Multicultural Australians have hit out at the federal government after it launched a review into policies affecting their lives without notifying them.
Key points:
- Multicultural organisations say they heard about the review through word of mouth
- No information has been distributed in languages other than English
- The Department of Home Affairs says there will be another call for submissions after the terms of reference are finalised
Their concerns are so grave that some community groups have launched their own consultation to feed into authorities’, just weeks out from a deadline closing.
Community advocate and organiser Tharini Rouwette has been reaching out to multicultural communities to alert them to the open submissions, having only learned about the review after a friend tagged her in a social media post.
“I’ve reached out to organisations in Western Australia, New South Wales, here in Melbourne and even here in Canberra,” she said. “People aren’t aware.”