A Multicultural Odyssey

This is a large book covering a range of issues. This is a wonderful inside story of how public policy is made. Multiculturalism is now a defining characteristic of Australian society and is part of Australia's international image as a welcoming, friendly and tolerant society. But this is a comparatively recent invention. This is a memoir of one of the inventors. Colourful politician Al Grassby (1926-2005) is often credited with multiculturalism but public servant Jim Houston is one of the real architects. The book is valuable, first, because it shows how public policy is actually made. In political science terms, incrementalism refers to small steps which do not seem momentous at the time but when looked back at over the years can be viewed as, in this case, transforming Australia's social fabric. In 1973, the first year of the reforming Whitlam government, Houston - as a public servant - was called upon to draft a speech for Al Grassby. Houston had been given the role because he had a reputation for speed and for writing a good speech for a minister. Second, one thing just led to another. There was no initial grand over-arching vision for Australia acquiring an international reputation for multiculturalism. Houston was there at the very beginning and recounts the small steps. Third, the insider's account continues as Houston recalls the ups and downs of subsequent governments and policies over the decades. History does not move in straight lines. Public policy evolves through changes back and forth. Finally, the book reminds us of continuing challenges. 30,000 Indigenous People died defending their lands from the British invaders. These were the frontier wars which are still rarely mentioned. A current controversy concerns the avenue leading up to the Canberra War Memorial: it contains statues commemorating Australia's wars but there is nothing about the frontier wars. Should there be such a statue? The book is also a record of a Christian journey. Once again Houston seems to have been in the right place at the right time. The Houston family worshipped at the then O'Connor Methodist (later Uniting) Church. This was the time of the Pentecostal/ charismatic revolution. This is an insider account of those heady days. This was a period of startling church revival captured on ABC TV programmes. Another strand in the book is Houston's transition from Canberra public servant to working on multiculturalism within Australian churches. This was not always a happy deployment because the churches (like the rest of the country) had yet to grasp fully what multiculturalism entailed. Once again we have an insider's account of this pioneering work, which also took Houston overseas. The book would also be of use to anyone contemplating working in a church - it is an eye-opener on church politics. One of his projects was creating a new tertiary education course on the interface of church and multicultural society. Here are three concluding comments. First the way that Houston's life has been summarised here makes it seem a lot more straightforward than it really seemed at the time. In reality, it has had a number of reversals and yet somehow Houston has kept on keeping on. It is a story of resilience in the face of adversity (such as dealing with difficult public servants and unimaginative church officials). It is also a story of how person from inauspicious beginnings has overcome difficulties and made the most of opportunities as they rose. For people beginning their working life, here is an inspiring story of how one can make a life one step at a time. This is an inspiring and informative book, which will be of great use to a variety of book-reading publics. Dr Keith Suter, Managing Director Global Directions.