It is imperative that we address the issue of ethnic and multi-racial representation on the screens and stages of Australia. As a self-proclaimed multicultural nation, we have a responsibility to not only accurately, but progressively reflect the strong influence and demographic of Australians in our contemporary society, who culturally identify and derive from non-English speaking backgrounds.

It is essential that we examine several ways of addressing this issue, in a respectful and non-pejorative manner: the telling of Australian stories, cross-racial casting, and progressive education. The next generation of Australian artists of non-English speaking extraction need to be given full opportunity to practice their craft in a broad culture of inclusion.

Ming-Zhu Hii