Scanlon Cohesion Study
The Scanlon Cohesion Study 2023, just released on Wednesday, is the 17th study since 2007 on changes in social cohesion in Australia. Peter Scanlon, who immigrated to Melbourne from Europe as a child in the 1950s, started out selling newspapers in the marketplace and today is a successful entrepreneur and a former President of the Migration Council of Australia, where he is passionately involved in promoting support for migrants. He is also committed to promoting Australia as a multicultural society in public policy.
In 2007, he established the Scanlon Foundation, which focuses on building social cohesion in Australia, and provides a range of activities including social research studies on acceptance and recognition of migrants, and the integration of new migrants into the community. This year’s study, led by James O’Donnell, a professor at the Australian National University, collected more than 7,500 respondents, of which 251 questionnaires were conducted in non-English, and conducted in-depth interviews with 55 multicultural immigrants. It is arguably the most systematic and large-scale study of multicultural societies in the world.
Bleak outlook but hopeful
The release of the report demonstrates that while Australia’s post-Covid society is facing serious challenges, the researchers’ findings show that there is still hope for the future of Australia. This year’s report shows that many Australians are under severe economic pressure, some are facing a lack of food, rising rents and property prices are making life difficult, and the gap between the rich and the poor in society is growing wider than the government’s ability to improve it, and many believe that Australia is no longer a blessed place. Many Australians have lost their sense of honor and belonging to Australia, are more concerned about inequality in society, have lost confidence in the Australian government, and are pessimistic about the future.
However, lead researcher Dr James O’Donnell is still confident about Australia’s future. This is because he found that Australians are still actively involved in their communities, working together in a variety of community organizations, connecting with and caring for each other, rather than working in isolation. More Australians believe that multiculturalism brings opportunities and dynamism to Australia (nearly 90%) and are proud of Australia’s ability to embrace multiculturalism. Australians continue to believe that democracy (over 90%) is a better system of government and are committed to supporting it. In terms of interpersonal relationships, research has shown that communities are accepting of migrants from different cultures and backgrounds, and even more so, they accept, respect and care for each other.
It can be said that in these difficult times, the Australian community still sees migrants from all over the world as an asset rather than a burden, and does not blame outsiders for their difficulties. This is a welcome message to the Chinese immigrant community.
Are we ready for multiculturalism?
Newly arrived Chinese immigrants seldom think about what a multicultural society looks like. We only think about how to adapt to the changes in our living environment. Living, shopping, doing business, working, studying, traveling, etc. are all part of our daily lives. But as time goes by, we realize that the way people live, their values, their ways of doing things, how they see other people, how they look at the world, how they vote for their own representatives, how they disagree with the social system, and how they relate to other people are no longer the same as in the society in which we grew up. How can I cope with this? Do I accept it? Or do I avoid it?
Some people choose to ignore it and form small, self-enclosed communities with their immigrant friends from the same background. However, sometimes after being in a small community for a longer period of time, they realize that they know very little about the society, and often they do not know what is going on every day, and even less about how these things affect them. It is not until one’s situation changes and one has to face it that one realizes that one’s friends do not necessarily know about it. The information we get and the way we live in a small community is not much different from what it was before we immigrated, and it is very restricted.
Yes, when you come to Australia and enter a multicultural society, you will realize that people from different regions are not the same as you, and this can be a very interesting thing. When you learn their way of life, you have more choices. The Scanlon Cohesion Study points this out. Mainstream Australians are not first-generation immigrants, but many believe that the learning that newcomers to Australia have brought with them has added color and dynamism to the community.
Since our next generation will grow up in this society and develop a life different from ours, it becomes a motivation for us first generation immigrants to enter and work hard to build a multicultural society.
Distance from the Next Generation
It is understandable that many first generation immigrants find it difficult for the next generation to share their parents’ values or to live in close proximity to them when they grow up. Many public opinion polls on social issues show that young people have different views from their elders. The reason for this is simple: the two generations grew up in different societies.
Nowadays, the younger generation grows up in a multicultural society, and they are open to different things, and they do not resist them, because many of them come from different countries or backgrounds. The older generation, living in the same immigrant community, maintains the same mindset and lifestyle as decades ago, but many of these lifestyles are outdated and cannot be found in Australia.
For this reason, many immigrants often return to their place of origin for a short period of time after retirement because they feel more comfortable. In fact, it is often because they cannot enter the world where their children grow up. As time goes by, they have less contact with their children, less conversation, and a more distant relationship. I can say that this may not be what I had in mind when I immigrated.
Therefore, for those who have just immigrated, there is still a choice. As long as we grow up with our children and actively participate in the community activities they grew up with, we may be able to shorten the distance between us and them. In states with a large number of immigrants, such as NSW and Victoria, the government values the importance of different ethnic groups in the state to maintain their cultures, and therefore often allocates funds to support different ethnic groups in the state to organize their own cultural activities. We often see the younger generation participating in Lunar New Year activities, which is a process of cultural integration. However, not many of us first generation immigrants, or mainstream Australians, participate in these multicultural events.
Government choices
The Scanlon Cohesion Study has identified multiculturalism as a source of social dynamism in Australia. It also reminds us that as immigrants, apart from retaining our own culture and circle, we can also broaden our understanding of how to live in cultures different from our own. For example, during Diwali, which is a festival for the Indian community, will we take the initiative to participate in these activities? Or will we take our children to participate in these events, or will we meet our friends to experience them together?
What the state governments do now is to provide a small amount of resources for ethnic communities to organize their own small circle of activities. There aren’t many large-scale multicultural events for immigrants of different ethnicities or for mainstream Australians. The findings of the Scanlon Cohesion Study present a great challenge to all levels of government.
How can more resources be made available to multicultural communities for ethnic integration? Or how can more resources be spent to bring multicultural activities into the mainstream and make them accessible to all? If the government fails to do so, the Australian society may be divided into different smaller communities.
When Israel was attacked by the Hamas terrorists, many Australians initially supported Israel unanimously. However, after the Israeli government’s indiscriminate attack on the Gaza Strip, the Australian community has shifted to one that cares more about the survival of the Palestinians. The Australian government is now clearly biased in favor of Israel, and is confronting Australians with questions and mistrust. If the Australian government does not respond in a way that is consistent with a multicultural society that treats people from different ethnic groups equally, the current situation could become a source of social unrest.
Yes, the challenge for the Australian society and the Australian government is to ensure that the local multicultural community will not be affected by the politics of the place of origin or the conflicts with other countries. Whether the government can make appropriate choices is also the concern of the immigrant community.
Mr. Raymond Chow