The Construction of a New Public Culture: Multiculturalism in an Australian Productive Culture

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Abstract
Since 1986 the phrase a 'productive culture' has been popular within certain trade union, government and employer circles to summarise the nature of the society towards which Australians should aspire in order to solve the country's economic prob lems. In the workplace the discourse of a 'productive culture' is tied to award restructuring and the need to increase Australia's international competitiveness, whilst at another level the dis course carries a re-defining of what it means to be an 'accept able' Australian within a new culture of work and a new national identity. This paper analyses the discourse of a 'pro ductives within the sphere of public policy and particu larly as it relates to an access-and-equity, social justice style of multiculturalism. The paper argues that the economic ration alist proponents of a 'productive culture' have had great success in re-shaping the public policy agenda, the terms of its dis course and its implementation via corporatist and corporate management mechanisms and that this re-shaping will seriously undermine any 'social goods' conception of such issues as multiculturalism.