Australia's peak multicultural organisation says its exclusion from this year's budget lock-up is a worrying indication of the government's attitude to ethnic communities.
For the first time in its history, the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils was not invited to Tuesday's budget lock-up - an opportunity for stakeholders to read the budget papers ahead of public release, to allow them to brief their members and make an informed response.
"We've pushed hard and they have not budged," FECCA Acting CEO Mohammad Al-Khafaji told SBS News.
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Mr Al-Khafaji said he's baffled by the decision, particularly after the Christchurch mosque shootings has prompted much reflection on Australia's treatment of Muslims and migrants.
"It is stark that in the wake of what happened in Christchurch that the peak multicultural orgnaisation has not been invited to the budget lock-up or been listened to," he said.
FECCA says it was informed by Treasury that there was not enough room for them this year - partly because the earlier budget date resulted in a room change.
But Mr Al-Khafaji said that demonstrated a lack of understanding about the role of FECCA and multicultural communities.
Welcome to Australia CEO Mohammad al Khafaji-Courtesy of Mohammad al Khafaji Source: Courtesy of Mohammad al Khafaji
“This year they did not see any relevance to what we do as FECCA, so what that tells me is they have not prioritised ethnic and multicultural communities in this budget which his concerning," he said.
The government was also criticised for leaving out eight womens' groups, before making two seats available for the Equality Rights Alliance and the Women's Electoral Lobby.
A Treasury spokesperson said the department greatly values the contribution of community groups to the budget process, but numbers for the lock-up were limited.
"As with all years, the number of people wishing to attend far exceeds capacity and not everyone with an interest in attending the lock-up is able to attend."
She said representatives of the community sector make up the largest proportion of attendees, including the Refugee Council, ACOSS and the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples.
Anti-racism campaign needed
A national anti-racism campaign led by the Human Rights Commission is FECCA's number one priority for funding in this year's budget.
While the Commission already runs the 'Racism. It Stops With Me' campaign to reduce and prevent racism, FECCA is calling for a substantial funding injection and shift in focus.
"It’s really important, more than ever, that they invest in community building ensuring that Australians are safe and the focus needs to shift to recognising that white supremacy is a bigger threat than any other extremism out there in Australia," Mr Al-Khafaji said.
The organisation said the Muslim community has long felt isolated and the tragic events in Christchurch made it impossible for the government to ignore the need to tackle anti-Muslim sentiment.
FECCA is also demanding more funding for SBS and settlement services for refugees and migrants.
