Following an appearance at senate estimates on Monday of the APSC, Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi told The Mandarin she plans on following up with minister for the public service Katy Gallagher about CALD diversity in the APS.
Faruqi said she found it alarming the APSC admitted there was a diversity issue within the APS while not prioritising fixing it.
“What it says to ethnic and non-European background people living here is that their inclusion will always be a second- or third0order issue,” the senator said.
“We know that where government policy harms people, it often disproportionately impacts migrant and ethnically diverse communities. Without appropriate representation, including in leadership, this will continue to happen.”
The senator said the APSC should have a formal strategy for CALD representation, particularly for people of non-European background.
“If the APSC doesn’t currently have the resourcing to properly deliver such a strategy, the new government should provide the resources to do this important work. Underrepresentation has real consequences and it is unacceptable,” Faruqi said.
“I’ll be following this up with minister Gallagher. It’s not good enough.”
On Monday, Faruqi questioned APS commissioner Peter Woolcott about the diversity of the APS, with Woolcott stating several strategies were in place for First Nations people, people with disability, and gender.
“We don’t have formal strategies around mature-age workers or cultural and linguistic diversity,” Woolcott added in reply.
“But, obviously, we want a public service that respects the Australia that is out there and that can best reflect that Australia and best work with that Australia. So cultural and linguistic diversity is an issue.”
When pressed further by the senator, Woolcott said it was a matter of priorities given the APSC’s resourcing.
“At the moment [priorties] have been very much on First Nations people. That’s a particular priority at the moment, and there is a lot of work to be done around that but also people with disabilities — a big question. Gender’s very much on track, but there’s still work to do on that, including the gender pay gap.
“It’s just a question of resources.”
At the time, Gallagher said she accepted the points raised by Faruqi, saying they would be incorporated into the reform work going forward.
“Part of the work that we are doing now is rebuilding the public service,” Gallagher said on Monday.
“We want it to be inclusive. We want it to be representative of the broader community. We recognise the strengths that that brings.”
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