AGY-1069 | Ethnic Affairs Commission [II]

Full description

The Ethnic Affairs Commission of New South Wales was established as a permanent government authority on 1 December 1979. It was created under the terms of the Ethnic Affairs Commission Act, 1979 (Act No.23, 1979) (1) as amended by the Ethnic Affairs Commission (Amendment) Act, 1987 ( Act No.288, 1987) and the Ethnic Affairs Commission (Amendment) Act, 1996 (Act No. 88, 1996). The Commission represented ethnic minority interests in government. The Commission’s objectives included the - * encouragement of the full participation of persons comprising ethnic groups in the community in all aspects of social, economic, public and cultural life in New South Wales
* promoting the unity of all ethnic groups in the community as a single society while recognising different cultural identities
* promoting liaison and co-operation between bodies concerned in Ethnic Affairs. The Overseas Qualifications Unit was established in 1979 to assist immigrants when they applied for recognition of their overseas educational and occupational qualifications. While counselling applicants the Ethnic Affairs Commission also submitted proposals for the streamlining of accreditation procedures. In February 1981 an Oral Histories’ Project to document the experiences of immigrants of non-English speaking origins and their contribution to Australia’s social history was commenced. (2) The Ethnic Archives were set up at the University of New South Wales with the help and advice of the Commission. (3) The Commission assisted (upon request) non-English speaking people in making their case for immigration or naturalization. The Ethnic Affairs Commission established Regional Advisory Committees in the Hunter and Illawarra regions in July 1981. These Committees were reconstituted on 16 November 1984 with an increased membership. (4) A new Regional Advisory Committee for Western Sydney commenced work on 13 November 1985. (5) The Commission’s Community Interpreter and Information Service (C.I.I.S.) provided assistance to - all State Criminal Courts, the Police Service (24 hour), Civil Courts (for disadvantaged people), Tribunals, the Workers’ Compensation jurisdiction including Rehabilitation and Medical Board hearings, Community Justice Centres and Community Legal Centres. The Chinese Language Unit was created as part of the C.I.I.S. in September 1980 to offer specialist translation and interpreting services to foster trade with the People’s Republic of China. Translation services were also provided to all New South Wales Government Agencies. The Community Interpreter and Information Service also continued the policy established by the former Chief Government Interpreter’s Office of the Department of Attorney-General and Justice, to provide the Courts and Police with deaf sign interpreters through the auspices of the New South Wales Adult Deaf Society. Recruitment and training of deaf sign interpreters was undertaken by the Society, the Commission was responsible for accreditation and payment. (6) In December 1984 the Ethnic Affairs portfolio was established. On 1 March 1985 the Ethnic Affairs Commission was established under the Public Service Act autonomous from the Premier’s Department. The new portfolio required organisational restructuring of the Administration Branch with the establishment of a Secretariat Section (policy matters) and a Personnel Section (staffing). During the 1989-90 financial year the Ethnic Affairs Commission structure reformed into five new divisions of - * Finance and Administration
* Policy and Liaison
* Language Services
* Information Services
* Public Relations. The Ethnic Affairs Commission gave a number of awards to promote cultural diversity through the arts including the Ethnic Affairs Commission Award for Literature, the Ethnic Affairs Commission Dendy Award, and Ethnic Affairs Commission Australian Film Television and Radio School Award. In 1994 the Multicultural Marketing Awards were suspended to allow the development of the inaugural Multicultural Achievers’ Awards. (7) The annual multicultural arts festival Carnivale (previously combined with the Festival of Sydney) became the responsibility of the Ethnic Affairs Commission in 1996 specifically its new Carnivale Division. The Language Services Division was restructured in 1996 to facilitate the transition to a 24-hour interpreter and translating service. The expanded service commenced on a trial basis on 13 May 1996. (8) Since its establishment the Ethnic Affairs Commission distributed Grants to organizations conducting projects aimed at providing support services for ethnic communities or fostering their cultural initiatives. In 1993 the Ethnic Affairs Commission became a provider of capital grants through the Community Capital Assistance Program. Along with community organizations local government agencies also received project funding. (9) In 1995-96 the Community Partnership Scheme was introduced to target community issues requiring urgent attention. Initially the areas of ethnic youth and people of non-English speaking background in rural areas were targeted for funding. (10) Ethnic Affairs Commission (Amendment) Act, 1996, (Act No.88, 1996) (11) ratified the principles of cultural diversity from the 1993 Charter of Cultural Diversity. The Act also defined the responsibilities of chief executive officers of New South Wales’s public agencies in relation to ethnic affairs. All these public agencies must produce Ethnic Affairs Priority Statement (EAPS). The Ethnic Affairs Commission’s work then included: * assessing the effectiveness of public agencies in implementing ethnic affairs policies
* entering into Ethnic Affairs Agreements with public agencies to deal with specific issues
* preparation of annual Ethnic Affairs Report to Parliament. The Ethnic Affairs Commission was abolished by the Community Relations Commission and Principals of Multiculturalism Act, 2000 (12), which was proclaimed to commence on 13 March 2001. (13) The Commission was replaced by the Community Relations Commission, as "a continuation of, and the same legal entity as, the Ethnic Affairs Commission". (14) FOOTNOTES
(1) Ethnic Affairs Commission Act, Act No. 23, 1979 commencement date 1 December 1979 New South Wales Government Gazette, Vol. 4, 30 November 1979, p.5974.
(2) Annual Report of the Ethnic Affairs Commission of New South Wales for the Year ended 30 June 1982, p.33.
(3) Ibid., p. 33.
(4) Annual Report of the Ethnic Affairs Commission of New South Wales for the Year ended 30 June 1985, p.15.
(5) Ibid., p. 17.
(6) Annual Report of the Ethnic Affairs Commission of New South Wales for the Year ended 30 June 1986, pp. 23-24.
(7) Annual Report of the Ethnic Affairs Commission of New South Wales for the Year ended 30 June 1994, p. 44.
(8) Annual Report of the Ethnic Affairs Commission of New South Wales for the Year ended 30 June 1996, p. 10.
(9) Annual Report of the Ethnic Affairs Commission of New South Wales for the Year ended 30 June, 1993, p. 41.
(10) Annual Report of the Ethnic Affairs Commission, op. cit., 1996, p. 55.
(11) Ethnic Affairs Commission (Amendment) Acts, (Act No. 88, 1996) proclaimed 7 February 1997, New South Wales Government Gazette, (No.15), 7 February 1997, p. 363.
(12) Community Relations Commission and Principals of Multiculturalism Act, Act No 77, 2000, Schedule 3(1).
(13) NSW Government Gazette, 23 February 2001, p.777.
(14)Community Relations Commission and Principals of Multiculturalism Act, Act No 77, 2000, Schedule 3(2).