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The term multiculturalism generally refers to the acceptance of various cultural divisions for the sake of diversity that applies to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the scale of an organization such as a school, business, neighborhood, city or nation.

Australia The response to multiculturalism in Australia has been extremely varied, with a recent wave of criticism against it in the past decade. An anti-immigration party, the One Nation Party, was formed by Pauline Hanson in the late 1990s. The party enjoyed significant electoral success for a while, most notably in its home state of Queensland, but is now electorally marginalized. One Nation called for the abolition of multiculturalism on the grounds that it represented "a threat to the very basis of the Australian culture, identity and shared values", arguing that there was "no reason why migrant cultures should be maintained at the expense of our shared, national culture."[83] A Federal Government proposal in 2006 to introduce a compulsory citizenship test, which would assess English skills and knowledge of Australian values, sparked renewed debate over the future of multiculturalism in Australia. Andrew Robb, then Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, told a conference in November 2006 that some Australians worried the term "multicultural" had been transformed by interest groups into a philosophy that put "allegiances to original culture ahead of national loyalty, a philosophy which fosters separate development, a federation of ethnic cultures, not one community". He added: "A community of separate cultures fosters a rights mentality, rather than a responsibilities mentality. It is divisive. It works against quick and effective integration."[84] The Australian citizenship test commenced in October 2007 for all new citizens between the ages of 18 and 60.[85] In January 2007 the Howard Government removed the word "multicultural" from the name of t

The response to multiculturalism in Australia has been extremely varied, with a recent wave of criticism against it in the past decade. An anti-immigration party, the One Nation Party , was formed by Pauline Hanson in the late 1990s. The party enjoyed significant electoral success for a while, most notably in its home state of Queensland , but is now electorally marginalized. One Nation called for the abolition of multiculturalism on the grounds that it represented "a threat to the very basis of the Australian culture, identity and shared values", arguing that there was "no reason why migrant cultures should be maintained at the expense of our shared, national culture." [83] A Federal Government proposal in 2006 to introduce a compulsory citizenship test, which would assess English skills and knowledge of Australian values, sparked renewed debate over the future of multiculturalism in Australia. Andrew Robb , then Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, told a conference in November 2006 that some Australians worried the term "multicultural" had been transformed by interest groups into a philosophy that put "allegiances to original culture ahead of national loyalty, a philosophy which fosters separate development, a federation of ethnic cultures, not one community". He added: "A community of separate cultures fosters a rights mentality, rather than a responsibilities mentality. It is divisive. It works against quick and effective integration." [84] The Australian citizenship test commenced in October 2007 for all new citizens between the ages of 18 and 60. [85] In January 2007 the Howard Government removed the word "multicultural" from the name of t he Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, changing its name to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

WHAT do most Australians know about Indonesian art? What role do the arts play in the picture they present of contemporary Indonesia? Not much, perhaps.

We heard from a young Indonesian filmmaker about thriving, youthful film communities across Indonesia and among Indonesian students in Melbourne; we shared some of the songs, stories and images collected by an Australian artist from northern Australian and eastern Indonesian communities once linked by ocean trade; we saw gigantic puppets created by young earthquake survivors near Yogyakarta, performing a zany new version of the Ramayana legend under the inspired leadership of Ian Pidd and the Snuff Puppet group.

Australia's greatest social challenge is the condition of its indigenous people -- every government recognises that

He has also continued the Howard government's intervention into Northern Territory indigenous communities and used earlier COAG meetings to win co-operation from state governments to lift their spending and remove red tape hindering proper delivery of services

"I look forward to being part of the discussions about how governments together can deal with some of those long-term issues amongst indigenous Australians -- that's a high agenda item."

AUSTRALIA is likely to abandon its $1 million attempt to take Japan to the international court over whaling after New Zealand gave up its plans to use legal action to stop the annual cull.

using aircraft and ships to gather evidence against Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean.

But the New Zealand Government has since discovered "significant difficulties" with taking Japan to the international court and has abandoned the tactic.

Australia and India agreed to an extradition treaty in June last year, but the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, it is not yet in force.

"Once the extradition treaty enters into force, Indian authorities would be bound to uphold and process the extradition request, and to seek to lodge an arrest warrant within India to seek out and detain this individual."

"In 2008 in addition to the extradition treaty, Australia also concluded a mutual assistance treaty dealing with matters of criminal interest between the two countries, and since then of course we've had the terrorist events in Bombay and no doubt the Australian Federal Police have got interests in matters that are occurring in India,"

AUSTRALIA’S elite universities are set to pay a high price for the foreign student crisis, as middle-class Indian parents concerned for the safety of their children opt for universities in Britain, New Zealand and North America instead of Australia.

The agents have experienced falls of up to 50 per cent in inquiries by students wanting to study at Australia’s top tertiary institutions since the controversy began.

We regret that the Chinese government has felt obliged to take these steps, since the government's position on the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region is clear

China understood the proposal was a multilateral issue that would be considered separately from the present difficulties besetting the Sino-Australian relationship .

QANTAS may pursue Malaysia Airlines following the demise of the Australian carrier's $8 billion merger plans with British Airways.

Qantas had wanted majority ownership in the deal, reflecting its bigger market value, but BA was not prepared to become a junior partner.

faced a number of significant hurdles

A TRIP to India next week to promote Melbourne as a safe city has turned into a monumental challenge for John Brumby after another racist attack that has attracted fresh headlines and anti-Australian fury across India.

Two Indian men and another two of Indian origin say they were racially taunted and told to ''go back to your country'' before being kicked and punched by attackers who were part of a large birthday celebration at Legends Entertainment Centre. The Indian Government increased pressure on Australia last night over the ''recurring attacks'' on its citizens. It called on authorities to ''take all necessary steps towards the safety and security of Indians''. Indian consular officials in Melbourne were also ordered to investigate.

One of the victims, Sukhdip Singh, 26, had been in Australia just one month. A relative said he had suffered head and facial injuries and wanted to return to India immediately. His uncle, Mukhtiar Singh, 45, also a victim, said Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard's recent assurance to India's Foreign Minister that Australia was safe for Indian students rang hollow. ''I used to say the same thing … now I would say Melbourne is worse than a Third-World country, violence-wise,'' Mr Singh told The Age. Recalling Saturday's incident, he said his nephew was taunted with verbal abuse and racial slurs in the bar before they were later set upon in the car park by about 20 people. ''I have lived here for 22 years,'' Mr Singh said. ''I've got my own business here, my own house, my kids have grown up here. Why should I go back? We all come from somewhere.''

Australians have grown too cynical about Asian institutions and regional diplomacy.

the great English poet Francis Thompson: "Our hearts, with many schemes so flawed, have grown cynical and bored."

This is Rudd's most ambitious statement for the G20 yet. The organisation was founded because of the Asian financial crisis a decade ago. It is small enough to be manageable but big enough to have the clout to affect all parts of the globe.

David Bradbury, a renowned filmmaker and activist, claims the haze that engulfed some of the country's biggest cities in the past week contains radioactive grains - or tailings - carried on gale force winds from a mine in the South Australian desert.

"In a big dust storm, the dust is not going to come from one isolated site, it is going to be mixed in with dust from a [wide] area and diluted considerably,"

Cairo

Mr Berry: When you walk in the gate it's nice. It gives you the impression that maybe you have a place in Australia maybe, maybe it feels like you in Australia, maybe somebody else, OK, maybe in Saudi Arabia, or anywhere else in the world, maybe in Italy, maybe somebody has the same feeling like Oh, this looks somewhere in Rome, somewhere in Greece

Mr Berry: Golf, it's a very prestigious thing.

THE Melbourne International Film Festival has it all: dramas involving officials from foreign governments, larger than life characters sticking to matters of principles whatever the consequences and the struggles for liberation.

documentary about Rebiya Kadeer

subsequently three Chinese films were withdrawn.