Let CALD Australians learn about Australia

Let CALD Australians learn about Australia

The spread of Delta Covid will not stop immediately in NSW and Victoria. Both Sydneysiders and Melburnians are expected to be still under lockdown in the near future. State leaders are considering relaxing some of the restrictions to prepare for a soft landing. People are tired and frustrated to be in harsh lockdown and small businesses will not be able to survive the prolonged stop of operations.

Reaching 70% and 80% of the fully vaccinated population as fast as possible is our only hope. The federal and state governments need to cooperate and work out promotion campaigns to encourage Australians to vaccinate. The federal government had failed in April and created the AstraZeneca hesitancy through inappropriate communications resulted in a magnification of the risk of blood clotting associated with AstraZeneca. This time, the governments should try their best to encourage Australians, especially the CALD Australians who have received much less Covid information and are limited in their awareness of the federal Covid-19 exit strategies.

There are always people who refuse to vaccinate in many countries. Bureaucrats cannot take for granted that under the explosion of Delta infections, people will flock to seek vaccination. There are still many people who believe they can defeat the virus simply through social distancing, masks, hygiene measures and isolations alone. These people do not have confidence in vaccines as there are so much misinformation and disinformation circulated on the internet and social media platforms. CALD communities that have received information mainly from overseas through the internet are the most vulnerable ones.

The governments should do more in educating the CALD communities. CALD community groups and media should be empowered and supported to participate in the vaccination campaign. The campaign is also an opportunity for these communities to participate and integrate into mainstream Australia. Through attending to more Australian Covid-19 information, CALD communities will learn to know more about how things can be done in Australia.

CALD Australians should be given the opportunity to know and learn about Australian ways.

Raymond Chow

Publisher, Blessing CALD