Speaking English is a ‘necessity to participate’ in Australia: Latham

The Victorian government has partly blamed the recent spike of COVID-19 cases on the inability of some communities to interpret the health messages which is a “betrayal of the original ideas of multiculturalism” Sky News contributor Mark Latham says.

Mr Latham said when former Prime Ministers Whitlam and Fraser spoke of multiculturalism in the 1970s it was based around diversity, but diversity with “active citizenship and participation”.

“The migrants and new arrivals here were to speak English,” Mr Latham told Sky News host Andrew Bolt.

“That was participation in society, a better chance to get a job, talk to your neighbor, talk to other ethnic groups, longer standing Australition groups”.

Mr Latham said the insistence on participation and speaking the English language built trust and commonality, but the country has “lost sight of that”.

“Government’s haven’t put much of a premium on speaking English”.

“We’ve got to go back to the original ideals of multiculturalism that speaking English is good, speaking English is a necessity to participate”.

Image: Getty

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