The Southern Corridor Summary Report

OMI Southern Corridor

Consultation Summary

Disclaimer: The information and advice within this document is provided voluntarily by the Office of Multicultural Interests as a public service. The information and advice is provided in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for purpose of this document. The reader of this document should satisfy him or herself concerning its application to their situation. The State of Western Australia, the Department of Local Government and Communities, the Office of Multicultural Interests, and their officers expressly disclaim liability for any act or omission occurring in reliance on this document or for any consequences of such act or omission. Current as at November 2014.

The Southern Corridor Summary Report is available for viewing and down load in a variety of formats, including this Word version from the Office of Multicultural Interests website: www.omi.wa.gov.au.

For more information, please contact:

Office of Multicultural Interests

Department of Local Government and Communities

Gordon Stephenson House, 140 William Street, Perth WA 6000

GPO Box R1250, Perth WA 6844

Telephone: (08) 6551 8700 Fax: (08) 6552 1555

Freecall: 1800 620 511 (Country only)

Email: Website: www.omi.wa.gov.au

Executive summary

The Office of Multicultural Interests (OMI) held four consultations in the Southern Corridor on 4and 6November 2014. The consultations were undertaken jointly with the Australian Government Department of Social Services. They were organised following advice from non-government representatives about the growing population of people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) backgrounds residing in the southern corridor local government areas (LGAs).

Consultations were conducted in Rockingham, Mandurah, Cockburn and Kwinana and were organised in partnership with the City of Rockingham, City of Mandurah, City of Cockburn and City of Kwinana, respectively.

A total of 71 people were involved in the consultations. In addition to local government staff, seven people attended the roundtable in Rockingham, 11 in Mandurah, 21 in Cockburn and six in Kwinana.[1] Additional meetings were conducted with local government staff and representatives in each area: four staff in Rockingham, three in Mandurah, 15 in Cockburn and five in Kwinana.

Key findings

The consultations revealed a growing awareness among all local governments in the region of the importance of planning and strategies to address the needs of an increasingly culturally diverse population. Such efforts were regarded as consistent with local governments’ strategic community plans and integral to achieving socially cohesive communities.

Issues for each local government area were:

Rockingham

Community integration—encouraging and embracing the growing cultural diversity of the area
Social inclusion—particularly issues of social isolation for some women and concerns regarding lack of engagement of some young people
Access to information and services—particularly in relation to housing, English language training, mental health services and support to develop financial literacy.

Mandurah

Support for skilled migrants—particularly those on temporary (489) visas
Access to information and services—particularly in relation to housing, English language training, mental health services and support to develop financial literacy.

Cockburn

Access to information—the need to increase effort to ensure information is accessible to people from CaLD backgrounds
Service delivery—related to planning, interagency collaboration, cultural competency and language services
Access to services—the need for people from CaLD backgrounds to be aware that services exist and how to navigate the ‘system’
Community integration—the need for additional effort to be given to developing an environment that embraces, celebrates and supports the city’s multicultural communities.

Kwinana

Community resources and infrastructure—the need for a greater level of community resources and infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing and increasingly diverse community
Service delivery—including both systemic issues and specific focus areas of concern
Access to services—concerns some people from CaLD backgrounds are reluctant to seek help and do so only at a crisis point and that English language proficiency and difficulty accessing public transport could pose access barriers.

While the focus of concern differed in each area, a common theme related to the adequacy of service delivery, including provision of interpreting services and translated information, and the importance of strategies to address social and physical infrastructure needs. Achieving an environment that is welcoming of cultural diversity was also a key feature of discussions.

While local governments were identified as key agents to facilitate planning, the consultations highlighted the need for plans and strategies to be developed in partnership with State and Commonwealth colleagues, non-government organisations, the community and, where relevant, business and industry groups.

With the populations of each area set to grow substantially in the coming years, these consultations were a timely start to the process.

Given the limitations of this scan of issues, a key initial step would be more focused consultation with relevant groups to explore the concerns raised.

Contents

Executive summary 3

Key findings 3

Kwinana 4

1. Introduction 6

2. Rockingham 7

2.1. Introduction 7

2.2. Issues, gaps and suggestions 7

2.3. Future planning 11

2.4. Next steps 12

3. Mandurah 13

3.1. Introduction 13

3.2. Issues, gaps and suggestions 14

3.3. Future planning 18

3.4. Next steps 19

4. Cockburn 20

4.1. Introduction 20

4.2. Issues, gaps and suggestions 20

4.3. Future planning 27

4.4. Next steps 28

5. Kwinana 29

5.1. Introduction 29

5.2. Issues, gaps and suggestions 29

5.3. Future planning 34

5.4. Next steps 34

6. Conclusion 35

7. Appendix 36

Page 4 - Southern Corridor Summary Report

1. Introduction

The Office of Multicultural Interests (OMI) held four consultations in the southern corridor on 4 and 6November 2014. The consultations were undertaken jointly with the Australian Government Department of Social Services. They were organised following advice from non-government representatives about the growing population of people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) backgrounds residing in the southern corridor local government areas (LGAs).

A total of 71 people were involved in the consultations. In addition to local government staff, six people participated in Rockingham, 11 in Mandurah, 21 in Cockburn and six in Kwinana. Additional meetings were conducted with local government staff and representatives in each area: four staff in Rockingham, three in Mandurah, 15 in Cockburn and five in Kwinana.

The consultations aimed to identify:

the issues faced by people from CaLD backgrounds, including permanent and temporary migrants
whether services to people from CaLD backgrounds meet identified needs
how issues and service gaps might be addressed.

To promote the roundtables, OMI prepared a flyer for each local government roundtable. The flyer was distributed by:

each local government
OMI to its networks.

Community members, service providers and government agencies were invited to participate.

2. Rockingham

2.1. Introduction

According to the 2011 Census, the Rockingham LGA has a total population of 104,105 people. Of these:

31.4 per cent were born overseas (compared with 28.2 per cent in 2006 and 29.7 per cent in 2001)
6.1 per cent were born in a non-main English speaking (NMES) country (compared with 5.3 per cent in 2006 and 5.6 per cent in 2001)
5.8 per cent spoke a language other than English at home (compared with 4.1 per cent in 2006 and 4.2 per cent in 2001).

The top five countries of birth were the United Kingdom (UK), New Zealand, South Africa, Philippines and the Netherlands. The top five NMES countries of birth were Philippines, Netherlands, Germany, India and Zimbabwe.

The top five languages other than English spoken were Afrikaans, Serbian, Italian, German and Dutch.

The major religious affiliations were with the Christian faiths (57.4 per cent), no religion (28.6 percent), Buddhism (0.9 per cent), Islam (0.5 per cent) and Hinduism (0.2 per cent).

The City of Rockingham Cultural Diversity Community Roundtable was held on Tuesday, 4November 2014. It was attended by two OMI representatives and two officers from the Department of Social Services. In addition to local government representatives, it was attended by seven people. It was preceded by a meeting with four City of Rockingham staff members.

2.2. Issues, gaps and suggestions

Key issues raised were:

Community integration
Social inclusion
Access to information and services.

2.2.1. Community integration

As census figures show, representation of people born in a non-main English speaking country has been a relatively small but is an increasing feature of the demographic landscape in the Rockingham LGA. It is estimated that the population is growing by nearly 2.5 per cent and that in some areas, such as Baldivis, the increase is even greater. It is therefore likely that the cultural diversity of the community will continue to grow in size and complexity.

The increasing cultural diversity of the area was noted by roundtable participants. For example, the Salvation Army representative at the consultations remarked that its services were receiving an increasing number and range of people from different cultural backgrounds. It was noted that the organisation is struggling to meet the demand for its services, particularly from people on bridging visas.

Participants noted that, for many years, the composition of the Rockingham community has been dominated by people from Anglo-Saxon/Anglo-Celtic backgrounds and that there was a need for strategies that encourage residents to embrace the increasing cultural diversity of their community. There was a sense that, to some extent, there was still a prevailing ‘us and them’ mentality within the community.

Concerns regarding asylum seekers were also considered to have a negative impact on the attitudes of some community members towards migrants and refugees generally. The need to ensure that Rockingham provided a safe and welcoming environment for people from all cultures and backgrounds was considered important in developing and maintaining a cohesive community.

A key to addressing this was to be inclusive in all aspects of planning regarding the community and related activities. It was suggested that cultural diversity ‘should be a part of what we do, not an add on’.

Participants also felt it was important to ensure that cultural diversity was made visible. This would not only enable members of the wider community to see the diversity within the population but also ensure that members of different cultural groups felt recognised and included.

A duality was also noted in relation to the celebration of culture—that, while it was important to acknowledge cultural difference, it was also important to recognise the similarities among different groups.

Gatherings were also regarded as an important way for people to learn about different cultures and develop an appreciation, acceptance and respect for diversity. It was noted that with the sharing of knowledge comes understanding—an important ingredient in developing community harmony and cohesion.

The importance of including the celebration of Indigenous culture was also noted.

Local government staff noted that the city currently undertakes a range of activities to celebrate and promote cultural diversity, including Harmony Week events and provision of funding to a Maori and Pacific Islander project, Kiwi Festival and Cook Island Festival.

Suggestions to add to these efforts included:

using existing community celebrations and events to showcase different cultures
—an example of a recent children’s event was given
establishing a [multi]cultural centre in which organisations can showcase their cultures through entertainment (particularly following the closure of Kulcha in Fremantle), seminars and a gallery—a representative of the Maori community noted that the organisation was seeking a place to display a historic Maori canoe and that this would make a memorable centrepiece for an exhibition or cultural centre
cultural events and activities to teach and showcase different cultures and provide an opportunity for informal conversation and discussion
connecting with religious leaders as a way of reaching in to some communities
highlighting the benefits of cultural diversity in school activities.

2.2.2. Social inclusion

Concerns were raised regarding:

social isolation of some groups, particularly some groups of women
young people, particularly those whose parents both work as ‘fly-in/fly-out’ (FIFO) employees and who may not be regularly attending school, as well as those who are drawn to alcohol and other drugs due to a lack of activities.

It was noted that activities were need for both groups, to assist their integration and participation in the community.

Suggestions included:

connecting with women through schools (as parents) and mosques
assisting women to establish micro-businesses
identifying opportunities to educate women about opportunities in Australia—for example, through South Coastal Women and Family Services
workshops and other activities for young people.

2.2.3. Access to information and services

Concerns were raised that many people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) backgrounds are not aware of available services or are reluctant to access them. The Department of Human Services representative also observed that ‘some people don’t know the questions to ask to get what they need’. It was also noted that some groups may consider that organisations that are identified as ‘Christian’ may not be open to clients who follow other religions.

Particular concerns were raised regarding access to housing, English language classes, support to gain financial literacy and mental health services.

Although the growth of Rockingham’s population is to some extent due to the relative affordability of housing in the area, homelessness and access to housing were noted as areas of significant concern. Issues included the lack of affordable housing and concerns that the closure of Palm Beach Caravan Park would add to the already significant competition for low-cost housing. The increased challenge of finding affordable accommodation for single people was noted.

It was suggested that there exists some discrimination in the private rental market based on skin colour and/or religion that disadvantaged some people from CaLD backgrounds. Access to English language classes was identified as a specific need. It was noted that some people do not respond well to the format of classes run through the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) and that is there is a demand for conversational English classes held in a community setting. It was noted that Fremantle Multicultural Centre provided some classes of this nature.