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Building Social Cohesion in Our Communities

Social Cohesion

Overview

Effectively building social cohesion requires partnerships between local government and a range of other government and non-government organisations. These partnerships need to be established for the long term and although they may sometimes be dormant, they need to be able to be reactivated quickly when a rapid response to an issue is required.

Bringing the right individuals and groups together in a collaborative way increases the reach and impact of initiatives to build social cohesion. If local governments do not have existing partnerships when required, such as reference or advisory groups, it may be better to facilitate connections via other organisations. 

Identification of possible partners occurs during stakeholder identification and engagement. It is important that partnerships involve different stakeholder groups, including:

The City of Whittlesea and Greater Shepparton City Council, participating councils in the Localities Embracing and Accepting Diversity (LEAD) program, needed to establish partnerships with organisations they had never dealt with before. These took longer to set up than planned, which then reduced the time allocated for implementing change.

Source: VicHealth (2014). Localities Embracing and Accepting Diversity (LEAD) program: Summary report. p.27.

Learnings from local government experience shows:

  • Establishing partnerships for the long term takes time
  • A need to identify partners and key points of contact early on and keep track of changes in personnel in stakeholder agencies
  • Connecting via another organisation may help if it means reaching the right partner sooner
  • Partnerships need to be established on an organisational not personal basis to ensure longevity.

Business partnerships

Unemployment, lack of employment opportunities and income inequality can affect social cohesion in communities, so it is important for local governments to play a role in supporting job creation and economic self-sufficiency. 

Understanding areas of skills shortage, barriers to employment faced by vulnerable groups and working with local businesses, chambers of commerce, employment agencies and non-government organisations to improve employment outcomes should be a priority for local governments. 

Recent initiatives in the Hindmarsh Shire in the Wimmera region of western Victoria illustrate how local governments can address the needs of new and emerging communities. Between 2011 and 2014 the Shire’s population of Karen people (originally from Myanmar), increased by 529%. The Karen community currently makes up approximately 8% of the population of Nhill, the shire’s main centre. Previously, the area was characterised by population decline with associated impacts on local businesses, infrastructure and funding for education and health services.

The impetus for the change was community and business led. A resettlement program was driven by the general manager of the local company Luv-a-Duck who needed more local labour to drive the company’s expansion. He made use of the settlement agency AMES to understand whether there were any refugees willing to relocate to Nhill. After arranging for a group of Karen people to visit the Luv-a-Duck plant and Nhill, four workers were hired. More Karen followed the initial relocation and the Shire adopted a Karen Community Action Plan in response to the changes (overwhelmingly viewed as positive) in the community. The Plan focuses on:

  • Increased access for the Karen community to economic and community development strategies
  • Increased involvement of members of the Karen community in local life, including further education and training opportunities and the establishment of Karen New Year and Harmony Day as annual events
  • Increased consultation with the Karen community, including establishment of a Karen Steering Committee.

Sources: Hindmarsh Shire (2014). Karen Community Action Plan 2014: Improving support and opportunities for Karen people in Hindmarsh.

AMES (2014). The Karen of Nhill: An experiment in regional settlement.

The city became a Refugee Welcome Zone in 2004. Between 2007 and 2012 it received 9,498 new arrivals, the highest proportion of humanitarian entrants per capita of any council area in NSW. 

A wide range of initiatives form part of Auburn’s Refugee Welcome Zone activity. One involves developing partnerships with state and federal government agencies and training/employment service providers to address employment barriers and provide better access to employment networks and learning opportunities for the residents of Auburn.

Source: Refugee Council of Australia (2013). Refugee Welcome Zones: Local councils building a culture of welcome for refugees.

Latrobe City Council developed the Steps to the Future Program in partnership with the then federal government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (now the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet). The program aims to improve Aboriginal employment opportunities in Gippsland, Victoria, especially for young people. It is not limited by type of organisation or industry sector.

This program addresses the barriers that prevent Aboriginal Australians from participating in employment, education and training by delivering a suite of interconnected initiatives. It prepares Aboriginal Australians for work and prepares and enables businesses to employ Aboriginal Australians. The range of initiatives includes a mentoring process which fosters the development of role models for youth in the community. It enables participants to choose pathways towards career opportunities of their choice and has been a powerful tool to increase Aboriginal employment and career development.

Sources: Australian Government Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development (2014). National Awards for Local Government, 2014.

Latrobe City Council (n.d). Indigenous Employment.

As part of its Community Services Grant Program 2014-2015, the City of Sydney awarded a grant to the Asylum Seekers Centre. The centre works in partnership with employers to find work for adult asylum seekers and provides a specialised, free employment matching service.

The grant enabled the centre to set up a network of supportive employers in the city willing to offer employment and training places to asylum seekers. The centre is required to keep the city informed of progress on a regular basis, in particular the number of longer term employment outcomes. 

This is an example of local government funding a need within the community and directing funding to the organisation most able to meet this need.

Source: City of Sydney (2014). Community Services Grant Program (Round 1) 2014-2015.

Community partnerships

Building relationships with key community groups such as ethnic or cultural representative bodies or interfaith committees is important. Local governments should aim to work collaboratively with and across these groups on an ongoing basis and be prepared to act swiftly in partnership if an issue suddenly arises, such as a racist incident or a conflict between groups. It is hard to respond rapidly to such incidents if these relationships are not in place. 

Strong partnerships allow local governments to devolve some coordination of responses to community groups in situations in which it is more appropriate for local government to facilitate, rather than lead, a response to an issue.

Once connections have been established with representatives of these groups, consider making joint statements to send strong messages to the community in support of social cohesion. Consider whether and how to also facilitate connections between the groups. Links with police are also critical. 

Local governments may also need to develop the capacity of certain members of the community, such as women or young people, to ensure participation and broad representation.

The Fairfield Migrant Interagency (FMI) was established in the late 1980s and provides a formal way for more than 150 services and agencies to communicate directly with each other and build links and networks in a neutral and supportive space provided by the council.

The FMI is currently co-convened by Council and the Fairfield Migrant Resource Centre and the convening role is reviewed by the members at the annual planning day.

Source: Fairfield City Council (2014). Fairfield Multicultural Interagency: Draft Terms of Reference, February 2014.

This network consists of cover 200 community leaders, educators, professionals, cultural leaders and community workers from five municipalities in Melbourne's northern suburbs. The aim is to develop a community-led response to regional social and cultural issues.

The network aims to support and, where appropriate, initiate forums and activities that celebrate the richness and wisdom of the different faiths and cultures of the region. Five city councils (Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Moreland and Whittlesea) and eight partner organisations are working with La Trobe University's Centre for Dialogue to develop the network, which may become the prototype regional interfaith and intercultural network.

Source: City of Whitlesea (2014). Northern Interfaith Intercultural Network.

The Clarence Valley Council Fresh Start initiative focuses on the engagement and retention of Aboriginal students to Year 12. The initiative saw council work closely with students, parents, schools, training providers and people from the Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr, and Yaegl nations and the two local Aboriginal Educational Consultative Groups to coordinate the Three Mobs One River Aboriginal Learning Kit. 

Completed in November 2013, the kit was developed entirely by the Clarence Valley Aboriginal community. It is now part of the learning environment for 3,700 young people of all cultures and has already engaged more than 2,700 community members. It is part of mainstream conversation in four high schools.

The kit has been well received. It provides valuable support for teaching staff and has generated a new level of trust and openness between the Aboriginal community and schools. It demonstrates what is possible when the councils, schools and the community work together towards a common goal.

Source: Australian Government Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development (2014). National Awards for Local Government, 2014.

Cowra Shire Council is involved in an Australian Research Council project which aims to engage young people in Cowra to identify what enables them to lead meaningful lives. Led by researchers from ANU, the Research Reference Group includes the Council's mayor and the general manager as well as Aboriginal Land Council members, the President of the NSW Children's Court and others.

This three-year project is a partnership with Council and the local community to investigate whole of community solutions. It will explore the conditions, the understandings and the agreements which would need to be in place so that those young people who are incarcerated elsewhere can confidently come back to Cowra and to keep those young people who are at risk of incarceration from coming into contact with the criminal justice system

The research could potentially result in findings and recommendations for reducing the number of young people (whether Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal) coming into contact with the criminal justice system.

Source: Australian National University, National Centre of Indigenous Studies (2013). Reducing incarceration using Justice Reinvestment: an exploratory case study.

Community partners can help build resilience with those who experience racism through:

  • Demonstrating leadership: name racism when it occurs and have strong sanctions against it
  • Providing support: offer support to those who are vulnerable to racism 
  • Ensuring cultural safety: offer safe, supportive spaces and provide services to enhance cultural safety.

Source: Nissim, R. (2014). Building resilience in the face of racism: Options for anti-racism strategies.

Partnerships with the police

Increasingly, police in all states and territories are working towards effective community engagement programs which aim to build ongoing relationships with local governments and communities. This leads to higher levels of trust and cooperation with the community where the role of police is better understood and the community becomes more aware of its own role in addressing local safety issues. 

Local government can work proactively with police to facilitate collaboration with communities, identify and take action to address any areas of potential tension. This can be particularly helpful where there are newly arrived migrants and refugees who may have come from countries with completely different, and often confronting, law enforcement regimes.

Proactive engagement through information sharing, education and situational analysis contributes to building trust and subsequently enhancing sustainable long-term relationships between police, local government and the community.

The City of Wodonga is a key settlement area on the Victoria-NSW border, with approximately 1,000 recently arrived refugees. The main countries of origin are Bhutan, Nepal, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo.

The City has an informal partnership with the Victorian Department of Justice, Community Services Department which aims to raise the awareness of newly arrived refugees about Australian laws and regulations and how they might differ from those in their country of origin. 

The Department, the City and community NGOs collaborated to deliver a community Men's Day at Thurgoona Men's Shed where the police engaged with over 40 Bhutanese men. Police spoke about the role of policing in Australia and raised the awareness of these newly arrived refugees about drink driving risks and regulations. The men took part in educational and interactive activities and engaged in question time. The group then shared an informal lunch with police officers and Victorian Department of Justice representatives.

Source: Personal communication with Project Coordinator, Albury-Wodonga Ethnic Communities Council, City of Wodonga (2015).

NSW Police believes that any police community engagement should not be confined to a series of isolated activities or cups of coffee or information sessions. Instead it requires police and members of the community engaging in a collaborative, proactive and responsive process which builds the community's capacity to partner with police to create local solutions to local issues. This brings with it a shared responsibility to increase public safety and reduce crime and the fear of crime.

NSW Police conducted consultation sessions at the University of Wollongong after increases in the incidence of crime against international students and concerns about the safety and security of students, including international students, on campus. These sessions included talking to students about how to report crime and how to be safe on campus. This resulted in police-compiled safety messages.

However, discussions with students and university security indicated that although the messages were clear they had no impact. Consequently, the police reframed the messages in consultation with students. Students then worked to redesign and rebrand the messages to increase their effectiveness with the university's design and communications departments.

This collaboration led to the more focused Call Me campaign with targeted messaging and different modes of communication. The modes included safety messages on moving signposts, university billboards, posters, placemats in cafés and bars, plastic drink bottles and coffee cup holders. In addition, the police and the university developed an implementation plan in partnership with other key stakeholders including the local council, surrounding cafés, bars, security services and community services.

This deeper engagement enhanced the capacity of students to identify, report and be proactive in preventing crime. In addition, students have rapport and confidence in police and in their strategies.

Source: Personal communication with the NSW Police Cultural Diversity Team (2015).

Some new arrivals may have a high degree of anxiety towards police and other officials. Inviting police to events at which they can engage with communities in a friendly, non-threatening environment may be helpful.

Be aware that sensitivities may also arise with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples due to high levels of contact with police within these communities.

Partnerships across local government

Whilst issues that affect social cohesion can be geographically specific, they may often cross local government boundaries. Therefore local governments may need to work collaboratively to develop policies and programs to address them.

In addition, local governments can learn from each other's experiences by sharing approaches, resources and outcomes from efforts to build social cohesion.

Part of the role of the Municipal Association of Victoria is 'pro-active engagement across the sector including with the Victorian Local Government Multicultural Issues Network (VLGMIN)'. VLGMIN is a formal network of local government personnel who are responsible for multicultural services and policy development in different local councils. The network works in partnership with MAV on issues relating to community diversity, sharing information between councils, advocating on behalf of councils and promoting best practice in cultural diversity. It also:

  • Provides advice and contacts for ethnic services, and access and equity projects
  • Lobbies on issues affecting multicultural affairs, including making submissions
  • Holds forums, working groups and bi-monthly meetings.

The 2014 VLGMIN Forum, organised in collaboration with the Cultural Development Network and Multicultural Arts Victoria, was held in Ballarat and focused on arts and culture themes.

Source: Municipal Association of Victoria (2014). Victorian Local Government Multicultural Issues Network.

  • In Victoria, local government staff can sign up to the Victorian Local Government Multicultural Issues Network via the contact details on this page. Review the presentations from MAV's 2014 Opportunities for Partnerships Conference.
  • Contact a neighbouring local government to share issues and ideas.

Interagency partnerships

Often successful local government initiatives depend on strong interagency partnerships. This can include working with federal and state governments and NGOs to:

  • Align policies, plans and programs as much as possible to increase their effectiveness, especially those which relate to employment and settlement planning
  • Establish strong governance frameworks 
  • Share information and knowledge
  • Source additional resources where required.

Many refugees and people settled under Australia's Humanitarian Entrant Program live in the suburbs of Mirrabooka and Balga in the City of Stirling. These suburbs are within Perth's lower socio-economic areas with a large proportion of public housing. 

The Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection funds the Mirrabooka Multicultural Centre, a space for events, training and seminars. The Centre aims to support newly arrived families and strengthen communities. The community can use the Tech Zone and also book meeting spaces.

A Multicultural Project Officer (funded through the Australian Government Department of Social Services Settlement Grant Program) is employed at the centre. This officer's role includes: building community capacity through education workshops; facilitating a mentoring program to match new and emerging communities with individuals and organisations; and encouraging access to the centre.

Source: City of Stirling (2014). Mirrabooka Multicultural Centre.

Murraylands Multicultural Migration and Settlement Committee is focused on the settlement needs of members of the Murray Bridge community in South Australia. The committee consists of a diverse membership including:

  • Regional Development Australia—Murraylands and Riverland
  • South Australian Police
  • Centrelink
  • Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection
  • AC Care
  • Centacare
  • Rural City of Murray Bridge
  • Lutheran Community Care
  • Murraylands Migrant Resource Centre.

The committee provides an important forum for community leadership on settlement issues, facilitating the exchange of diverse perspectives on settlement issues in the Murray Bridge community and is an opportunity for joint initiatives to enhance settlement outcomes for migrants.

Sources: Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia (2014). Multicultural Access and Equity: Perspectives from culturally and linguistically diverse communities on Australian Government service delivery. p.25.

City of Gold Coast (2014). Local Area Multicultural Partnership (LAMP) Program.

The city partners with local schools, group training organisations and Durack Institute of Technology to provide a two-year school-based training system. Students from Years 11 and 12 spend one day at the city in a work placement and attend school for four days each week. 

The main aim of the School Based Traineeship Program is to prepare students to be workplace ready. City employees supervise students and also act as mentors. This provides students with hands-on work experience to equip them with the necessary skills for their choice of career. The students are regularly monitored by the group training organisations, the city, their schools and the Durack Institute of Technology to ensure they remain focused and on the road to success.

Source: Personal communication with Coordinator Community Development, City of Greater Geraldton (2015).

From 2012 to 2015, thirteen local governments in Queensland will receive annual funding of $42,000 from the Queensland Government under the Local Area Multicultural Partnership (LAMP) Program. This program supports local governments to integrate principles and practices of multiculturalism throughout their organisations and promote positive intercultural relations in their region.

At the City of Gold Coast, LAMP funding enabled the council to employ a project officer located in the Safe and Liveable Communities Branch. Key initiatives have included:

  • Developing internal resources to support council staff to better assist the CALD community
  • Participation in multicultural events, festivals and initiatives to promote and inclusive and harmonious city
  • Engaging with multicultural organisations and community groups
  • Linking government agencies to CALD communities and vice versa.

Source: City of Gold Coast (2014). Local Area Multicultural Partnership (LAMP) Program.

The Refugee Council of Australia is the national peak body for refugees and the organisations and individuals that support them. The Refugee Welcome Zone initiative began in 2002 and aims to connect local governments with the issues facing refugees and asylum seekers. Becoming a Refugee Welcome Zone encourages the development of a more coordinated approach to refugee settlement. It can motivate local governments, local organisations and support groups to work together more effectively to improve settlement outcomes for refugees. 

Currently there are over 100 local governments who have declared themselves Refugee Welcome Zones. The initiative involves signing a Declaration, making a public commitment to refugees and acknowledging the work of local groups and individuals that support refugees and asylum seekers. 

Read more at: Refugee Council of Australia (2014). Get involved: Refugee Welcome Zones.