Welcome to Australia was conceived and named amid a political climate in which civility and our international responsibilities as good neighbours were being traded for expediency and populism. That the brand, and sentiment behind, Welcome to Australia even needed to exist indicates the culture of division and toxic response to humanitarian settlement, migration and visible minorities. As a name, Welcome to Australia, highlights the principle of the receiving community embracing newcomers. The name has served the movement and organisation well.
Over the past seven years Welcome to Australia has grown and evolved. Our approach is less about us (everyday Australians) and them (new arrivals), and far more about a collective approach. And in a country where First Nations still strive for recognition and treaty the initial welcome to Australia must be led by First Peoples and Traditional Custodians. As a movement and organisation, Welcome to Australia is maturing and with it the time is right for us to mark that change.
Welcoming Australia is a subtle but important shift that is both aspirational and inclusive.
Welcoming Australia promotes a nation in which everyone can belong, participate and thrive in social, cultural, economic and civic life. Welcoming Australia suggests, and requires, a coordinated whole-of-community approach to migration, settlement, cultural diversity and inclusion.
Welcoming Australia is both who we are and who we strive to be.
Our new website in is development and coming soon.
In the meantime, please visit us at welcometoaustralia.org.au.