Facing challenges in social cohesion in light of rising crime, cost of living pressures and global problems causing unrest here in Victoria, to “reset the multicultural agenda” Premier Jacinta Allan ordered the review of the Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC). See as part of a major effort to strengthen social cohesion and support Victoria’s diverse communities, Premier Allan assigned the task to former VMC chairperson, George Lekakis AO. George Lekakis AO was assisted by an expert advisory group made up of Dr Bulent (Hass) Dellal AO, Carmel Guerra OAM, Miriam Suss OAM and Mark Duckworth PSM.
Involving extensive community consultations throughout early 2025, the process comprised of 640 Victorians, 57 consultation sessions, speaking to more than 150 peak bodies and community groups. The Advisory Group has made 41 recommendations for action, as well as 17 additional actions for consideration. The most visible change to Victorians will be the abolition of the VMC, which will be replaced by Multicultural Victoria, a new body which will take on the work currently done by the VMC.
It will be headed by a Multicultural Coordinator, who will be assisted by two deputies, with one from regional Victoria, plus a five-member advisory council of commissioners. This new organisation will combine the engagement role of the Victorian Multicultural Commission with the policy role of the Department. It will have new responsibilities including developing safety plans for communities affected by serious and distressing events
Under the new arrangements, the Premier of the state will lead a new whole-of-government multicultural strategy to elevate community needs across all portfolios, and will require multicultural needs to be considered in all Cabinet decision-making
The government media release also says “organisations applying for multicultural grants will be empowered to pilot a Social Cohesion Commitment, before it is rolled out in standard funding agreements across all Government portfolios”.
It is an interesting position to take when the government had ordered this review when Victoria faced challenges in social cohesion and the government wanted to “reset the multicultural agenda”.
The following questions arise:
- Which organizations will be eligible and how are they going to be selected?
- How will they be “empowered” to pilot a Social Cohesion Commitment?
Why should such an important piece of policy making be left to volunteers to develop and why should the government not be responsible to develop the same?
The government is also committing an additional investment of $925,000 to support more people including children to visit Victoria’s multicultural museums including at the Holocaust Museum, the Islamic Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Chinese Museum, the new Vietnamese Museum, the Golden Dragon Museum in Bendigo, and more. These museums are currently seeing reduced visitation.
The question also arises how will the amount of $925,000 be spent to encourage Victorians to visit multicultural museums?
BT sought answers to these questions from the Premier’s office on Friday, 12 September. We heard back from the Premier’s Office with an authorised VICGOV spokesperson on the generality of the exercise the government was undertaking highlighting the pious intent:
“This is our vision for a united Victoria – strong anti-hate laws, strong values, and a strong society, with multicultural organisations as our stable partners and multicultural people as our champions of cohesion.”
“The Review is just one part of addressing social cohesion – but it’s the most important part of all, because a vision for a united Victoria starts by listening to multicultural communities and empowering them to lead.”
“Multicultural Victoria will strengthen leadership of the sector and reset the agenda after such a challenging five years, and our new capacity grants will make organisations stronger so they can be a part of the change.”
On the question of how $925,00 will be spent, the spokesperson said:
… funding from the Multicultural Museums Program will be used to support more Victorians – including school students – to visit key institutions such as the Holocaust Museum, Islamic Museum, Chinese Museum and Jewish Museum. This investment will help more Victorians learn about and celebrate the diverse stories and communities that have shaped our state.
The stated Opposition says the Allan Labor Government’s failure to properly manage the state’s budget has resulted in long-standing multicultural programs receiving stagnant or declining funding, according to a recent review into Multicultural policy led by George Lekakis AO.
“This under-funding has left community needs unmet, risked the cohesion of our society, and is a clear sign of Labor’s neglect of multicultural Victorians” Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs Evan Mulholland said.
“The report highlights that funding for crucial programs like the Multicultural Seniors Support program, the Festivals and Events program, and the Community Infrastructure program has either been cut or not increased in over a decade.
“The maximum grant for community infrastructure projects has decreased from $1 million to $400,000, and for festivals and events, it has fallen from $100,000 to $50,000, despite significant increases in costs.
“This neglect has caused unnecessary anxiety for vulnerable seniors who rely on these programs for social support”, Shadow Minister Mulholland added.
Mr Mulholland also says the former Liberals and Nationals Government established the Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC) as an independent body.
“It was this Labor Government in 2015 that removed the independence of the Victorian Multicultural Commission by bringing it into the Department of Premier and Cabinet. By agreeing to an independent statutory authority ‘Multicultural Victoria’, the government is admitting this was a mistake”, Shadow Minister Mulholland added.
If the government has any will, it should look at the accountability for each dollar spent to be legislated into the act. The pilot program to draft “social cohesion commitment” statement, being delegated to voluntary organizations is a slap in the face of anyone expecting good governance from our politicians. They should not be allowed to delegate core responsibilities to others and thus deliberately break the chain of accountability and responsibility.
From the information so far available, Multicultural Victorian will simply be another name like the VMC for the government’s only real plan for our multicultural communities – i.e – grants distribution. Might as well call it – GDC Victoria or Grants Distribution Centre Victoria.
The Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC) was established by the Victorian Government, initially as the Ethnic Affairs Commission in March 1983, following the passage of the Ethnic Affairs Commission Act in 1982. It was initially called the Ethnic Affairs Commission before evolving into the VMC. The inaugural chair was Gary Sheppard.
The Commission was created by the Victorian Government to act as a bridge between multicultural communities and the government, providing advice, conducting consultations, and advocating for the rights and interests of diverse cultural groups in Victoria.
The VMC is a statutory body with its legislative foundation updated to the Multicultural Victoria Act (2004, and later 2011).
Over the years, the VMC has played a key role in promoting cultural diversity, social cohesion, and inclusion in the state. It was further formalized under the Multicultural Victoria Act 2004 (updated in 2011), which set out principles and objectives for multiculturalism and expanded the Commission’s responsibilities.
-with inputs by Dinesh Malhotra