My best congratulations to the Chancellor of Western Sydney University Professor Jennifer Anne Westacott AO, on being named a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in the King’s Birthday Honours List, with her nomination citing her eminent service to business, tertiary education, the mental health sector and the community.
It has been a pleasure to serve WSU under Professor Westacott’s leadership. In particular, as a former Australian Human Rights Commissioner and longstanding Chair of the Australian Multicultural Council, I wish to recognise Professor Westacott’s committed advocacy for multicultural Australia and her actions to combat any form of discrimination.

Karol Nawrocki has won the Presidential election held in Poland on 1 June 2025. Nawrocki ran on a Christian nationalist and culturally conservative platform and against Rafal Trzaskowski, supported by Donald Tusk's ruling coalition. Both ran on pro-Western platforms, but differed on further strengthening relations with the European Union and Ukraine's membership in NATO, with Trzaskowski supporting both. Nawrocki opposed Ukraine's accession to NATO and the strengthening of ties with the EU. On the domestic front, Nawrocki's platform called for significant government intervention in the economy, maintaining close ties between the government and the Catholic Church, the broad criminalisation of abortion, and opposition to the legalisation of same-sex marriage or civil unions. Trzaskowski ran on economic liberalisation, European integration, the broad legalisation of abortion, the introduction of same sex civil unions. For more, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Polish_presidential_election

My best congratulations to the Consul General Piotr Rakowski and his staff for the professional organisation of voting at the Sydney Consulate of Poland on Sunday, 1 June 2025. It was the first time I voted in Polish elections. The Consul welcomed in-person people who came to vote; the process was well-organised, with almost no waiting. The atmosphere at the consulate was pleasant and welcoming from the moment you stepped in. The electoral staff was very helpful. Special care for the children, on International Children's Day, was a most welcome surprise. Many thanks to all involved. Well done!

On October 7, 2023, the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust took place. Hamas slaughtered more than 1,200 men, women and children and took some 240 civilian hostages. A war between Israel and Hamas followed.

On 10 January, the Australian Federal Police revealed that just in the previous month, it had received 124 reports of anti-Semitic attacks targeting Australia’s Jewish community, attacks that may constitute crimes under the commonwealth legislation. Also, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry has documented a significant increase in these incidents over the past few
years.

In fact, there has been an alarming nationwide escalation in antisemitic incidents. Just following the Hamas terrorist attack, prominent Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun celebrated the killings of Israelis at a rally in front of Lakemba Mosque, and a few hundred Hamas supporters rallied in front of the Sydney Town Hall and marched without the required permits to the Opera House with shouts allegedly including “Shame, shame Australia!”, “Gas the Jews!” and “Kill the Jews!”.

Antisemitism also impacted Australian universities, with Sydney University being described as: “probably one of the worst places to be a Jewish student right now”. The head of Sydney University Professor Mark Scott, while fronting a Senate inquiry into anti-Semitism on campuses, apologised to Jewish students and staff, admitting he “failed them” in his handling of
a pro-Palestinian student encampment. More recently, we witnessed arson and swastika vandalism attacks on synagogues and cars, vandalisation of Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns’s electorate office, physical and verbal assaults on individuals wearing Jewish symbols, anti-Israel graffiti on schools and homes and online racist abuse.

The antisemitism that emerged post-October 7, 2024, clearly impacted national cohesion in Australia and undermined our multicultural consensus. More decisive leadership by the government and its agencies is needed to ensure its impact on social cohesion is curtailed and limited in time.

To start with, Australia needs to enforce the existing racial discrimination and counter-terrorism laws better. It needs also to establish additional policies and programs to combat antisemitism and support social cohesion. In addition, the Australian Human Rights Commission should undertake a national inquiry into antisemitism in Australia as the current response through the National Anti-Racism Framework and free access to justice services are not adequate. Finally, our multicultural approach requires a better whole of government policy coordination. A central bureaucratic body modelled on the previous Hawke’s Office of Multicultural Affairs could provide such a response.

It was a pleasure to take part in the Association of Polish Language Teachers in Australia Conference held at the Ashfield Community Catholic Club in NSW, Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December 2024. Polish language teaching helps students of Polish heritage to learn the Polish language and the history of their country of origin. It also assists them with securing advancement in Australian society and being good citizens of Australia.

The conference was well attended by 30 Polish language teachers from most Australian states. The plenary session was opened by Marianna Lacek OAM, President of the Association of Polish Teachers in Australia followed by an address by HE Piotr Rakowski, Consul General of Poland, Prof. Andrzej Kozek from Melbourne, Dr Andrzej Siedlecki and myself. My address, in Polish language, can be accessed below.

The conference was also addressed by Henryk Kurylewski, President of the Supreme Council of Polish Organisations in Australia, Father Tadeusz Przybylak and numerous teachers of Polish language from Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide. The full conference program is attached.

2024-11-30 Program Konferencji Nauczycieli Polskiego
2024-11-30 Polish Heritage – Teachers Conference

It was a pleasure to attend the Western Sydney University School of Social Sciences Graduation Ceremony on Saturday, 26 October 2024. Graduation is a significant milestone for our students, their families and supporters. It is an opportunity to celebrate our graduating students' hard work, commitment and achievements, and marks both the end of an educational journey and the beginning of a lifetime of learning. Over 100 students attended receiving Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Humanities and Development Studies, Master of International Criminology, Master of Psychotherapy and Counselling, Master in Urban Management and Planning, Bachelor of Criminology, Bachelor of Cyber Security and Behaviour, Bachelor of Social Studies and many other Social Science degrees.

In her address, the University Chancellor, Professor Jennifer Westacott AO pointed out that Western Sydney University is a world-class university, globally recognised for its research strengths and innovations in teaching. Ranked in the top two per cent of universities in the world, WSU is globally focused, research-led, and committed to making a positive impact on
the communities we engage with.

Working as a Western Sydney University Professor and Director responsible for Equity and Diversity issues (2006-2020) I am particularly proud that Western Sydney University has
been named number one in the world in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) UniversityImpact Rankings, topping the world’s leading university sustainability ranking for an unprecedented three years in a row. Western Sydney University placed first overall in Australia and internationally for its social, economic and environmental impact in the prestigious annual rankings, competing against more than 1,900 higher education institutions from 125 countries. The Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings is the main global ranking system that comprehensively assesses universities on their commitment to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Rankings
are based on universities’ teaching, research, outreach and stewardship.

As well as the overall world number-one ranking, the University was recognised in the following SDG categories:
. 1st in the world for SDG 5 Gender Equality;
. 3rd in the world for SDG 15 Life on Land;
. 4th in the world for SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, and SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals;
. 8th in the world for SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities;
. 9th in the world for SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation.

2024-10-26 WSU Graduation Ceremony

I am deeply saddened by the departure of Mr Fethullah Gülen, a community teacher, noted religious and intellectual thinker advocating compassion, respect, international peace and intercultural dialogue, and spiritual leader of Hizmet. Mr Gülen departed on October 20, 2024 in Pennsylvania, USA, where he spent the last years of his life. I had a privilege to visit him at the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania retreat centre a few years ago. His impact will be felt for generations. 
————————
Who Was Fethullah Gülen?
(Text prepared by Peace Islands Institute of New York)
Fethullah Gülen was a Muslim scholar, preacher and social advocate, whose decades-long commitment to education, altruistic community service, and interfaith harmony has inspired millions in Turkey and around the world. Described as one of the world’s most influential Muslim intellectuals, Mr. Gülen has dedicated his life to interfaith and intercultural dialogue, community service, and providing access to quality education. Mr. Gülen rejuvenated the spirit of interfaith dialogue in his home country, Turkey, and strongly advocated for pro-democracy, equal oportunity, pro- science, and non-violent stances. His lifelong work on interfaith cooperation has earned him recognition from faith leaders worldwide and a personal audience with the late Pope John Paul II in 1998.
During his last years Gulen became a target of the autocratic Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who falsely blamed Mr. Gülen for a horrific coup attempt in 2016. Mr. Gülen’s earlier support for Erdogan was predicated on Erdogan’s stated commitment to pushing Turkey toward the European Union as a democratic candidate country. As Erdogan made a U-turn from his earlier promises and moved instead toward autocracy, Mr.Gülen withdrew his support and Erdogan began a campaign of repression and persecution that continues against Hizmet supporters to this day.
He was among the first Muslim leaders to publicly condemn the 9/11 attacks and condemned ISIS in 2014 via public ads in major US newspapers. His efforts have been praised by other global leaders who recognize his vital role in fostering mutual understanding and peace as well as his leadership in humanitarian initiatives. He is the recipient of New York-based East West nstitute’s 2011 peace award.In 2013, Mr. Gülen was named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people and received Korea’s 2013 Manhae Peace Prize. The Martin Luther King International Chapel at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, honored Gülen’s lifetime contributions to peace with the 2015 Gandhi King Ikeda Peace Award.
Gülen was listed among the top 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People by the UK-based Mind, Body and Spirit Magazine in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Gülen was listed in the Preachers and Spiritual Guides of the Muslim 500, published by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Jordan, in 2018, 2022, and 2023. Gülen was nominated multiple times for the Nobel peace prize by social scientists who studied his life and works.

For further information about Gülen please visit https://afsv.org/about- us/fethullah-gulen/
For further information about the Hizmet movement please visit https://afsv.org/.

A September 2 article in the religious freedom magazine Bitter Winter reported that “deprogramming” Falun Gong practitioners—coercive and psychologically manipulative measures to force believers to renounce their faith—is now being subcontracted to government affiliated Buddhist clergy, while remaining under the strict supervision of the police.

The article describes a recent propaganda video published by the China Anti-Xie-Jiao Association in which an abbott and leader of the Buddhist Association of China (BAC) effectively “deprograms” a Falun Gong practitioner. The effort occurs in a Buddhist temple and the supposedly former practitioner is presented as then becoming friendly with the police officer who arrested him.

From the very beginning of the persecution of Falun Gong, a key goal of the regime has been to force detained practitioners to renounce their faith. Such “deprogramming”—also referred to as “transformation”—regularly features heavy psychological indoctrination and torture. For years, there have been reports that Buddhist associations were being used in this process.

In 2018, the BAC was brought directly under the CCP’s United Front Work Department. A May 2024 report from the International Campaign for Tibet details how the organization has also been increasingly involved in the attempted “Sinicization” of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Australian Senate passed a new bill on August 21, 2024, that aims to fight the illegal organ trafficking and forced organ harvesting from living people, including Falun Gong practitioners in China. The Migration Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 dictates that anyone who has received an organ transplant overseas in the last five years will be asked upon arriving in Australia to disclose the location they received the transplant and the name of the medical facility where the operation took place. This information will then be compiled in an annual report presented to Australia’s parliament.

Senator Dean Smith, who introduced the legislation, said that “This is the most significant step made in decades in emboldening Australia’s efforts to combat the growing trade in illegal and unethical organ harvesting and trafficking, the information will be of great assistance to human rights organizations, medical institutions, and the Australian Government in analyzing data on trends in overseas transplants, and helping to corroborate existing evidence of organ trafficking or harvesting activities abroad.”

The bill’s passage in the Senate was made possible thanks to support from Liberal, National, Green, and independent senators and will now move to Australia’s House of Representatives.

My paper “History of Australian Multiculturalism” has been published recently in a book edited by Zajda, J. and Ozdowski, S. titled: “Globalisation and Discourses of Human Rights.” as volume 45 Comparative Education and Policy Research by Springer, Chamn. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-65373-5_3

This book’s chapter describes how Australia has overcome White Australia and Assimilation policies and replaced them with non-racial Immigration and Multiculturalism policies as critical foundations of social cohesion.

It outlines the federal settlement and multicultural policies and programs that have been put in place since 1972 to integrate migrants and refugees into broader Australian society. The book chapter examines Australian society’s gradual acceptance of non-racial immigration and multiculturalism, and associated policies and programs, and considers some linkages between immigration and multiculturalism. It also evaluates the success or otherwise of Australian multiculturalism in terms of social cohesion outcomes.

To read the article click here: 2024-08-01 History of Australian Multiculturalism

A great Polish actor and accomplished film-maker Jerzy Stuhr has left us after a long illness. He was a friend of Australia, too. It was a pleasure to meet Jerzy at a party in His honor held at Gosia Dobrowolska and Michael Ihlein’s home in Sydney in 2012.

RIP Jerzy. We will miss you.