Shocking acts of violence, riots, Islamophobia and antisemitism have dominated headlines in Australia in recent weeks, leading to questions about whether multiculturalism is failing.
But one expert is warning of the potential for the increasing cost of living to place further pressure on social cohesion.
University of Technology Sydney professor of sociology Andrew Jakubowicz said financial stress could be a challenge in maintaining social cohesion in the future.
"People are saying that the economic situation is likely to deteriorate over the next couple of years, and within that framework, the level of racism may increase as well," Jakubowicz said.
"If those things line up on top of each other, then there's quite dangerous potential in those situations for something to go very wrong."
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed while delivering a live-streamed sermon. Source: Supplied / YouTube
Economic conditions can impact cohesion
Studies have shown economic inequality may be a factor in declining social cohesion.
Last year the Scanlon-Monash Index of social cohesion declined by four points to 79, the lowest score on record. The decline was apparently driven by growing concern about economic inequality and fairness.
People are saying that the economic situation is likely to deteriorate over the next couple of years, and within that framework, the level of racism may increase as wellProfessor Andrew Jakuobowicz, University of Technology Sydney
The survey showed belief in the 'fair go' and trust in government had both declined.
Jakubowicz suggested trust and social cohesion could break down under worsening economic conditions.
"If people feel that they're in a bad economic situation, and that economic situation is a consequence of structural racism against them, then that can intensify very dramatically into significant conflict and the undermining of trust."
Australia is 'under enormous stress'
Jakubowicz suspects that, if Australia had better-developed policies on multiculturalism and community relations, the trauma from recent incidents including a , and fallout from the would not be playing out in the same way.
"Australia is currently under enormous stress in relationship to multicultural policy and particularly interculturalism," he said.
Police watch participants of a pro-Palestinian protest outside the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Monday, October 9, 2023. Source: AAP / Dean Lewis / AAP
"There's a rapid rise in both antisemitism and Islamophobia in Australia, and the capacity to manage that is not as well developed as it should be."
But while Australia has performed "fairly well" when it comes to settling new migrants in the country, Jakubowicz said the country was not doing well in helping communities engage with other cultures and protecting them against racism.
It was also "fairly poor" on community relations policies to encourage the participation of a diverse range of people in public governance including on public boards, parliament and the High Court.
"If you look at the people who actually decide what is going to happen in this country in terms of the law, there's no participation in that of people from non-European backgrounds, and that's a fairly damning reflection," he said.
Should people set historical grievances aside?
One of the biggest criticisms of multiculturalism is that it leads to enclaves of communities that don't fully engage with the rest of society and others who "import" conflicts from their homelands.
Independent MP Dai Le said the majority of migrants and refugees saw themselves as new Australians and wanted to embrace the country.
But especially for the older generation, it was important for them to have a place where they felt like they belonged, and this was often in areas where people spoke their language, and they could buy traditional food and groceries.
Member for Fowler Dai Le during her first speech in federal parliament. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
But Le, who in 2022 became the first refugee and Vietnamese Australian to sit in the House of Representatives, acknowledged it was important that anger people felt about their lives in places they lived before migrating was not transplanted to Australia.
She believes fear can be the starting place for incidents like the Wakeley riot, which occurred in her electorate of Fowler.
"If you have family back in the countries (from) where you escaped, you're fearful for your families," she said. "And out of fear people then react."
Bulent Hass Dellal, executive director of the Australian Multicultural Foundation and former chair of SBS, said one of the challenges for any multicultural nation was the burden of history that people could carry with them.
"If it is centred around conflict and hate, we need to learn to ensure that when we are talking about these things for a new generation, that we have a different discussion."
He said there should be respectful discussion of issues but these should not incite hatred and discrimination.
Professor Jakubowicz said he believed people should be able to retain their passionate attachment to their origins but it should not develop into violence.
If you look at the people who actually decide what is going to happen in this country in terms of the law, there's no participation in that of people from non-European backgrounds, and that's a fairly damning reflectionProfessor Andrew Jakuobowicz, University of Technology Sydney
"There is nothing in the Australian ethos that would licence violence between communities based on stuff that's happening overseas."
Is Australia still 'the most successful' multicultural nation?
In the days after the Wakeley knife attack and subsequent riot, the prime minister was asked whether multiculturalism was failing in Australia.
There's a rapid rise in both antisemitism and Islamophobia in Australia, and the capacity to manage that is not as well developed as it should beProfessor Andrew Jakuobowicz, University of Technology Sydney
Anthony Albanese's answer — that "multiculturalism has been a part of modern Australia and that people overwhelmingly in cities like Melbourne and Sydney live in peace and harmony, and are enriched" by cultural diversity — expressed a sentiment that seems obvious to many Australians.
But events such as have led to reports of rising Islamophobia and antisemitism.
Some commentators are again questioning whether Australia's cultural diversity is "not a strength but a stress". This includes Andrew Bolt, a columnist for the country's biggest-selling daily newspaper, the Herald Sun, who has long questioned whether multiculturalism is failing, saying it encouraged people to live in "tribes".
In areas where many different communities live side-by-side, local leaders don't believe people are questioning multiculturalism.
Last week Le door-knocked around 100 homes near Christ The Good Shepherd church where Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed.
Around 60 per cent of residents in Le's electorate of Fowler were not born in Australia and she said the local Fairfield City Council had settled about 10,000 of the 12,000 refugees Australia has accepted since the Iraq War.
Le said residents' attitudes towards the "terrifying" attack on the bishop was that it was a one-off incident.
"The one thing that they said was that they still felt safe," she said. "There was no sense that they were against anybody."
Le has said authorities needed to consult multicultural communities to .
A man jumps on a police car during a riot after Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and Father Isaac Royel were stabbed during a live-streamed sermon at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley. Image supplied by New South Wales Police Source: AAP / PR IMAGE
"In my door-knocking, people weren't actually talking about (the riot), they just wanted to get on with their lives, and they were talking about the cost of living that's impacting them," Le said.
When asked whether residents embrace multiculturalism and see it as a good thing, Le said: "We live it, we breathe it so it doesn't seem like an external thing ... It's part of (our) life."
Scanlon Foundation chief executive officer Anthea Hancocks pointed out that more than 85 per cent of Australians surveyed in 2023 still thought multiculturalism had been good for the country.
"I would really caution people about taking any one particular moment in time and suggesting that that's going to create a huge crack in social cohesion. Australia is a highly cohesive society," she said.
Why Australians must 'trust thy neighbour'
Jakubowicz said trust was one of the critical behaviours underpinning multicultural societies.
It included people trusting others to behave in ways that wouldn't harm them, that they'd be treated fairly, and opportunities wouldn't be limited on the basis of their background.
"New people are entering the environment all the time who trust nobody because they have no information about most other people," he said. "Often they're not trusted by people who have been there for a while because they're unknown.
"Until you get to know people a bit more, the level of trust tends to be quite low."
He said the more comfortable and confident people were in multicultural situations — regardless of their own cultural background — the higher the level of trust, and social cohesion.
A path for a "sustainable" multicultural policy
One of the ways to assess whether multiculturalism is working is whether people are getting along with each other — and Jakubowicz believes they are in Australia.
But Jakubowicz said other countries like Canada were doing multiculturalism better.
"We don't have a multicultural act in Australia. We don't have anything which basically lays out what values we stand for in relationship to cultural diversity," he said.
"I think the challenges lie now in the government, in deciding that it has the courage to actually create something that is sustainable."
Dellal, who is the chair of the federal government's Multicultural Framework Review, said the principles underpinning Australia's multicultural policy were linked to its system of democracy, which guarantees people's civil freedoms, fundamental rights and equality.
He said multiculturalism should be seen as an asset that needs to be enhanced, developed and capitalised on — not treated as a negative issue.
Integration is really about trying to get people to feel part of a community ... and they build that shared identity (through) making a valuable contribution to society, and that they're afforded all the rights and responsibilities like everyone elseBulent Hass Dellal, Australian Multicultural Foundation
"We're looking at a society that brings in so much diversity of thought," he said, adding that there were economic benefits to the utilisation of diverse skills and talents.
"The world is a globalised world and we are fortunate that we have a country that is so culturally diverse (it can) compete and be part of that changing world economically (and) educationally.
"It's a real asset in so many ways."
