After striving to give voice to the migrants inhabiting Canberra, local legend Nic Manikis has announced he will be retiring. And that retirement has been well-earned, after committing 40 years of his life to public service through his role as director of the Community Participation Group in the Department of Community Services.
Considered to be his most significant achievement to date is the National Multicultural Festival, which since being introduced in 1997 has grown exceptionally from two trestle tables to a large-scale event that this year had 463 stalls and nine stages, attracted 280,000 people and required the work of 4,500 volunteers.
But in an interview with the Canberra Times, Mr Manikis revealed that this is not in fact what makes him proudest.
“The multicultural communities, before self government, they didn’t really have a voice,” Mr Manikis said. “The place was Commonwealth-run, a public service town, it was pretty white in terms of perceptions.
“But you’ve got to remember the magnificent Snowy Mountains Scheme and the families who came here and settled here when it finished, the public servants who had houses and roofs put over their heads by migrants, had their dinner at night-time bought through the supermarkets and restaurants run by migrants,” he said.
“So what’s evolved over those 40 years is that those communities are on their feet, they’ve got access to government, they’re organised, and it’s that sort of thing that I’m very proud of today.”
Along with these achievements, Mr Manikis was also a big support for the start-up of the United Ngunnawal Elders Council and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body during his time as head of the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs.
He introduced the ACT Seniors Card and, following the devastation that resulted from the 2003 bushfires he set out organising over 80 fundraising events that generated $10 million to assist victims.
While he did take his own approach to life in terms of bureaucracy, he admits to sharing similar concerns to public servants past and present.
“I’ve had to service my ministers because the community speaks through them, so I’m very mindful of that, and I’m very mindful of the code-of-conduct that I’m paid each fortnight to be held accountable against,” Mr Manikis said.
“But on the other hand, I’ve got a heart and we’ve got some vulnerable people in town and they’re mostly in these population groups that I’ve had responsibility for, and sometimes bureaucracy doesn’t move quickly to address issues, so I’ve had to push the envelope a bit.”