Provocation - beyond multiculturalism : a journey to nowhere?

If there is such a thing as a 'crisis of multiculturalism' today, what does that crisis consist of? And how can it be resolved? Can there be a renewed 'multiculturalism' for the twenty-first century and, if so, what will this mean for museums? Many have blamed the corrosion of Australia's proud multicultural credentials, which were especially strong in the 1980s and early 1990s, on former Prime Minister John Howard, who made the 'M' word virtually unspeakable when he came to power in 1996. Indeed, for Howard, multiculturalism was an unwelcome and objectionable assault on time-honoured notions of Australian national identity, which for him should have remained firmly rooted in traditional Anglo-Australian history and values. Australia might have become more culturally diverse as a result of many decades of mass immigration, but this should not, from Howard's perspective, detract from the overriding significance of a homogeneous Australian cultural nationalism as the guarantor of national unity and civic loyalty. Multiculturalism, in this regard, was a divisive ideology that encouraged migrants to maintain their cultural separateness rather than integrating into the Australian mainstream. Its emphasis on difference and diversity flew in the face of the desire for cohesive and unified nationhood.