Last Thursday, at an Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCV) board presentation the former Victorian Labor premier Steve Bracks AC was appointed as ECCV patron. Bracks was the premier of Victoria from 1999 to 2007, he succeeded Liberal premier, Jeff Kennett who lost the 1999 elections.
George Lekakis AO, former head of the Victorian Multicultural Commission and Voula Messimeri AM former CEO of the Australian Greek Welfare Society, were also awarded life membership in recognition their services to multicultural communities in Australia.
As soon as Bracks was elected the ECCV led by the George Lekakis as chair, wasted no time in meeting with with Bracks to call for multiculturalism to be enshrined in an Act of Parliament and to enact racial vilification legislation.
In a statement, the ECCV said that Bracks demonstrated a “strong commitment to building an inclusive and harmonious Victoria” by introducing the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act (2001), the Multicultural Victoria Act (2004), and the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act (2006), thus “making Victoria the first Australian state to put formal protection of human rights into law.
The ECCV’s long-standing chairperson, former Labor politician Eddie Micallef, praised Bracks for his “outstanding leadership, experience, and commitment to multicultural Victoria as Premier of Victoria and beyond.”
He called Bracks “an ideal community leader”.
Steve Bracks said he was “honoured to accept the role of patron for ECCV” which he said was “an organisation with a long and proud history of supporting migrant and refugee communities and promoting diversity and inclusion in our state.”
In his acceptance Bracks added he was proud of his government’s reforms, which the ECCV “had been calling for.”
“When I came in as premier, I was presented with a 10-point plan of what should happen from George Lekakis.
“We adopted that 10-point plan, and as a result, my government introduced the Multicultural Victoria Act and the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act – two hallmark pieces of legislation that were so important for the state,” said the new ECCV patron.
In accepting the honour of life membership Lekakis reflected on the racism he encountered at school and the racism his “parents suffered.”
“My first experience in high school, I got involved in a fight; there were three boys that called me all sorts of things, and that was a very deep wound for me,” Lekakis said.
“I saw the suffering of my parents, who couldn’t speak English, so I went on to become a social worker and look after migrants and refugees.
“I saw firsthand how “government and their policies impacted people’s lives on a daily basis,” said Lekakis.
Lekakis then talked about the John Howard-led Liberal electoral victory, and the rise of anti-immigrant and anti-Indigenous Pauline Hanson and the One Nation party. In Victoria, he said, a range of organisations and then Liberal premier Jeff Kennett all called on people to place Hanson last in the 1996 federal elections.
He lauded Bracks as an “ally”. It was the first time he said he was lucky to have the political “trifecta” of Bracks , the lord mayor of Melbourne John Chun Sai So AO, and the head of the AFL Andrew Demetriou. That “momentum” by leaders of “diverse backgrounds” saw the ten-point plan enacted by Bracks, Lekakis said.
Talking to Neos Kosmos Lekakis said, that it was a “big honour to be recognised by your peers.”
“It was also an honour to be recognised for the contributions I made to support ethnic communities and strengthen our multiculturalism here in Victoria .
“To share the occasion with the Hon Steve Bracks who supported my work as the Premier and Minister for Multicultural Affairs was a real highlight.”
Asked by Neos Kosmos what the ECCV should be focusing on Lekakis said. “Going forward the Eccv needs to advocate on increasing support for all communities ,developing a strong media profile and protecting and preserving our community harmony in a world riddled with conflict.”
The other inductee Voula Messimeri AM, the ECCV statement said was “one of the most influential figures in multicultural Victoria.”
Messimeri has carved out a fulsome career in the community services sector and established her authorly in the Australian Greek Welfare Society, which she led as CEO for 27 years. She was the first woman to be elected Chair of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA).
The rights advocate for women, refugees and migrants, the statement said, “contributed to several community organisations” on the boards such as the Women’s Health in the North, the RMIT University Council, and PRONIA.
“In the late 80s, as a rather youthful and energetic newly appointed CEO at Australian Greek Welfare Society, I was fortunate to work with other like-minded colleagues under the wide and welcoming umbrella of ECCV,” Messimeri said.
