Sport, Race and Ethnicity: Building a Global Understanding Conference
30 November 2008, Sydney
Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the Cadigal and Wangal peoples of the Eora nation, the traditional custodians of this land. In the past year this aspect of our life has been driven home by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition’s apology to the Stolen Generation. Whilst it strongly resonates internationally, we still acknowledge the continuing struggle for equality and our role in this.
I was interested in listening to the question about possible contact between Indigenous political leadership and Jack Johnson. It reminded me of the British cricket tour of Australia in which the manager and the captain were both members of the British Union of Fascists, and the precursor of ASIO uncovered that they had undertaken some limited propaganda whilst here.
In addition to being a joint sponsor of this conference the Department of Immigration and Citizenship has been working in close partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission on the research report — What's the Score? A survey of cultural diversity and racism in Australian sport.
We continue to work on following up on the recommendations of this report, many of which will be the subject of discussion at this conference.
Sport — a symbol of Australian culture
The Australian Government is committed to projects of this type because of the important role sport plays in building a cohesive and inclusive society.
This ability to unite people from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds is important in Australia where some 45 per cent of Australians were either born overseas or have a parent who was.
We are also a country in which more than 200 languages are spoken and where people identify with more than 270 ancestries.
They range from our language groups with hundreds of thousands of speakers, through to other less commonly spoken language groups. Our translating services recently identified a need to provide services in Puka Puka, a language in French Polynesia spoken by only 2 000 people in the world and deriving from a French Polynesian atoll. The last census also identified 29 Celtic speakers. This diversity is reflected in the many sports played in Australia.
I am sure everyone here, including those from overseas, are in no doubt about the importance of sport to Australians.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics tells us that in 2006, almost 66 per cent of people over fifteen years of age participated in recreational physical activity.
Around 63 per cent of children participated in organised sport outside of school hours, ranging from 45 per cent for five-year olds, to 71 per cent for ten-year olds.
In 2006, for boys, the most popular sports were outdoor soccer, swimming and Australian Rules football.
For girls, the most popular sports were swimming and netball.
Only a week ago I was reminded of the central role of sport in our society, when a legal aid group wrote to me. They suggested that consultation about much debated human rights legislation should be centred on sport and involve a prominent sportsperson. It says something about the importance of this weekend’s conference.
The axiomatic unifying role sport plays means we need to work hard to remove these barriers and to provide opportunities for people to participate in sport – something I will talk about in more detail later.
Participation in sport
People coming to live in Australia need to understand the opportunities sport offers to participate more broadly in Australian life.
Sport brings people together in meaningful and sustainable ways and helps build and maintain social cohesion.
Through these sporting opportunities people learn about each other and make enduring connections. Connections that can open up professional and social opportunities.
Sport has the ability to unite people through common values, physical challenges and teamwork.
Ideally sport is about the universal values of respect, fair play, cooperation and equality – all elements that have been crucial in building Australia’s success as a culturally diverse country. Sadly some of these values are under more challenges today as we observe the disappearance of mutual cooperative control of clubs and a world in which media demands often dictate sporting events schedules.
Being part of a team and working together towards a common goal highlights how common interests and challenges can break down barriers and create a welcoming environment in which all can participate.
Sport as a vehicle of communication
Sport has become a significant medium of communication.
It conveys a message to new arrivals about who we are and what we value.
Consequently we need to be aware of what we are saying to the newer and particularly younger members of the Australian community, and what messages they take away from their participation in sport.
I will never forget a person in their late 20’s, a Sudanese refugee who turned to me at a presentation afternoon of the local Granville Kewpies Soccer Club and said, “being involved with this club is the best thing that has happened to me in my life”.
Young people who play sport will be challenged on their prejudices and will learn to respect their team members regardless of their cultural or religious background.
Sport is an excellent medium for communicating messages about acceptance, respect, and understanding giving people a fair go and working together for a common goal or future.
A local soccer team that plays behind my home recently made the final of the NSW Champions of Champions competition, for the under 16 age group. It’s the equivalent of our FA Cup. They were overwhelmingly of African decent. I was fascinated to have people who are not too outward looking, not usually interested in new communities, proudly follow their progress in the local paper.
Australia has made great progress enacting legislation that makes various forms of racial harassment and discrimination unlawful.
Nevertheless, in many ways the lessons learnt through local sporting clubs are just as important as the rules and regulations introduced by government or national sporting organisations.
These rules have an important role to play in communicating what is or isn't acceptable and go beyond the sport they seek to regulate as they say a lot about who we are and what we value.
The Australian Government position on social cohesion
Creating an inclusive environment is the responsibility of everybody:
- those who are already here
- those who are newly arrived
- the private sector and government.
The Australian Government has two programs in particular which have this objective: Living in Harmony, and the National Action Plan to Build on Social Cohesion, Harmony and Security (NAP).
Both programs fund communities to develop projects that help people participate in Australian life.
Many of these projects are centred around sport and I want to touch on a few.
I understand Surf Life Saving Australia is presenting at the conference on its project On the Same Wave.
This project was funded under the Australian Government’s Living in Harmony program and aimed to address community engagement issues that arose from the Cronulla riots.
In particular it promoted the reality that the beach should be for everyone to share.
The Living in Harmony program
The Living in Harmony Program is a community-based initiative which seeks to strengthen community relations and address barriers to inclusion arising from cultural, racial and religious intolerance.
The program is for all Australians and promotes respect, fairness, inclusion and a sense of belonging for everyone.
It includes a grants component for communities where racial or ethnic issues have arisen.
Research in Australia has repeatedly indicated that local communities are generally best placed to recognise and address these issues of intolerance.
The Living in Harmony program has funded several highly successful projects as a means of promoting participation and inclusion:
- the Australian Football League's You can kick goals education package involved more that one million children in sport, leadership and mentoring activities
- the National Rugby League's NRL Multicultural Program engaged youth of diverse backgrounds in western Sydney in playing rugby league, delivering workshops in schools and engaging parents; and
- Cricket Australia’s CricKids Playing in Harmony project used cricket as a platform to develop leadership, cooperation and teamwork in a program to be rolled out to 550 schools.
The NAP builds community resilience and encourages participation in the wider community by also funding projects aimed at strengthening community engagement.
The program has a particular focus on Australia’s Muslim community.
Under the Plan, the Royal Life Saving Society Australia received funding for the Muslim Aquatic Recreation Project to help connect Muslim communities with their local aquatic facilities and provide leadership and perhaps hopefully employment opportunities.
These are major iconic organisations all of whom have recognised the importance of sport in building an inclusive Australia.
At a practical level these organisations have also realised that with the diversity of sports available in Australia they are competing for members. Altruism joins commercial realities.
In addition to these national projects the program has funded numerous sports related projects at the community level.
In 2008, funds were provided to a range of small organisations that had some excellent ideas on how to engage people in Australian life. These included:
- the Hunter African Communities Council Kangaroo Soccer Club in New South Wales, which registered a soccer team of newly-arrived African refugees as well as English language students from diverse backgrounds attending a local tertiary college
- the Somali Islamic Centre at Lakemba, also in New South Wales, which provided resources to help Somali children and youth participate in community soccer leagues.
The program is also funding several community projects to increase the involvement of Indigenous youth in sport, including:
- the South Whyalla Football Club project in South Australia, which provides coaching, mentoring and leadership training, as well as cultural awareness education to general club members
- the Brothers Toowoomba Club in Queensland, which is working on a 'Junior Rugby League Development Program' to engage new members, coach Indigenous youth, and promote fairness, equity and respect among players at all levels.
Conclusion
In Australia sport is one of the cornerstones of building a united and cohesive society.
One on one contact in the kind of constructive environment that sport offers can replace apprehension and fear with understanding and respect.
It is important therefore that we continue to make an investment in sport and work to ensure that everyone, particularly young people, has the opportunity to take part.
For the individual this can help them better understand the community in which they live – leading to better professional and social opportunities as well as a greater sense of belonging.
For the nation, we have a community that is united – where people are committed to Australia’s future.
I have looked at your agenda. It includes a multitude of fascinating subjects – the growth of exploitation of African footballers into virtual bondage, sporting genetic, the 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour, Darwin football in the 1920s and the heroism of Peter Norman in the Black Power protest.
If I wasn’t required to attend an event for the Islamic Charitable Association of Beirut City, I would certainly be interested in hearing some of these addresses.
Thank you.
See:
URL: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au /parlsec/media/speeches/2008/lf081130.htm
Last update: 05 March 2012 at 16:27 AEST