Council backs one-year multicultural advisory committee pilot

The City of Melbourne will establish a multicultural advisory committee to strengthen community input into council policies, services and communications after councillors unanimously endorsed a one-year pilot on August 4.

The new committee will bring together up to 12 external community representatives and two councillors, supported by council officers.

Its purpose will be to provide advice and community-informed insights on multicultural issues, with an initial focus on improving how the council communicates with culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

The original council report proposed a two-year pilot, but councillors adopted an alternative motion reducing the trial to one year and requiring all external appointments to return to the council for approval.

External members will be eligible for a $300 sitting fee for each meeting they attend, although accepting the payment will be optional.

The committee is expected to meet four times each year and will operate in an advisory capacity only, without delegated authority to make council decisions or spend public money.

Cr Gladys Liu, who moved the alternative motion, said the proposal had developed through more than a year of conversations with councillors, officers and community members.

“Melbourne is a multicultural city,” Cr Liu said.

More than 55 per cent of City of Melbourne residents were born overseas and 46 per cent speak a language other than English at home.

Cr Liu said the committee would create a direct channel for people from a broad range of cultural backgrounds, languages, faiths and lived experiences to inform council decision-making.

“I strongly support the initial focus on strengthening council’s communication with our multicultural communities and ensuring everyone in our community is empowered to contribute their views and feel informed,” she said.

The council report said appointments would seek a balance of cultural backgrounds, languages and faith traditions, along with diversity in age, gender, sexuality, ability and socio-economic status.

Preference will be given to applicants with strong local knowledge, established community connections and an ability to contribute collective rather than purely individual perspectives.

Cr Davydd Griffiths, who seconded the motion, said advisory bodies could help ideas from the community reach Town Hall.

“This is an opportunity to make sure that those voices don’t just exist outside of these walls,” he said.

“That they’re brought inside into Town Hall, that they’re listened to and that things change because of those voices.”

Cr Owen Guest supported the proposal but expressed reservations about creating another advisory committee, saying the one-year trial would allow councillors to assess its effectiveness.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece said the committee was particularly timely amid increasingly divisive political debate around multiculturalism.

“Over the next 12 months through this pilot, we are going to see what we can do to strengthen those connections and bonds between us all, celebrate our multiculturalism while also being one Melbourne,” Cr Reece said.

Expressions of interest will be conducted through Participate Melbourne, with information available in multiple languages and assistance offered for interpreting, translation and accessibility needs.

The pilot will be reviewed at its conclusion to assess representation, participation, community reach, quality of advice and governance effectiveness.