Initiatives for better services for culturally and linguistic diverse (CALD) residents and ratepayers of the City of Yarra may have fallen on deaf ears, fears Councillor Phillip Vlahogiannis.

The Greek Australian councillor put forward two initiatives – that he believes will benefit CALD communities – before a council meeting on Tuesday night. When asked how the proposal was met, he told Neos Kosmos, “the cynic in me says that perhaps this may not be a priority for some councillors or they don’t perceive it as a priority”.

“What did come out of it was an option that council officers put as an alternative, which was to examine the whole area of what issues CALD communities would like to be informed about and what means of communication would be preferred,” he said.

The two initiatives are: 1. to set up a process/system whereby its residents and ratepayers can register to receive council communications in one of the key (non- English) community languages; and 2. to translate into key community languages a selection of the most commonly used standard form letters, notices or other written communications (giving preference to those written communications whose content largely remains unchanged except maybe for addressee details.

“I believe that both initiatives are necessary in order to significantly improve communication between the City of Yarra and its residents and ratepayers who lack proficiency in the English language. Presently, City of Yarra does have a number of its publications translated into community languages.
“Mostly, however, the City of Yarra seeks to facilitate communication with its CALD communities by making (telephone) interpreter services available,” which, he says, although this service is good, it does have its limitations.

“A primary limitation is that a non-English speaker will request the service when he/she has a particular issue he/she wishes to discuss. However, the interpreter service offers no solution if a person does not know what he/she does not know.”

Through data received at the 2011 census, he says that 50 per cent of those with low English proficiency are 65 years of age or older, and most of them are long-term residents of the City of Yarra.

“We are talking about the Greek and Italian migrants, who settled in Richmond, Collingwood, Fitzroy,” he explains, adding that most of the residents and ratepayers who are of Greek background raise their concerns with the councillor by speaking to him in Greek.