and a
volunteer tutor program.
Diversitat also leads the Geelong Settlement Planning Committee which has been operating for
more than 10 years and involves 30 member agencies, state, local and federal government.
Jennie Barrera, CEO, Wyndham Community & Education Centre
Kriss McKie, Manager Social Development, Wyndham City Council
Wyndham Community & Education Centre (WCEC) was established in 1974 and now includes the
following areas in its operations:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Learn Local organisation
Neighbourhood House
Settlement Services provider
Senior Secondary provider
Skills for Education & Employment (SEE) provider
Registered Training Organisation (RTO)
Social Enterprise facilitator
WCEC operates in the third fastest growing local government area in Australia and provides
services across 15 venues within Wyndham. The Centre’s clients come from 75 different countries
and collectively speak over 68 languages.
This presentation highlighted two nationally awarded key networks auspiced and coordinated by
WCEC:


Wyndham Humanitarian Network
Wyndham Interfaith Network
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The Wyndham Humanitarian Network (WHN) is an innovative model for partnerships and
collaboration originally established in 2005 when increasing numbers of refugees and humanitarian
entrants were settling in Wyndham and there were no funded services to support them. Initial
network partners included:




WCEC
Wyndham City Council – Community Development Team
AMES – Settlement and Education
Centrelink – Multicultural Services Officers
The Network continued to evolve as membership grew to include education providers, police,
community volunteers and other service providers. Today the Network has grown so impressively
that it has been restructured to operate through a strategic group and 6 working groups that fopcus
on different areas realted to settlement.
The WHN strategic group meets six-weekly with a focus on collaboration and coordination of
interagency services. They identify issues at local level and undertake integrated local level
planning. The success of the group relies on collective responsibility.
The WHN working groups meet monthly to six-weekly and also reflect multi stakeholder
engagement. The six working groups are action oriented / activity based and guided by a Terms of
Reference.
Wyndham Council continues to partner with WHN as this enables Council to:
• have a deeper understanding than Census figures provide
• engage with marginalised residents
• plan and deliver more responsive Council services
• promote inclusion through shared projects
Council’s continuing commitment to the WHN includes:
• Co-ordination and planning
• In-kind contributions to projects
• Taking on advocacy on issues as required
This partnership also supports the following Wyndham Council multicultural policy commitments:
 Engagement
 Responsive services
 Working in partnership
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Key Issues and Discussion
Key points that emerged through open discussion following presentations included:






Examples of activities that demonstrated local government support to settlement service
providers and newly arrived residents included networks and working groups, collaborative
programming and coordination of settlement data.
The new operating environment for all stakeholders requires collaboration. Competition is
outdated and does not result in best outcomes for communities.
To achieve extensive cooperation in collaborative approaches it is critical that all
stakeholders place the community at the centre of what they do and at the heart of their
objectives.
A genuine focus on best outcomes for clients needs to be evident to stakeholders so they
know their involvement will result in genuine results.
Councils need to be working with their counterparts in the region through networks so that
learnings and ideas can be shared.
In some local government areas there has been a rapid growth in service providers, support
and volunteer groups which is resulting in a lot of duplication. Establishing networks can
support coordinated approaches and reduce the gaps that resulted from concentrating
resources in duplicated areas.
Recommendations/Suggestions:
That the MAV Multicultural Committee considers documenting best practice examples of regional
networks that support local government to effectively contribute to settlement.
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B. Social Cohesion
Session Overview
The Social Cohesion breakout session was facilitated by Maria Dimopoulos, MyriaD Consultants
and focused on the role of local government in achieving social cohesion.
The key question guiding discussions was ‘How does Local Government support the
development of a community that values cultural diversity?’
Presenters
Cr Gaetano Greco, Mayor
Darebin City Council
Topic
Darebin Council’s Approach to social cohesion
and social inclusion.
Natalie Jacobson, Coordinator Inclusive
Communities
City of Greater Bendigo
City of Greater Bendigo Mosque Application
Experience
Rivkah Nissim,
Principal Adviser, Race Discrimination Team
Australian Human Rights Commission
National Anti-Racism Strategy: local
government and social cohesion project
Full copies of plenary presentations can be accessed at http://www.mav.asn.au/policyservices/social-community/multicultural/Pages/opportunities-for-partnerships-conference.aspx
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Summary of Presentations
Cr Gaetano Greco, Mayor
Darebin City Council
Diversity, social cohesion and anti-racism work is as serious a business for
Councils as building a road...
Cr Greco opened his presentation with a number of overall comments relating to social inclusion and
social cohesion:


The importance of belonging/the right to belong to a place and community
It’s not about being tolerated but about being valued and respected as a member of the
community
He then proceeded to provide an overview of the demographics within the municipality highlighting
that Darebin municipality is a culturally and religiously diverse community with 34% of residents born
overseas, 39% of Darebin households speaking two or more languages, the second largest
population of Indigenous people in metropolitan Melbourne and significant religious diversity.
The community of Darebin cherishes this diversity and values it as an important civic asset. Council
plays a role in promoting, encouraging, fostering and harnessing this asset and giving it the
opportunity to flourish and be celebrated, acknowledged and respected.
“We’re backed by a strong suite of policies to ensure that diversity is considered
in everything we do, from arts programming to service provision”.
As a result of Darebin’s cultural diversity, Darebin City Council has undertaken significant work in
the area of social cohesion and anti‐racism, which is demonstrated in key documents that guide
Council work including the 2012‐2015 Equity and Inclusion Policy and the 2014‐2017 Community
Health and Wellbeing Plan.
Cr Greco highlighted that the Equity and Inclusion Policy notably recognises that Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse residents are particularly at risk of
exclusion because of racism and race‐based discrimination and that this is an issue Council should
contribute to addressing.
Cr Greco also outlined that Council’s broader commitment to diversity is illustrated through its
Multicultural Action Plan and a communication strategy that ensures people of CALD backgrounds
can access the services and support they need.
Transparency, accountability, shared decision-making, respect for human rights; access, equity,
inclusion and good governance are fundamental priorities for Darebin City Council. These values
are reflected in the Darebin City Council’s adopted Charter of Good Governance.
Cr Greco spoke of how the Council celebrates diversity and social inclusion through colourful
festivals and events – like Ganesh Charturi, a Community and Kite Festival, Diwali, a Homemade
Food and Wine Festival and Chinese New Year.
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He provided participants with a summary of some of the key activities undertaken by Council in
relation to promoting diversity and inclusion:




The Council’s calendar of events has everything from intercultural conversation nights to
Greek film festivals, interfaith days and Arabic and English language classes.
The establishment of the Intercultural Centre which has become a lively hub for community
gatherings. It’s a place where people share knowledge about each other’s cultures, and
where newly arrived residents of all nationalities can feel at home – like those who visit the
welcome room for asylum seekers to learn English and share stories.
DCC undertook a Racism Inquiry in 2012 that led to the 2012‐2015 Anti‐Racism Strategy,
which guides local initiatives to address racism at interpersonal, organisational and systemic
levels in the community. Through the Anti‐Racism Strategy, DCC has made a firm
commitment to work towards a “racism‐free Darebin”. DCC is also an official supporter of the
national “Racism. It Stops With Me.” campaign.
The establishment of the Islamic Museum of Australia within Darebin which is the first of its
kind in Australia. The Museum was established in 2010 and aims to foster community
harmony and facilitate an understanding of the values of Muslims and their contributions to
Australian society.
Specific issues related to Asylum Seekers were also highlighted by Cr Greco, who emphasised the
local government can play a strong and strategic advocacy role.
He referred to the Mayoral Forum on Asylum Seekers on BVEs which was held earlier this year and
hosted by the City of Greater Dandenong. The forum provided an opportunity for Mayors, senior
council staff, peak bodies and elected officials to share experiences, issues and concerns regarding
the local impact of adequately meeting the needs of asylum seekers.
The Forum, he suggested was an excellent example of how Councils can create opportunities to
achieve high level agreement on key elements of a joint/shared response to the Federal
Government on increasing resourcing to meet this need. Mayors from nine Victorian councils have
since joined Darebin in signing the Joint Statement in an effort to draw attention to the health and
wellbeing of asylum seekers and refugees, while advocating that they be treated with respect and
dignity.
The event also signalled the implementation of Darebin’s Asylum Seekers Support Project and
launched the Darebin Community Passport, developed in partnership with Darebin Ethnic
Communities Council (DECC),to assist asylum seekers to access local services and facilities.
Neighbourhood houses, leisure centres and health providers have signed on to the initiative. The
Darebin Community Passport offers details of local services, places of worship, organisations and
charities, while also entitling the holder to access a number of facilities for free or at discounted
prices.
Developed by the council in partnership with Darebin Ethnic Communities Council (DECC), the
initiative is also expected to give Darebin and indication of how many asylum seekers are living in
the municipality through the registration of passports.
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Darebin Asylum Seeker Support Project, which launched last year, had helped more than 200
asylum seekers between October and December by assisting them with English skills, educating
and providing information on systems of Australian life, and connecting them to the community.
Cr Greco emphasised the importance of partnership and meaningful engagement as key elements
in the successful implementation of these activities.
He cautioned however against the
establishment of partnerships for the sake of appearing to be consultative. Partnerships particularly
with civil society/multicultural communities needed to be grounded in principles of equality and
respect.
He outlined the range of MOU’s that Council had developed with a number of external organisations
and community groups:

MOU between Darebin Council and Darebin Ethnic Communities Council - DECC is an
incorporated association that seeks to represent the views, interests and needs of Darebin’s
culturally and linguistically diverse communities primarily to the Darebin City Council. Over
80 groups and associations from within the City of Darebin are affiliated with DECC as a
peak body. The MOU commits the parties to work together to achieve responsive, effective
and tangible outcomes that benefit Darebin’s culturally diverse communities. It has been
reviewed and refined on a number of occasions to ensure currency and relevancy.
The most recent MOU aims to build Council’s reputation as an innovative Council in
addressing the cultural diversity of its residents. It builds on the shared commitment and
practical collaboration that has developed between the two organisations over the past ten
years to further strengthen a whole-of-Council approach to the growing diversity of the city.
The MOUs have been instrumental in achieving the following:
 A dialogue at the most senior level of Council to raise and address significant issues
of concern to Darebin’s diverse communities;
 Regular consultation with DECC members;
 Innovation within Darebin Council to explore more effective ways to meet the needs
of its culturally diverse communities;
 A shared agenda and working commitment between members of Darebin’s culturally
diverse communities and Darebin Council;
 A ‘finger on the pulse’ on new and emerging issues through public forums and
responses.
The implementation of the MOU is monitored at regular meetings between DECC and the
Council’s Executive Management Team.

MOU between Darebin City Council and Omar Bin Al Kattab Mosque - Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between the Islamic Society of Victoria (Preston Mosque) and the
Darebin City Council was originally negotiated and signed in 2009. Council has actively
engaged with the Omar Bin Al Kattab Mosque in Cramer Street, Preston since 2003 as part
of the Cramer Street Neighbourhood Project which was a government funded Living in
Harmony Project. At the time a Mosque and Council Project Reference Group was
established to respond to community concerns about the Mosque’s activities and their impact
on the neighbourhood. In August 2014, the MOU was reviewed and endorsed by Council.
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The MOU aims to guide the development of a robust relationship between the Council and
the Mosque and formalised casual arrangements regarding local issues for the mutual
benefit of residents and Mosque visitors. A commitment was also made by Council to reestablish the Council-Mosque Committee to hold discussions on ongoing and emerging
issues at quarterly meetings with the participation of Mosque, Council, Victoria Police and
neighbours.
Importantly, the working partnership between the Omar bin Al Kattab Mosque and the
Darebin City Council is based on the following principles:




A respectful, collaborative and robust relationship
Commitment to open dialogue for effective problem solving
Obligation to community integration and positive neighbourhood relations
Dedication to responding to the needs and issues of the Mosque, Council and the
wider community.
Embedding diversity within Council was also identified by Cr Greco as critical.
Cr Greco also emphasised his commitment to strengthening the council's relationship with Darebin's
Aboriginal community, including exploring the possibility of a local treaty between the council and
indigenous residents.
Key learnings





There is a need to invest long term in diversity and social cohesion rather than view it as a
one off activity
Valuing diversity has to be seen as core business for Council
Leadership around diversity and social cohesion
A lot of councils feel ill-prepared and so don’t invest in activities promoting social inclusion.
This suggests the need to ensure sufficient support is provided in relation to building the
capacity of local councils in relation to the successful design and implementation of social
inclusion and anti-racism strategies.
Effective engagement with CALD communities is core to our business.
The existence of a robust relationship with civil society entitles Council to engage in the discussion
of complex and emerging issues and to consider drivers perspectives and solutions
A proactive and prevention-oriented approach which allows a joint response to unanticipated human
or community relations ‘disasters’ as a result of the impact of international and national events on
the local community
The opportunity to influence perspectives and encourage interaction with the wider community,
particularly for people who are newly arrived, refugees or are seeking asylum in Australia
Natalie Jacobson, Coordinator Inclusive Communities
City of Greater Bendigo
Natalie Jacobson’s presentation focused on key learnings emerging from Bendigo’s recent
experience of a planning application to build a Mosque.
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She began her presentation with some background information on the demographic makeup of
Bendigo:



Greater Bendigo is becoming increasingly culturally diverse. The percentage of City of
Greater Bendigo residents born overseas has risen to 7% of Bendigo's population, with
2% of households speaking a language other than English at home.
Over the past 10 years more than 300 Karen refugees have been welcomed to Greater
Bendigo.
The Muslim community within Bendigo is estimated to be about 200 in a population of
110,000.

Ms Jacobson then provided participants with some background information in relation to the
‘Mosque Planning Application’. The proposal for the $3 million mosque, which includes two prayer
rooms, a shop and a community sports hall, received more than 400 letters of objection, with more
than half of them based on religious grounds.
Influence of other groups
Ms Jacobson explained that many Community leaders in Bendigo were of the view that much of the
opposition at the meeting came from outsiders associated with anti-Muslim groups who travelled to
Bendigo specifically to cause trouble. Locals also expressed concerns about anti-Islamic groups
“hijacking” meetings that were supposed to discuss planning concerns.
Racist Targeting


Outside the council chamber Councillor Mark Weragoda received abuse linked to his Sri
Lankan heritage with one spectator yelling ‘we don’t want you here’. His home and work
have also been targeted with black balloons.
On January 11th, 2014, a Facebook page “Stop the Mosque in Bendigo” was created to
oppose plans for the construction of the first Mosque in the Victorian city of Bendigo. Athis
divisive social media page has subsequently been shut down by Facebook for violating its
community standards.
COGB’s response
•
•
•
•
•
Dealt with as “just another planning issue” - treating each submission on its merits.
Provide some guidance to customer service staff.
Liaised with the police re risk, protesters, and threatening emails to councillors.
Liaised closely with the applicant.
Internally focussed
Despite the orchestrated manipulation of the planning process, Councillors voted seven to two to
support the $3 million development, which is funded by the Australian Islamic Mission.
Positive Community Responses

An initiative generated by a handful of locals concerned about the racism organised for
hundreds of multi-coloured balloons across town, to send a message that "everyone is
welcome in Bendigo". The group encouraged all people who supported inclusiveness to
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

hang their own rainbow balloons around town to "push the tide of black and negativity and
replace it with colourful and positivity.
In a further show of support, an online Change.org petition has attracted almost 1000
signatures and dozens of messages of support for the mosque and for diversity in Bendigo.
Bendigo Bank made the decision to close the account of the Stop the Mosque group. In a
statement issued by the Bank it stated that the organisation values tolerance and
inclusiveness, qualities which are an important part of a strong community and as such the
bank would only do business with individuals and organisations that shares its values.
Launch of the Racism: It Stops With Me Campaign
Bendigo residents reject racism – The City of Greater Bendigo has become the 43rd Australian local
council to sign-up to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s anti-racism campaign.
This campaign is designed to raise awareness and empower Australians to
confront prejudice in their community. Greater Bendigo residents are proud and
inclusive and I look forward to their full support...
Councillor Lyons – Mayor of City of Greater Bendigo
Ms Jacobson also outlined additional initiatives that are currently being undertaken by the Council,
including the development of a cultural diversity strategy and an interfaith council. The City of
Greater Bendigo also convene the Bendigo Local Settlement Planning Committee which has a
strong partnership with a range of culturally and linguistically diverse organisations and community
groups.
Lessons Learnt



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





Communication within the organisation and engaging different departments.
Greater support to front line staff.
Cannot be treated as “just another planning” issue due to social dimension and
consequently resource implications.
Established position of the organisation and councillors regarding human rights related
issues.
Point of contact with the police and protocol for gathering intelligence.
Ongoing liaison but not responsibility placed on the Bendigo Islamic Association for
community education.
Liaising with other stakeholders: police, La Trobe, community service organisations etc.
Being more proactive to develop opportunities for the community to express a more
positive voice.
Managing entry points to the organisation and communication flows / messages out
Development of an internal strategy and protocol
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Rivkah Nissim,
Principal Adviser, Race Discrimination Team
Australian Human Rights Commission
Ms Nissim began her presentation with a brief overview of the National Anti-Racism Strategy, its
origins, aims and objectives and some of the key campaigns involving local government
engagement.
The aim of the Strategy is to promote a clear understanding in the Australian community of what
racism is and how it can be prevented and reduced. The Australian Human Rights Commission
(AHRC) is leading the implementation of the Strategy.
The Strategy focuses on public awareness, education resources and youth engagement. It is
underpinned by research, consultation and evaluation. A key initiative of the Strategy is the
'Racism. It Stops with Me' campaign which currently has close to 300 organisational supporters
including over 50 councils around Australia..
Ms Nissim then provided a comprehensive overview of the ‘Racism Stops with Me’ campaign. In
keeping with Strategy’s focus on systemic change, the main focus of campaign is engaging
organisations rather than individuals.
The campaign has been underpinned by key research findings which suggest that:




1 in 7 Australians say they experience discrimination because of their colour or background
approximately 1 in 5 Australians say they have experienced race-hate talk, such as verbal
abuse, racial slur or name-calling
around 1 in 10 Australians say they have experienced race-based exclusions in the
workplace or social events
more than 1 in 20 Australians say they have been physically attacked because of their race.
Supporters commit to:
• Endorse objectives of the campaign
• Promote the campaign through their communications channels
• Identify specific activities that their organisation can undertake over the life of the campaign
to support their stance against racism.
She provided an outline of the role of the Campaign secretariat at AHRC which includes:
• Resources supporters – largely schools, councils, sporting clubs and local councils –
with materials and information
• Sends monthly updates to supporters featuring good practice case studies and
promotes case studies on website.
Key resources developed to date include:
• for government (unconscious bias training for service providers working with ATSI peoples)
• for employers (Workplace Cultural Diversity Tool)
• for education providers (curriculum resources)
• Also support ARC CRaCR program (cyber-racism)
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The MAV has worked closely with the Commission to promote their “Racism. It Stops With Me”
initiative to councils; and many councils are supporters of this campaign.
Ms Nissim then focused specifically on the area of local government engagement, highlighting some
of the following case study examples:
C ASE STUDY EXAMPLES
VicHealth LEAD project
The Municipal Association of Victoria’s resource – Standing Up to Race-Based Discrimination, Local
Government Continuing to Build Inclusive Communities was developed through Municipal
Association of Victoria (MAV) and the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) Localities
Embracing and Accepting Diversity (LEAD) program funding.
City of Wyndham
Council launched an event attended by 190 people where Wyndham Council signed on together
with Werribee Football club. A guest speaker from North Melbourne Football Club highlighted the
council’s commitment to the campaign.
Yarra City Council
Before signing on to “Racism. It Stops With Me” campaign Yarra Council’s youth ambassadors
produced a you tube video talking about their experiences with racism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_c_4CRz_IQ
Hobson’s Bay Council
To support signing on to the campaign, Council implemented training by VEOHRC to staff,
councillors, CEO, directors, managers, coordinators. They also sought individual staff pledges,
added campaign logos to staff email signatures and undertook a workplace diversity assessment to
identify strengths and areas for improvement.
City of Monash
The City of Monash have established various programs including ‘Let’s All Play’ for newly arrived
migrants to participate in sport, Flavours Of Monash – sharing experiences and personal settlement
journeys, digital stories project. The program engages CALD women to express their identity to the
wider community through arts. These activities are not in direct response to the campaign but
support Council’s commitment to the issue.
City of Bendigo
Council voted to join the campaign in July 2014 ’in light of recent events’ where the mayor invited
residents to sign an anti-racism pledge at a community event, post a ‘selfie’ online or sign a pledge
at council offices.
Darebin City Council
Darebin City Council recently launched the ‘Say No to Racism’ project, which aims to encourage
bystanders to take action when they witness racism. The project will create a training package,
including a written manual and DVD, to help the Darebin community effectively respond to racism.
The training package will include:

An overview of racism and its impacts of the community
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

Reasons why bystanders should take action
Practical tools and skills that enable and empower people to take action
The link between collective action and creating a culture where racism is not tolerated
City of Greater Dandenong
At a Council meeting on 26 June 2013, Council unanimously pledged support for the campaign.
Council’s pledge will further build on the existing work and initiatives such as community festivals,
cultural and interfaith tours, Cultural Diversity and Refugee Week celebrations and various
community projects.
Council’s newly established project Racism. Get up. Speak Out. will play a significant role in
advancing Councils position on the issue.
In addition, Council:

endorsed the campaign by featuring the campaign logo on Council website

is promoting the campaign widely

is undertaking activities to support Council’s stance against racism.
Racism. Get Up. Speak Out. is a community project that encourages local people to speak out
against racism. The experiences shared will contribute to a collection of anecdotes, stories and
films that celebrate the positive action people take when they witness racist behaviour. This
website features some of the stories of local people who are speaking out against racism.
In 2014 the City of Greater Dandenong (CGD) won a prestigious national award for its innovative
project Racism. Get Up. Speak Out. The project was awarded in the ‘Multicultural Australia –
strength in diversity’ category at the National Awards for Local Government held at Parliament
House in Canberra. Announced by Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, the awards highlight
innovative projects that deliver better outcomes for communities.
Under the Strategy, the Commission has prioritised development of a practical resource to support
councils to respond to racism and strengthen social cohesion in their communities. Rivkah outlined a
specific initiative that is currently being undertaken by the AHRC in relation to resourcing local
government on issues related to the prevention and response of racism3.
The initiative specifically involves the development of an online resource to support local councils,
in partnership with key stakeholders at the local level to:
•
•
•
effectively prevent and respond to racism
manage inter-community conflict where it occurs, and
build cohesion between ethnically and culturally diverse communities (including
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and multicultural communities).
The resource will:
3
Since the presentation provided by AHRC, it has been announced that the ACELG have been appointed by the Commission to develop
the online resource. The resource will be available on the ACELG website from July 2015.
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•
•
articulate good practice principles or guidelines to guide local government engagement
in this area and
collate case studies demonstrating good practice in particular local government areas that
may be of relevance to other councils.
Focus on areas including:
• Effective prevention of, and responses to, racism and inter-community conflict
• Partnerships and community governance models (involving, for example, councils,
police, non-government organisations, businesses, schools and/or community leaders);
• Youth engagement and leadership, and
• Adaptability to a range of communities and contexts.
Overall, the online resource will use evidence-based research, draw on best practice examples in
Australia and overseas and provide practical tools and advice to strengthen social cohesion in
diverse communities.
Ms Nissim concluded her presentation by emphasising the following key points:


research on international best practice in preventing racial discrimination highlights the
importance of effective interventions at the community level.
local government is very well placed to contribute to building social cohesion in each of the
key domains identified in the Scanlon-Monash Index of Social Cohesion: belonging; social
justice and equity; participation: acceptance and rejection, and worth.
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Key Issues and Discussion
Key points that emerged through open discussion following presentations included:











Local governments have an important role in racism and social cohesion.
Local government faces challenges in providing communities with effective leadership to
navigate through tensions that arise from time to time from cultural diversity in the
community.
Local government is very well placed to contribute to building social cohesion in each of the
key domains identified in the Scanlon-Monash Index of Social Cohesion: belonging; social
justice and equity; participation: acceptance and rejection, and worth.
Engagement with stakeholders and collaboration across all levels of government is vital for
enhancing Australia’s social cohesion and a vibrant community life.
Local government is a key point of contact for multicultural communities and a key player in
maintaining socially cohesive communities.
Social tensions and conflicts do arise from time to time, and local government has a
responsibility to monitor and respond appropriately.
The work of local governments on the ground in managing community tensions and the
needs of communities should be commended - this work is indispensable.
Local government is very well placed to contribute to building social cohesion in each of the
key domains identified in the Scanlon-Monash Index of Social Cohesion: belonging; social
justice and equity; participation: acceptance and rejection, and worth.
The importance of local government linking into the Human Rights Charter in their planning
processes.
That the outcomes of the LEAD project have not been adequately distributed and promoted
across local government – some Councils have not been included in sharing learnings and
resources that have emerged from LEAD.
Employment is a critical factor if social cohesion is to be translated into reality – local
government has the lowest level of CALD representation across all three tiers of
government.
Recommendations/Suggestions
That the MAV Multicultural Committee considers hosting a roundtable discussion aimed at
developing a social cohesion framework for intercultural relations in a multicultural society.
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C. Access and Equity
Session Overview
The Access and Equity breakout session was facilitated by Cr Peter Lockwood, MAV Multicultural
Committee Chairperson and involved presentations from Greater Shepparton City Council, City of
Ballarat, Wodonga City Council and Gateway Health.
The key question guiding discussions was ‘How does Local Government ensure that its services
and structures provide equal opportunity for participation?’
Presenters
Kate Montgomery, Team Leader Community
Strengthening
Charlene Norton, Cultural Development Officer
Greater Shepparton City Council
Topic
Working in partnership with Greater
Shepparton’s Multicultural Community
Frances Salenga Coordinator Cultural Diversity
Igor Zovko, Cultural Diversity Advisor
City of Ballarat
City of Ballarat – Access and Equity
Brett Sanderson, Settlement Officer
Wodonga Council
Dax Matthews, Project Coordinator for the
Substance Misuse Service Delivery Grants Fund
Gateway Health
Wodonga’s journey towards access & equity
Full copies of plenary presentations can be accessed at http://www.mav.asn.au/policyservices/social-community/multicultural/Pages/opportunities-for-partnerships-conference.aspx
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Summary of Presentations
Kate Montgomery, Team Leader Community Strengthening
Charlene Norton, Cultural Development Officer
Greater Shepparton City Council
This presentation began with an overview of Greater Shepparton’s demographics and highlighted
that 13.2% of the population in the region was born overseas. Ten percent of Shepparton’s
residents come from a country where English is not the first language.
The Greater Shepparton City Council has implemented a range of initiatives to enhance its services
and structures and thereby improve access and participation for local multicultural communities.
Key initiatives covered in the presentation included:


Language services – Council uses pictorial communication boards and offers access to
interpreters and a Multilingual Information Line Service
Festivals – Council partners with Multicultural Arts Victoria, the Shepparton English
Language Centre, Bridge Youth Service, Yorta Yorta Nation and Uniting Care Cutting Edge
to run an annual Emerge festival.
Greater Shepparton was also one of the two Councils that delivered the LEAD project. Initiatives
that continue to operate as a result of the project include the Afghan Newsletter, LEAD Training for
volunteer managers and staff, Respecting Differences Forums and the LEAD Art Project.
Future plans that Council is pursuing to enhance access and equity include partnership programs
with:
 Goulburn Murray AFL (to engage CALD youth)
• A Reporting Racism Pilot with Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Victorian Equal Opportunity
and Human Rights Commission and Victoria Police
• A Congolese Sewing Group
• The Shepparton Fire Brigade (to promote fire safety to CALD communities)
• Local Schools
Council is also working on developing Neighbourhood Plans which involve working with selfidentifying neighbourhoods to build local capacity and engagement with newly arrived communities.
Frances Salenga Coordinator Cultural Diversity
Igor Zovko, Cultural Diversity Advisor
City of Ballarat
The City of Ballarat has adopted as its vision ‘an inclusive intercultural city’ and is increasingly
attracting new arrival communities with 631 new migrants setting in the city in the last three years.
The majority of new migrants arrived under the skilled migration stream and the family migration
stream. A smaller number arrived under the humanitarian migration stream.
Council’s current Cultural Diversity strategy sets out four key priority areas including:
 Responsive service delivery
 Leadership and advocacy
 Sustaining an intercultural city
 Celebrating and valuing diversity
Key initiaves to support multicultural access and equity highighted in this presentation included:
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

Establishing a multicultural information desk at the Ballarat Public Library. The desk is
staffed by volunteers as a work experience opportunity and provides information on local
services with a particular focus on settlement needs
The highly successful Multicultural Ambassador Program which serves as Council’s bridge to
communities. Multicultural Ambassadors are active in the community delivering cultural
awareness presentations at schools, businesses, local radio, etc.
The presentation also featured Council’s CALD careers program which emerged as a result of
factors including:
 A lack of formal assistance available to spouses of Skilled migrants
 A lack of employment services available to certain migrant groups
 Issues within existing Job Services Australia providers when dealing with migrants
Community and industry engagement were critical stages involved in setting up the program which
so far has been completed by 100 participants. Of these, 46 have achieved ongoing employment
outcomes. Council currently has 21 industry partners supporting the program and are continuing to
engage with the corporate sector to grow the program.
Brett Sanderson, Settlement Officer
Wodonga Council
Dax Matthews, Project Coordinator for the Substance Misuse Service Delivery Grants Fund
Gateway Health
The City of Wodonga has a population of around 38,000 with just under 10% of the resident
population having been born overseas. More recently, around 1000 humanitarian entrants from
Bhutan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo have settled in the city. The city is
also home to a large skilled migrant and international student population.
This presentation covered some of the key challenges Council is facing in ensuring services and
structures are accessible and inclusive of the participation of new arrival communities. These
included:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Access to interpreting services including limitations imposed by costs
A lack of information sharing between local services
A lack of settlement support programs particularly for skilled migrants
An inadequate referral system which results in clients going back and forth between service
providers
Eligibility limits for service access
Limited public transport
Capacity to respond to diverse needs
Impact of government policies
Community attitudes
Key initiatives Council is undertaking to address these issues include:
• Establishing a Multicultural Interagency Network
• Collaborating with the Albury Wodonga Ethnic Communities Council
• Supporting cultural events and celebrations
• Capacity building of service provider staff with a focus on using interpreters and cultural
awareness training
• Taking an active advocacy role by engaging with media, business and government agencies
around the needs of new arrival communities
• Leading community education programs through schools and art projects
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Wodonga Council is committed to strengthening its work in this area into the future by pursuing
funding opportunities that will build social cohesion programs, expanding the use of interpreter
services, targeted policies and action plans, staff training and recruitment strategies that will
increasingly enable Council to reflect the community it serves.
A key partner organisation Council is working closely with is Gateway Health who are a leading local
service provider in working with migrant communities. Gateway Health promote the service as a
migrant welcome zone, employ a refugee health nurse and provide multilingual information and
resources. The organisation delivers some settlement services and also offers on-site interpreters.
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Key Issues and Discussion
Key points that emerged through open discussion following presentations included:







Challenges for regional Councils using interpreters in situations involving small communities.
This remains an ongoing issue more so when an on-site interpreter is required.
Some regional Councils are doing a lot of work with other local service providers to enhance
understanding around when an interpreter needs to be accessed as well as issues related to
working with interpreters.
Addressing family violence in CALD communities is increasingly being recognised as an
issue in regional areas. Some Councils are using the ‘Settled and Safe’ program to raise the
issue of family violence and impart information about Australian laws.
Shepparton Council also run a Culture Club program based on information provision for new
arrival communities and bring in a guest speaker on the subject.
Councils are well placed to play a leadership role in employment initiatives for CALD
communities, particularly around eliminating both perceived and actual barriers by working
with communities and employers.
Youth unemployment continues to be a major issue in regional areas.
Ballarat Council have achieved good outcomes in employment for migrant communities by
engaging local businesses to provide work experience opportunities. They run cultural
awareness training for local businesses and train community members to apply for jobs.
These initiatives have led to sustainable employment outcomes.
Recommendations/Suggestions:
That the MAV Multicultural Committee considers hosting a roundtable discussion around the role
local government can play in supporting employment opportunities for migrant communities. This
event could involve a series of good practice case studies by local government.
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Summary and Close
Following the break-out sessions, forum participants were invited to come together to reflect on the
day’s learnings. This section sets out a summary of participant reflections.

The forum was inspiring in terms of highlighting that Councils are willing to come together to
collaborate and achieve results. There is no sense of competition but rather a genuine
desire for participation and working together to achieve results for the community.

Young people are intimidated about participating in forums such as this but local government
need to do more to involve them in leadership activities and engage them to improve future
prospects for this cohort.

In terms of partnerships it is important to recognise unequal power relations and larger
organisations such as Councils should be making the first move in building relationships with
the community sector.

Sharing is important – there is nothing to lose but much to gain by the local government
sector in sharing ideas, resources, learnings etc.

Regional Councils are demonstrating remarkable innovation in working with humanitarian
background communities. Forum participants were inspired by the examples of work being
done.

There remain concerns around community voices that are not being heard. Councils need to
do more work around accessing grassroots communities that may not necessarily be linked
in to community services. This requires a more physical presence in the actual community.

Local government offers tremendous opportunity in relation to one of the biggest settlement
challenges – employment. Councils need to be advocating more strongly in this area and
pursuing partnerships or collaborations that address employment issues.

There is a need to document the evidence base around methodologies that are working.
MAV could play a leadership role as a clearinghouse where this evidence base could be
accessed.

Partnerships are also about engaging directly at grassroots and resourcing communities to
be able to participate and contribute to planning and decision making processes.

We need to talk about social justice and recognise that it is instrumental to achieving social
inclusion.

The Racism it stops with me campaign is an important and necessary one but does not
address systemic racism which has a significant impact on settlement. Structural racism is
most evident in unemployment rates amongst multicultural communities. Young people are
seeing their elders unable to access jobs and this is influencing their perspective. Local
government can do something about enthusiasm and entrepreneurship of young people.
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
Councils who participated in the forum and who are doing very little will now have cultural
diversity on their radar and hopefully actively pursue a response as part of their agenda
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Post Forum Feedback
“It was great to have the opportunity to recognise and learn from the initiatives
and efforts of colleagues and to be able to realise just how much leadership local
government really does show around social justice and inclusion”
Forum participants were also invited to contribute further feedback on the forum via email. This
section sets out a summary of responses across three areas:

key insights / learnings that emerged as a result of attending the forum


key outcomes that emerged as a result of discussions
suggestions in proposing a way forward
Key insights / learnings that emerged as a result of attending the forum

The New York blueprints confirm that we are all on the right track. It is reassuring to see what
is happening overseas in a huge community is also happening in our back yard.

There are a number of best practice models achieving excellent outcomes but there are no
resources allocated to documenting and sharing these across local government.
Key outcomes that emerged as a result of discussions

Partnerships exist but are difficult to maintain due to funding requirements.

Information about the new settlement planning framework. Would have liked to hear more
about how this will work practically and on the ground and how will it affect our work.

Hearing about the good work of other Councils.

The key outcome of conference was that the concept of 'partnerships' as a way of doing
business in local government was put firmly on the table. That can only be a good thing.
Suggestions in proposing a way forward

Local Government specific tools to help officers do their work effectively. Some Councils are
doing really innovative work, but it is not being shared or picked up on by the peak bodies.
For example the Diversity Capabilities Framework and other frameworks that can help
advocate to improve knowledge transfer and commitment to the issue of diversity across
local government using a consistent approach.

A greater focus on dialogue in the next forum. Question time is always “not enough time”.
Speakers were too long, and in break-out sessions no time control.
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
In terms of partnerships, funding is a key element and so if there is no funding to facilitate
partnerships it is difficult to have them, because each agency has its own agenda and needs
to abide by funding requirements.

There was no mention of the Auditor General’s Report on Access and Equity released in
May 2014. There are some alarming findings in the report that need to be considered and
addressed.

The most difficult thing in this space has been making the cultural diversity agenda
everyone’s business- this still is not happening. Knowledge transfer is obstructed by systems
that create barriers to advancing the role. Local government officers work with a genuine
desire to support the local community in their interests find themselves sidelined by
Management structures that require copious reports rather than engaging in a discourse that
allows us to find solutions. Everything must be done in ‘writing’ and in a particular way.

The forum was a very productive way of setting a positive agenda, and supporting
local governments to set their own positive agendas - and that is the way forward.
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Appendices
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Appendix 1: Program
8:45am
Registration and Networking/Coffee
9.15am
Overview of the Program and Housekeeping
Maria Dimopoulos,
Facilitator
9.25am
Welcome to Wyndham City
Cr Intaj Khan
Wyndham City Council
MAV Multicultural Committee
9.30am
Keynote Address: The Role of Local
Government in Multicultural Policy – An
International Perspective
Fatima Shama
Former Commissioner
New York City Mayor’s Office of
Immigrant Affairs
10.10am
Morning Tea
10.40am
Local Government Sectoral View
Cr Bill McArthur
President
Municipal Association of Victoria
10.50am
Federal Government Perspective: Settlement
and Multicultural Affairs
Bernadette Ryan
State Manager
Department of Social Services
11.00am
State Government Perspective:
Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship
Hakan Akyol
Director
Office of Multicultural Affairs and
Citizenship
11.10am
Community Sector View
Dr Irene Bouzo
Acting Director
Ethnic Communities’ Council of
Victoria
11.20am
Koories in Council
Lidia Thorpe
Aboriginal Employment Advisor
Municipal Association of Victoria
11.30am
Multicultural policy and planning at the
municipal level
Cr Gautam Gupta
Chair, Cultural Diversity Strategy
and Policy Development Committee
Wyndham City Council
11.40am
Panel Discussion with all plenary presenters
Maria Dimopoulos
Facilitator
12.30pm
Lunch Break
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1.30pm
Breakout Session 1
See details below
A. Settlement Planning
B. Social Cohesion
C. Access and Equity
2.30pm
Afternoon Tea
2.45pm
Breakout Session 2
See details below
A. Settlement Planning
B. Social Cohesion
C. Access and Equity
3.50pm
Plenary performance
Abe Nouk
Poet and spoken word artist
4.00pm
Summing Up
Maria Dimopoulos
Facilitator
4.15pm
Forum Finishes
(with slippage this could go back to 5pm)
Breakout Sessions
A.
Settlement Planning
Council Chambers
Panellists:
Facilitator:
Eilis Hughes
Senior Policy and Planning Officer,
Wyndham City Council
 John Smith & Terri Soumilas
Brimbank City Council
 Veema Mooniapah
City of Greater Geelong
Maureen O’Keefe
Diversitat
 Jennie Barrera
Wyndham Community & Education Centre
Kriss McKie
Wyndham City Council
B.
Social Cohesion
Function Room 1
Panellists:
Facilitator:
Maria Dimopoulos
Myriad Consultants
 Cr Gaetano Greco
Darebin City Council
 Natalie Jacobson
City of Greater Bendigo
 Rivkah Nissim
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Australian Human Rights Commission
C.
Access and Equity
Function Rooms 2 & 3
Panellists:
Facilitator:
Cr Peter Lockwood
City of Knox
MAV Multicultural Committee
Chairperson
 Kate Montgomery & Charlene Norton
Greater Shepparton City Council
 Frances Salenga & Igor Zovko
City of Ballarat
 Brett Sanderson
Wodonga Council
Dax Matthews
Gateway Health
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Appendix 2: Speakers
Plenary
Cr Intaj Khan moved to Wyndham in 2008 and is married with five children and lives in Truganina. He holds a
business degree and is CEO of Western Technology. During his time in Wyndham Cr Khan has been actively
involved in many community groups including Kindergarten Committees, a multicultural group and the
Australian Council of Education Providers. Cr Khan Is Council's Economic Development portfolio holder, and
he represents Wyndham on the MAV Multicultural Policy Committee.
Fatima Shama is the Vice President of Strategic Development and External Affairs at Maimonides Medical
Center in Brooklyn. She was formerly the Commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, a
position she had held since 2009. Prior to that she served as Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s senior education
policy advisor. Ms. Shama joined Mayor Bloomberg’s office in 2006 to work on a special initiative on the
intersection between health care, language access and literacy. Before that, she was the executive director of
the Greater Brooklyn Health Coalition. Ms. Shama earned a BA from Binghamton University and a Masters in
Public Administration from Baruch College’s School of Public Affairs Executive Program. The daughter of a
Brazilian mother and a Palestinian father, Ms. Shama speaks five languages. She works with the Center for
Community and Ethnic Media on its Newsmaker Series, which offers opportunities for community and ethnic
journalists to have direct contact with public officials.
Cr Bill McArthur will this year chalk up 23 years of service to local government. After relocating to the country
hamlet of Haddon in 1981 to open a small business with his wife Lyn and two children, Bill discovered that he
was well suited to the active community lifestyle that Golden Plains Shire is renowned for. Cr McArthur was a
councillor at the former Shire of Grenville from 1991 to 1994, and has been a councillor with Golden Plains
Shire since 1996. He served as mayor for two terms in 2004 and 2005. Cr McArthur has been the President
of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) since 2009 and has been Golden Plains Shire Council’s MAV
representative since 1996. He was elected to the MAV Board by the Rural South Central Region in 2005, and
has been a Director of the Australian Local Government Association since 2009. As MAV President, Bill has
strived to represent the collective and influential voice of local government across Victoria responsibly,
ethically and passionately. Bill is also a current White Ribbon ambassador.
Bernadette Ryan is currently the Victorian State Manager for the Department of Social Services. The
Department of Social Services was created after the last federal election and brings together parts of four
previous agencies: Health & Ageing; Families, Housing, Sport, Communities & Indigenous Affairs;
Immigration; and Employment, Education & Workplace Relations. Prior to her return to federal government in
2001, Bernadette was with the Victorian Government and responsible for all marketing and communications
strategy and implementation for the ministers and portfolios of Planning, Community Development, Local
Government, Heritage Victoria, Sport and Recreation, Veterans Affairs, Office of Disability, Office for Youth,
Office for Women, Indigenous Affairs and the Respect Agenda. Bernadette has over 20 years in the
Commonwealth Public Service and has held various positions in the Australian Taxation Office, before moving
to the Department of Human Services and also working on secondment to the Department of the Prime
Minister and Cabinet.
Hakan Akyol has extensive experience in multicultural affairs having had various roles within the community,
local government and state government. He is presently the Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and
Citizenship within the Victorian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet. His previous roles have
included:
 Interim Chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission (2011)
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





Deputy Chairperson and Director of the Victorian Multicultural Commission (2005-11)
Deputy Director of the Victorian Office of Multicultural Affairs (2001-2005)
Executive Officer of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (1993-2001)
HACC Ethnic Access & Equity Officer for Southern Metro Region (1989-1993, working across
seven local Governments and based at what was then the City of Moorabbin)
Secretary of what was then called the Local Government Ethnic Services Group (civica 199031)
Bilingual Rehabilitation Coordinator (1989)
In his student days he also had brief stints as a mediator, houseparent, occupational therapy assistant, kitchen
hand, pizza deliveries and as a taxi driver. He has had various roles on a range of committees of
management as well as representation on Commonwealth and State advisory committees. He has a Bachelor
of Science and a Bachelor of Social Work.
Dr Irene Bouzo is the Senior Policy Officer at Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria (ECCV) and currently
the Acting Executive Officer. She has worked there for six years consulting with culturally diverse community
groups and policy committees on a range of issues such as aged care, employment barriers and building
partnerships in Victoria’s multicultural community.
Lidia Thorpe is MAV’s Aboriginal employment project adviser, a Gunnai / Gunditjmara woman from the South
East and Western parts of Victoria. Lidia is well connected to Victorian Aboriginal communities she has
worked in a number of Aboriginal organisations and in diverse rolls for all tiers of government, Lidia is
committed to improving the health and wellbeing of her people and believes local government’s partnering with
their Aboriginal communities is one very important element to addressing disadvantage amongst Aboriginal
Victorians.
Cr Gautam Gupta is a healthcare professional in the field of Audiology, who lives and works in Hoppers
Crossing. Cr Gupta has been involved in and supported a wide range of community groups and is currently
Council's Cultural Diversity portfolio holder. Other areas of special focus for Cr Gupta are alignment between
Council and community values, inclusive and accountable governance practices, the provision of
infrastructure, such as the road network and access to public transport, in accordance with local requirements
including population growth.
Settlement Planning
John Smith is the Coordinator, Community Planning and Partnerships at Brimbank City Council. He has had
extensive experience in social planning and research and community engagement. Previous positions include:
Principal researcher at Cedar Creek Consultancy Services; Manager Social Inclusion and Diversity at Darebin
City Council, and Senior Project Manager at Aboriginal Affairs Victoria.
Terri Soumilas is the Community Planning & Engagement Officer in the Engagement Team at Brimbank. She
currently is responsible for Brimbank’s CALD portfolio, where she has worked extensively with local
organisations and service providers in developing programs and projects that respond to and address local
needs and aspirations. More recently, Terri’s work at Brimbank has had a strong focus on the needs of
refugees and asylum seekers. Terri has had extensive experience in working within the community sector, as
well as in local government.
Veema Mooniapah works as community development officer at the City of Greater Geelong (CoGG), since 6
years. She developed CoGG first Diversity Policy and Multicultural Action Plan. Her main role includes
implementing the MAP, by also coordinating a whole of Council approach to implementation. To this end she
works closely with other local agencies like Diversitat, Minerva Community Services and Barwon Health.
Within her role Veema also supports the Geelong Interfaith Network where she helped the group to be
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incorporated, create a monthly radio program called the “Voice of Interfaith” and develop a strategic plan,
among others.
Maureen O’Keefe is an experienced broadcaster, trainer and manager with more than 15 years’ experience
working with multilingual and multicultural communities. Maureen worked for 10 years as a broadcaster with
the ABC before moving to Alice Springs where she managed the multilingual Aboriginal Radio Station, 8KIN
FM. Maureen went on to manage Melbourne’s on 3ZZZ, Australia’s largest ethnic community ration station,
with over 300 volunteers broadcasting in 57 different languages. Later she worked as the Training Manager for
SBS radio in Melbourne before joining AMES to manage the establishment and ongoing operation of the
Multicultural Hub, located opposite the Victoria Market. Earlier this year she returned to her home town of
Geelong, where she is now manager of Settlement and Community programs at Diversitat, with a team of 40
providing a diverse range of services to migrant and refugee communities.
Jennie Barrera is the CEO of the Wyndham Community & Education Centre Inc a position she has held since
2007. She has worked with refugee and migrant communities for over 30 years.
Jennie is the chairperson of the Wyndham Humanitarian Network (WHN), established in 2005 to facilitate
successful settlement of new arrivals in the city of Wyndham. In 2010, Wyndham CEC established the first
Interfaith Network in Wyndham which Jennie chaired for two years.
In 2009, Jennie received a Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence and a Julia Gillard MP, Above and
Beyond Award for services to the community. In 2012, she was selected as one of 40 People of Australia
Ambassadors by the previous government to provide input to the Australian Multicultural Council.
Jennie is also a member of the North West Adult Community and Further Education Regional Council, ViceChair of the WynBay LLEN and a member of the Police and Community Multicultural Advisory Committee
(PACMAC).
Kriss McKie is Manager, Social Development at Wyndham City Council.
Social Cohesion
Cr Gaetano Greco is currently Mayor of City of Darebin. Elected as a councillor in 2008, he has served on
many social policy committees and has been an advocate for embedding cultural diversity in local
government. In 2011 he was elected to the Municipal Association of Victoria’s (MAV) Board and became the
first chair of the MAV Advisory Committee on Multiculturalism. Before becoming a Councillor Gaetano was a
community activist campaigning on social justice issues associated with migrant and refugee communities. He
has travelled widely and also volunteered for two international election monitoring missions. He has a degree
in accounting and a graduate diploma in sociology and labour studies.
Natalie Jacobson is the Coordinator Inclusive Communities at City of Greater Bendigo. Natalie has a
background in community development and social work, both internationally, including working in developing
countries, and in Australia. She started at City of Greater Bendigo in January this year.
Rivkah Nissim is the manager of discrimination policy and research at the Australian Human Rights
Commission and previously worked as principal adviser to the Race Discrimination Commissioner Dr Tim
Soutphommasane. Rivkah came to the federal Commission from a senior policy advisory role at the Victorian
Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission. Rivkah’s background is in the non-government sector
where she has worked in social policy and project management in areas including disability, emergency relief,
family violence and housing. Rivkah has recently completed a Social Justice Fellowship at the University of
Sydney with a research focus on racism and resilience.
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Access and Equity
Kate Montgomery is Team Leader for the Community Strengthening department at Greater Shepparton City
Council. Kate has a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Human Resources and Management, is a Fairley
Leadership Program Fellow and has worked in the community services industry in Human Resource and
Management positions for the last decade. Kate’s current work sees her team work on many areas of
community development, engagement and capacity building including the areas of Community &
Neighbourhood Planning, Community Matching Grants, Volunteer Management, Community Safety, Municipal
Health and Wellbeing, Aboriginal Partnerships and Cultural Development.
Charlene Norton has been with Greater Shepparton City Council for a year where she began working on the
Localities Embracing and Accepting Diversity (LEAD) project. She was then appointed as the Cultural
Development Officer in January of this year. Charlene’s role is driven largely by Greater Shepparton City
Council’s Cultural Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action plan. She sits on a number of local committees
and advisory groups including Victorian Multicultural Commission’s Hume Regional Advisory Council, The
Ethnic Council Shepparton & District’s Integrated Settlement Planning Committee and the Department of
Justice’s Hume Region CALD Advisory Committee Shepparton.
Frances Salenga is Coordinator Cultural Diversity at the City of Ballarat, where she oversees the roll-out of
the Council’s Cultural Diversity Strategy. Frances is very keen in promoting social inclusion, community
engagement, participation and capacity building; particularly focusing on the needs of culturally, linguistically
and religiously diverse groups. She has a BA in English Literature, and a Masters in Social and Development
Studies with a major in Anthropology, Sociology and Development Management.
Igor Zovko is Cultural Diversity Advisor at the City of Ballarat after having served as a Multicultural
Ambassador in 2012-14. He is a Senior Manager with extensive experience in recruitment, executive search
and talent acquisition projects operating within the Professional Services and Management Consulting industry
sectors. His passion is to help young people by inspiring them to dream big so one day they are able to
achieve their goals. He hopes to be part of the solution to the social, cultural and economic challenges that is
facing the Western region.
Brett Sanderson is the Settlement Officer at the Wodonga Council, through the Settlement Grants Program,
and the Project Coordinator for the Albury Wodonga Ethnic Communities Council. Brett has also worked with
local Skilled Migrants, through the Regional Skilled Migration Program. He is passionate about supporting the
overall well-being of his clients, and in tackling the issue of respect and responsiveness of services.
Dax Matthews is the Project Coordinator for the Substance Misuse Service Delivery Grants Fund at Gateway
Health in Wodonga. Dax is heavily involved in capacity building to ensure Gateway Health and other local
services are equipped to deliver culturally competent and responsive services to the Refugee, Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities. Dax has experience in Complex
Case delivery and is a Mental Health First Aid Instructor and a DRUMBEAT facilitator.
69 | P a g e
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Appendix 3: Conference Delegates
ORGANISATION
POSITION
TITLE
FIRST
LAST
EMAIL
Moonee Valley City
Council
Community Planning Officer
Ms
Sally
Abbott
sabbott@mvcc.vic.g
ov.au
Department of Social
Services
Multicultural Community
Liaison Officer
Mr
Michael
Abdilla
michael.abdilla@dss.
gov.au
Horn of Africa
Communities
Network Inc.
Executive Director
Mr
Terefe
Aborete
terefe@dodo.com.a
u
Community
organisation
Chairperson, African Think
Tank
Dr
Berhan
Ahmed
b.ahmed@unimelb.e
du.au
Stonnington City
Council
Cultural Diversity Planner
Mrs
Aysin
Akdendiz
AAkdeniz@stonningt
on.vic.gov.au
Victorian
Government Office of
Multicultural Affairs
and Citizenship
Director
Hakan
Akyol
Frankston City
Council
Community Development
Mr
Wazed
Ali
Wazed.Ali@franksto
n.vic.gov.au
Victorian Immigrant
and Refugee
Women's Coalition
Community Development
and Partnership Officer
Northwest
Ms
Safa
Almarhoun
Safa.Almarhoun@vir
wc.org.au
Hume City Council
Coord Community Capacity
Building Southern
Ms
Romany
Amarasignha
m
romanya@hume.vic.
gov.au
Hume City Council
Access and Equity Planner
Ms
Julie
Andrews
juliea@hume.vic.gov
.au
Kingston City Council
Community Development
Officer
Ms
Timmah
Ball
timmah.ball@kingst
on.vic.gov.au
City of Melbourne
Cultural Diversity Officer
Ms
Kara
Barnett
karbar@melbourne.
vic.gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
CEO
Ms
Jennie
Barrera
jennieb@wyndhamc
ec.org.au
Victoria Police.
Superintendent
Mr
Stuart
Bateson
stuart.bateson@poli
ce.vic.gov.au
Sports Without
Borders
General Manager
Mr
Tarik
Bayrakli
tarik.bayrakli@sport
swithoutborders.org
Ethnic Communities’
Council of Victoria
Acting Executive Officer
Dr
Irene
Bouzo
Brimbank City Council
Acting Manager Community
Planning and Development
Ms
Kath
Brackett
KathB@brimbank.vic
.gov.au
Moonee Valley City
Council
Deputy Vice President
Mr
Justin
Bridgman
jbjb@ymail.com
Hume City Council
HACC Aboriginal Liaison
Officer
Ms
Leanne
Brooke
leanneb@hume.vic.g
ov.au
Greater Geelong City
Care Management Officer
Mrs
Louise
Broom
lbroom@geelongcity
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FORUM REPORT 2014
Council
.vic.gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
Team Leader Governance
and Community Leadership
Mrs
Sharon
Brown
sharon.brown@wyn
dham.vic.gov.au
Moreland City
Council
Diversity Officer
Ms
Nelum
Buddhadasa
Nbuddhadasa@more
land.vic.gov.au
Whittlesea City
Council
Multicultural Officer
Ms
Fotunata
Maria
Callipari
maria.callipari@whit
tlesea.viv.gov.au
Melton City Council
Access and Support
Outreach Officer
Mrs
Lillian
Campos
lillianc@melton.vic.g
ov.au
Port Phillip City
Council
Coordinator Access &
Inclusion
Ms
Laura
Cattapan
lcattapa@portphillip.
vic.gov.au
Knox City Council
Councillor
Cr
Joe
Cossari
joe.cossari@knox.vic
.gov.au
Kingston City Council
Community Development
Coordinator
Ms
Kate
Daddo
kate.daddo@kingsot
n.vic.gov.au
ECCV
Policy Officer
Ms
Sylvia
Daravong
sdaravong@eccv.org
.au
Yarra City Council
Community Planner
Ms
Cristina
Del Frate
cristina.delfrate@yar
racity.vic.gov.au
Darebin City Council
Multicultural Affairs
Coordination
Mr
Cesar
Diaz
cesar.diaz@darebin.
vic.gov.au
Moonee Valley City
Council
Treasurer
Ms
Nikki
Donelan
ndonelan@gmail.co
m
Victoria Police
Multicultural Liaison Officer
- VicPol
Mr
Richard
Dove
richard.dove@police
.vic.gov.au
OriginsInfo
Researcher
Mr
Michael
Dove
michael@originsinfo.
com.au
Greater Dandenong
City Council
Coordinator Health &
Wellbeing
Ms
Rachael
Duncombe
Rachael.Duncombe
@cgd.vic.gov.au
VICSEG New Futures
Manager: Programs for
Families, Children and
Young people
Ms
Janet
Elefsiniotis
jelefsiniotis@vicsegn
ewfutures.org.au
Darebin City Council
Events and Marketing
Projects Coordinator
Ms
Deborah
Equid
deborah.equid@dar
ebin.vic.gov.au
Ballarat City Council
Acting Manager Community
Development
Ms
Jenny
Fink
jennyfink@ballarat.vi
c.gov.au
Stonnington City
Council
Community Support and
Divesity Coordinator
Ms
Julie
Fry
jfry@stonnington.vic
.gov.au
Brimbank City Council
Community Services Officer
Mrs
Jenna
Fuimaono
jennafui@yahoo.co
m
Moonee Valley City
Council
CEO
Mr
Andrew
Gason
newcivilizationbuilde
rs@gmail.com
Multicultural Arts
Victoria
Project Officer
Ms
Robyn
Gawenda
youth@multicultural
arts.com.au
DHS
Community Participation
Mr
Haileluel
Gebreselassie
haileluel.gebreselassie@dhs.vic.gov
.au
Cardinia Shire Council
Community Planner
Ms
Glenda
George
g.george@cardinia.vi
c.gov.au
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Wyndham City
Council
Councillor
Cr
Peter
Gibbons
Jodie.Cowland@wyn
dham.vic.gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
Community Development
Officer
Ms
Kerrie
Godbold
Kerrie.Godbold@wy
ndham.vic.gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
Councillor
Cr
Glenn
Goodfellow
Jodie.Cowland@wyn
dham.vic.gov.au
Bayside City Council
HACC Diversity Adviser SMR
Ms
Katie
Goodrope
kgoodrope@bayside.
vic.gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
Research Officer
Ms
Sibel
Gradinscak
sibel.gradinscak@wy
ndham.vic.gov.au
Monash City Council
Social Policy and Program
Coordinator
Ms
Eugenia
Grammatikak
is
eugeniag@monash.v
ic.gov.au
Casey City Council
Manager
Ms
Janette
Green
jgreen@casey.vic.go
v.au
Wyndham City
Council
Director Community
Development
Ms
Kelly
Grigsby
kelly.grigsby@wyndh
am.vic.gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
Chairperson,Cultural
Diversity Strategy
Cr
Gautam
Gupta
Wodonga City Council
Settlement Assistance
Coordinator
Ms
Rachel
Habgood
rhabgood@wodonga
.vic.gov.au
Monash City Council
Multiculteral community
Development officer
Mrs
Amara
Hamid
amarah@monash.vic
.gov.au
Maribyrnong City
Council
Diversity Coordinator
Ms
Catherin
e
Hedley
catherine.hedley@m
aribyrnong.vic.gov.a
u
Victorian Immigrant
and Refugee
Women's Coalition
Community Development
and Partnership Officer
Southeast
Mrs
Nga
Hosking
Nga.Hosking@virwc.
org.au
Wyndham City
Council
Senior Policy & Planning
Officer
Ms
Eilis
Hughes
eilis.hughes@wyndh
am.vic.gov.au
Ballarat City Council
General Manager People &
Communities
Mr
Neville
Ivey
nevilleivey@ballarat.
vic.gov.au
Greater Bendigo City
Council
coordinator inclusive
communities
Ms
Natalie
Jacobson
natskye@hotmail.co
m
Wyndham City
Council
Senior Policy and Planning
Officer
Mr
Alex
Jarvis
alex.jarvis@wyndha
m.vic.gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
Data Analyst
Ms
Victoria
Kapke
victoria.kapke@wyn
dham.vic.gov.au
Spectrum Migrant
Resource Centre Inc
CEO
Ms
Rosemar
y
Kelada
UrsulaV@spectrumvi
c.org.au
Greater Dandenong
City Council
Community Development
Officer
Ms
Biljana
Komnenovic
bkomne@cgd.vic.gov
.au
Migrant Resource
Centre (New Hope
Foundation)
Settlement Manager
Ms
Pamela
Kosij
pamelak@newhope.
asn.au
Greater Geelong City
Council
Care Management Officer
Ms
Laura
Krastins
Lkrastins@geelongcit
y.vic.gov.au
Victorian Immigrant
and Refugee
Women's Coalition
Community Development
Officer- Frankston
Mrs
Sarita
Kulkarni
Sarita@bbtcpl.com
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Victorian Equal
Opportunity &
Human Rights
Commission
Senior Adviser Education
Ms
Jane
Lewis
jane.lewis@veohrc.vi
c.gov.au
Darebin City Council
Team Leader Equity and
Diversity
Ms
Karin
Linden
klinden@darebin.vic.
gov.au
Knox City Council
Councillor, MAV Board
Member
Cr
Peter
Lockwood
peter.lockwood@kn
ox.vic.gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
Community Development
Officer
Mr
James
Lombe Simon
james.simon@wynd
ham.vic.gov.au
Mornington
Peninsula Shire
Council
Community Access Planner
Ms
Xiaoli
Ma
maxiao@mornpen.vi
c.gov.au
Victorian Immigrant
and Refugee
Women's Coalition
Executive Director
Ms
Melba
Marginson
Melba.Marginson@v
irwc.org.au
Whittlesea City
Council
Leisure Inclusion Officer
Mrs
Serena
Marriott
serena.marriott@wh
ittlesea.vic.gov.au
Australian Red Cross
National Coordinator
Mrs
Diana
Mastrantuon
o
dmastrantuono@red
cross.org.au
City of Melbourne
Coordinator Community
Infrastructure and
Participation
Mr
David
Mazzotta
davmav@melbourne
.vic.gov.au
Municipal Association
of Victoria
President
Cr
Bill
McArthur
Moonee Valley City
Council
Community Support and
Development Officer
Ms
Kate
McClure
kmcclure@mvcc.vic.
gov.au
Port Phillip City
Council
Multicultural Liaison Officer
Mr
Ciaran
McCormack
cmccorma@portphill
ip.vic.gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
Leading Communities
Coordinator
Ms
Kriss
McKie
kriss.mckie@wyndha
m.vic.gov.au
Moira Shire Council
Comunity Development
Officer
Ms
Annabell
e
Mendoza
amendoza@moira.vi
c.gov.au
Mitchell Shire Council
Coordinator Community
Development
Ms
Geua
Montana
geua.montana@mitc
hellshire.vic.gov.au
Victorian
Multicultural
Commission
Director
Mr
Rudy
Monteleone
rudy.monteleone@v
mc.vic.gov.au
Greater Shepparton
City Council
Team Leader Community
Strengthening
Mrs
Kate
Montgomery
kate.montgomery@s
hepparton.vic.gov.au
Greater Geelong City
Council
Community Development
Officer
Ms
Veema
Mooniapah
vmooniapah@geelo
ngcity.vic.gov.au
Multicultural Arts
Victoria
Chief Executive Officer
Ms
Jill
Morgan
eo@multiculturalarts
.com.au
City of Melbourne
Community Leader
Mr
Yasseen
Musa
parsu.sl@police.vic.g
ov.au
iEmpower
CEO
Mr
Abeselo
m
Nega
abeselom@iempowe
r.com.au
Hume City Council
Team Leader Youth
Partnership
Ms
Janice
Nicholson
janicen@hume.vic.g
ov.au
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Hobsons Bay City
Council
Coordinator Social Planning
nad Development
Ms
Jo
Noesgaard
jnoesgaard@hobson
sbay.vic.gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
Community Development
Officer
Ms
Casey
Northam
casey.northam@wyn
dham.vic.gov.au
Greater Shepparton
City Council
Cultural Development
Officer
Ms
Charlene
Norton
charlene.norton@sh
epparton.vic.gov.au
Whittlesea City
Council
Multicultural Policy and
Planning Coordinator
Mr
Salvador
Nunez
salvador.nunez@whi
ttlesea.vic.gov.au
Diversitat settlement
and community
support program
Settlement and Community
Support Manager
Ms
Mauree
n
O’Keeffe
maureen.okeeffe@di
versitat.org.au
Ethnic Communities'
Council of Victoria
HACC Sectoral Development
Officer
Ms
ChenSu
Ooi
cooi@eccv.org.au
Whitehorse City
Council
Community Development
Officer
Ms
Railey
Orger
railey.orger@whiteh
orse.vic.gov.au
Municipal Association
of Victoria
Multicultural Policy Adviser
Mr
Con
Pagonis
cpagonis@mav.asn.a
u
Greater Geelong City
Council
Youth Development Officer
Mrs
Danielle
Parker
dparker@geelongcit
y.vic.gov.au
Whittlesea City
Council
Councillor
Cr
Kris
Pavlidis
kris.pavlidis@whittle
sea.vic.gov.au
Municipal Association
of Victoria
Manager Workforce
Mr
Geoff
Pawsey
gpawsey@mav.asn.a
u
Wyndham City
Council
Cultural Youth
Development Officer
Marie
Pewhairangi
marie.pewhairangi@
wyndham.vic.gov.au
Ballarat City Council
Councillor
Cr
Cr John
Philips
johnphilips@ballarat
.vic.gov.au
Melton City Council
Consultant
Ms
Gail
Price
gailp@melton.vic.go
v.au
Local Government
Victoria
Manager Intergovernmental
Relations
Ms
Kathy
Pryor
Kathy.Pryor@dtpli.vi
c.gov.au
Boroondara City
Council
Community Development
Officer
Ms
Theresa
Rajah
theresa.rajah@boro
ondara.vic.gov.au
Manningham City
Council
Social Planning
Ms
Kirsten
Reedy
kirsten.reedy@mann
ingham.vic.gov.au
Healthwest
Project Officer
Mrs
Laura
Ribarow
laura.ribarow@healt
hwest.org.au
Ethnic Communities'
Council of Victoria
Policy Officer Aged Care
Mr
Nikolaus
Rittinghausen
nrittinghausen@eccv
.org.au
Moorabool Shire
Council
Living at home coordinator
Mrs
Jean
Robinson
jrob@moorabool.vic.
gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
Facilitator
Mrs
Helen
Rodd
Helen.Rodd@vu.edu.
au
Centre for
Multicultural Youth
Sector and Community
Partnerships Manager
Ms
Gabi
Rosenstreich
grosenstreich@cmy.
net.au
Federal Department
of Social Services
Victorian State Manager
Bernade
tte
Ryan
Ballarat City Council
Coordinator Cultural
Diversity
Frances
Salenga
Mrs
francessalenga@ball
arat.vic.gov.au
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Wodonga City Council
Settlement Assistance
Officer
Mr
Brett
Sanderson
bsanderson@wodon
ga.vic.gov.au
Southern Migrant &
Refugee Centre
CEO
Ms
Jenny
Semple
jennys@smrc.org.au
City of Melbourne
President
Mr
Yadata
Shaba
parsu.sl@police.vic.g
ov.au
City of Melbourne
New & emerging
Communities Liaison Officer
Mr
Parsu
Sharma-Luital
parsu.sl@police.vic.g
ov.au
Darebin City Council
Diverse Communications
Advisor
Ms
Tharshin
i
Sivarajah
sash.sivarajah@gmai
l.com
Brimbank City Council
Coordinator, Community
Planning and Partnerships
Mr
John
Smith
JohnS@brimbank.vic
.gov.au
Victorian Immigrant
and Refugee
Women's Coalition
Project Leader-Casey
Mrs
Elaine
Smith
Elaine.m.smith@bigp
ond.com
Brimbank City Council
Community Engagement
Ms
Terri
Soumilas
terris@brminbak.vic.
gov.au
Maroondah City
Council
Immunisation Coordinator
Ms
Lisa
Sparkes
lisa.sparkes@maroo
ndah.vic.gov.au
Moorabool Shire
Council
living at home assessment
officer
Ms
Nicole
Sparrow
nsparr@moorabool.
vic.gov.au
Maribyrnong City
Council
Diversity Planner
Mr
Petr
Svoboda
petr.svoboda@marib
yrnong.vic.gov.au
VicHealth
Senior Project Officer,
Mental Wellbeing
Mrs
Tara
Szafraniec
tszafraniec@vichealt
h.vic.gov.au
Municipal Association
of Victoria
Aboriginal Employment
Advisor
Ms
Lidia
Thorpe
lthorpe@mav.asn.au
Frankston City
Council
Social Policy Coordinator
Ms
Christine
Tudor
Christine.Tudor@fra
nkston.vic.gov.au
Yarra City Council
Commuity Grants Team
Leader
Mr
Michael
Van Vliet
michael.vanvliet@ya
rracity.vic.gov.au
Australian Red Cross
National Manager
Mrs
Sonia
Vignjevic
svignjevic@redcross.
org.au
Moonee Valley City
Council
Vice President
Mr
Luke
Virgona
virgona_7@hotmail.
com
Yarra City Council
Community Planner
Ms
Katherin
e
Vrettas
katherine.vrettas@y
arracity.vic.gov.au
Hobsons Bay City
Council
Intake officer and Project
worker
Ms
Lucy
Vucic
Lvucic@hobsonsbay.
vic.gov.au
Hobsons Bay City
Council
Multicultural Officer
Ms
Tatiana
Walker
twalker@hobsonsba
y.vic.gov.au
Wyndham City
Council
Researcher
Dr
Paula
Wright
paula.wright@wynd
ham.vic.gov.au
Department of Social
Services
A/g Assistant Director,
Multicultural Affairs &
Settlement Services
Mr
Jason
Zaikos
jason.zaikos@dss.go
v.au
ECCV
Project Officer
Mrs
Daniela
Zatarakoska
dzatarakoska@eccv.
org.au
Ballarat City Council
BRMC & CD Advisor
Mr
Igor
Zovko
igor.zovko@wedder
burgconsulting.com.
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Wyndham City
Council
Committee member
Wyndham Cultural diversity
strategy & policy
development
Mrs
Valeska
ZunigaChondo
valeska.vzc@gmail.c
om
Migrant Resource
Centre (New Hope
Foundation)
Settlement Coordinator
Ms
Heidi
Zwick
heidiz@newhope.as
n.au
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