In the light of above principles a Progressive Labour government will:
1.1 The council will consist of one delegate from each ethnic community. The delegates will be elected by a formal election process within each community.
1.2 The council will be responsible to the Prime Minister, and will act as the main advisory body on migrant issues.
2.1 Immediately stop the new measures taken by the Coalition government to prevent family reunion, particularly in regard to first-degree relatives.
2.2 Abolish the use of two-year probationary visas for all spouses and fiances.
2.3 Not require assurances of support for family reunion sponsored by Australian residents.
2.4 Provide all social benefits to newly arrived migrants from the time day arrive.
2.5 Remove the requirement that immigrants in family reunion category demonstrate an adequate knowledge of English.
2.6 Support the current interdependency category and oppose the ceiling of numbers approved providing the candidates met the requirements.
Thus:
3.1 Increase the refugee intake to assist the United Nations with its humanitarian efforts.
3.2 Acknowledge the number of difficulties refugees and asylum-seekers face in accessing services they require, such as access to information and legal assistance, accommodation, education health services and counselling.
3.3 Review the current detention practices by implementing the suggestions of the Human Rights Commissioner who noted that Australia is in breach of Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights with its detention practices for border claimants.
3.4 Oppose the Federal Government's move to deport 1360 East Timorese refugees. Further, commit the party to support the sanctuary network established by Catholic nuns and joined by secular activists.
4.1 Pay particular attention to welfare organisations since they are the first and the most effective contacts of new immigrants and immigrants without a sufficient knowledge of English.
4.2 Establish an Ethnic Art Council to assess and fund ethnic cultural activities.
4.3 Establish a national day to celebrate multiculturalism nationwide.
4.4 If the number of members of a particular ethnic group reaches a certain level in a given area, assist in establishing the departments of this culture and language at the university level.
4.5 Ensure that children of ethnic groups in primary and secondary schools can have access to
transitional bilingual education programmes.
4.6 Ensure the independence of Migrant Resource Centers and provide an adequate funding system.
5.1 Extend and improve the programmes for teaching English as a second language.
5.2 Review the Federal Government's ceiling of 510 hours of tuition to allow new arrivals to reach functional English competency.
5.3 Address a number of significant problems in delivering English language courses for immigrants, such as a lack of access to classes (waiting lists, hours, distance, variability in the quality of classes -especially as a result of privatisation)
5.4 Improve workplace programmes, which have different range of problems, such as the refusal to release workers for classes, fear of job loss through attending classes.
5.5 Given that immigrant women have significantly lower English language skills than their male compatriots (1993 Census Applications), organise specific English courses according to particular needs of immigrant women.
5.6 Introduce a special levy to business immigration to support funding English classes.
5.7 Along with the provision of English lessons, migrants will be taught Australian history and politics especially to understand Aboriginal history and customs; labor history and the role of labor; business in Australia; the farmer in Australia; the structure of government and how to use it; Australian economics especially wages and salaries; Australian historical fears and values; the role of gender and the present politics of gender etc. These teachings are to be integrated into the English teaching.
7.2 Ensure that all government departments and statutory authorities take into consideration the special needs of ethnic communities.
7.3 Ensure the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's (HREOC)juridical authority.
7.4 Oppose present government's slashing of HREOC's budget by 40% and reinstate adequate levels of funding.
In particular, oppose the guest worker implications of the GATS (General Agreement in Trade and Services) that was part of the Uruguay round of GATT (now World Trade Organisation). This treaty will have to be renegotiated to include labor and human rights or it must be scrapped.
To allay suspicions of government manipulation of migration figures; and to attain a fairness recruitment.