Julian Hill, MP for Bruce and Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs
Assistant Minister for International Education addressed the McKell Institute in Sydney on February 25 on social cohesion. “Social cohesion is about respect, participation, belonging, trust, and shared responsibility and obligations, He said. “Listening before judging, helping a neighbour, engaging in civic life, and accepting and respecting the institutions that bind our society together.”
The Other Cheek is featuring a section of the speech about religious schools. The whole speech is online here.
In nerdy policy terms, social capital can be thought of as ‘bonding capital’ and ‘bridging capital’. Humans generally find bonding social capital, but without bridging social capital the strength of those bonds can be a negative. While churches and sporting groups have strong bonding social capital, so do Neo-Nazis, criminal gangs and ISIS. Intercultural thinking is all about bridging social capital.
Overall, we should be optimistic given the positive experience of everyday life of most Australians in neighbourhoods, workplaces, clubs and communities, divorced from the loud and aggressive voices of Nazis, One Nation and the new right wing of the Liberal Party. To paraphrase my colleague Tim Watts ‘in modern Australia we respond to bushfires in hard hats, akubras, turbans and hijabs, side by side, looking out for people in need.’
In some areas though our society’s institutions and systems militate against intercultural connections and deeper social cohesion.
A big question is the growth in faith-based schools and home-schooling which mean that it is increasingly possible to grow up in Australia from Prep to Year 12 without ever really mixing outside your faith or even ethnic group.
Some parents got me thinking about this last year as they shared the conundrum they felt in wanting to send their kids to a local Islamic school where they felt they’d be safe and thrive in their learning, but worried that they may not get to know and make friends with other Australians of different backgrounds. Some facts to consider:
- Over the last decade there were 320 new Catholic and independent schools, and only 279 new Government schools.
- Over the last seven years the proportion of students attending a school with a religious affiliation across Australia has grown and in 2025 surpassed one third, to reach 33.9% or 1.4 million students.
If trends continue, we can expect to see steady growth in the number of faith-based schools, attended by a higher proportion of Australian kids – Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and more.
Alongside this, while modest still in overall numbers, home school registrations have grown rapidly over the last five years by: 116% in NSW; 85% in Victoria; and a startling 232% in Queensland. There are reports of quite extreme or conservative curricula being used which gives cause for pause and reflection if this trend continues. What is being taught to these kids? Are they mixing with broader society?
To be clear, this is not an argument against faith-based schools – I attended one myself – but it is worth reflecting on the implications and whether systemic responses are needed to strengthen bridging capital.
For example, Singapore has deliberate policies and a ‘Co-curricular’ activities system to bring students from diverse backgrounds together (inter-school sport, social activities etc.) Participation is compulsory for all secondary students and strongly encouraged for others.
What could that look like in the Australian context? Could States and Territories consider structural changes in school systems to ensure all Australian children mix outside their ethnic and faith groups in sporting, social and other activities throughout their education?
More community-based or community-engaged settlement responses to welcome new Australians may help them to integrate more quickly.
The Commonwealth will not and need not have all the answers or ideas – the States, Territories and – especially – local governments are key. Funding activities that bring different groups together, sharing spaces and events rather than standalone activities or facilities, and investing in community-led intercultural resilience – Jewish-Muslim, migrant-mainstream, interfaith youth, cross cultural sports teams and competitions.
Community engagement can generate practical ideas to develop practical activities to strengthen inter-communal relations.
There is a hunger for this. I door knocked Joanne in Endeavour Hills last year who’d lived in her house for over 50 years – it was the first built in the court and she raised her kids there. She liked the changed multicultural neighbourhood, but felt sad that people didn’t get to know each other in the street like the old days as everyone now went to their own gatherings. She wanted more festivals, seniors groups and neighbourhood street parties that everyone went to. Views I’ve heard numerous times from others.
We can also look to other nations. Singapore is an interesting case study. Its government pursues a deliberate and, in many respects, successful state-led multicultural policy of integration, pragmatism and social cohesion. At times it has been dismissed by many Western countries as ‘social engineering’ but is particular to Singapore’s history and context.
Singapore is strongly focussed on building and renewing intercultural and inter-religious trust, understanding and communication. Aiming to safeguard economic growth in a labour-scarce city with a high migrant workforce, and to prevent social fragmentation and inter communal tensions which could undermine stability and progress.
Not all aspects of course of Singapore’s approach are relevant to Australia, but it’s an interesting case study to reflect on.
Done well, intercultural initiatives will resonate with Australians, and over time should foster reduced prejudice and social polarisation, stronger integration and trust between communities and institutions, and greater resilience to hate-based violence and misinformation.
Image: Julian Hill MP. Image Credit Julian Hill Facebook
Thanks John,
I learn lots from your articles, appreciate you sharing these stats, I had no idea how many new private schools had opened in just a decade!
Thanks, John, for bringing this address to a wider audience. Two thoughts come to mind as I read this article.
Firstly, many Christian schools engage in service activities that enable them to serve their local community while also mixing with the general community. In fact, parents now expect schools to provide service opportunities locally, nationally and internationally. Many Christian schools should be applauded for their work in this area, and other schools can learn much from it.
Secondly, as a principal of a Christian school, I often found my requests (to serve the local community or to collaborate with other local schools) ignored or declined. I can’t help thinking about the role sport plays in the community, yet how difficult it is to organise with other schools. I understand that schools are busy and these things take an extraordinary amount of time, but there is an opportunity here for schools to set aside turf fights and promote the local community (imagine all your local schools enjoying a sports tournament together). Us city-folk can take a leaf out of our country cousins’ handbook here.
I’m looking forward to explore ways our government and schools can collaborate to strengthen social bonds and create a more connected community.