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NSW Ethnic Communities Council

Franca Arena.

Franca Arena speaks on the launch of the Ethnic Communities Council.

Created:

1994

Date Added:

26 July 2002

Source:

Interview for Making Multicultural Australia, 1994.

Format:

mov (Quicktime);

File size:

--

Length:

35 secs

Transcript

FRANCA ARENA Member of the NSW Legislative Council, 1981-

We had a big launch of the Ethnic Communities' Council in July 1975 at the Lower Sydney Town Hall and it was a momentous occasion, it was really, I will never forget it. You know there was Whitlam who was Prime Minister, there was Fraser who was Leader of the Opposition, there was Grassby. That day Whitlam announced that he would be Commissioner of Community Relations. And then there was (future Premier of NSW) Wran. I think it gave a voice to the ethnic communities and it gave us also, in front of government, the feeling that we were here to stay and that we were also a political force.

CONTINUATION OF INTERVIEW AS TEXT

I think you know Whitlam had an enormous amount of support there, but Fraser had an enormous amount of support from the Eastern Europeans and I think that both leaders realised that there were a lot of votes out there that they had not taken into consideration up till then.
Interview for Making Multicultural Australia, 1994.