John Howard’s surprising Aussie confession

Former Prime Minister John Howard has made an appearance in London, where he discussed multiculturalism in Australia.

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard has announced he has “always had trouble” with the concept of multiculturalism — and that immigrants should be expected to “adopt the values and practices” of the nation they are moving to.

The 84-year-old former Liberal leader made the comments at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (Arc) forum — a new conservative conference in London — on Wednesday.

The conference has drawn more than 1500 delegates from 71 countries, including numerous Australian current and former politicians such as Tony Abbott, Mark Latham, Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan and Dominic Perrottet.

“Multiculturalism is a concept that I’ve always had trouble with. I take the view that if people want to emigrate to a country, then they adopt the values and practices of that country,” Mr Howard said.

John Howard said ‘multiculturalism is a concept that I’ve always had a bit of trouble with’.

“And in return they’re entitled to have the host citizenry respect their culture without trying to create some kind of federation of tribes and culture – you get into terrible trouble with that.”

He added that, during his political career, he spoke to people at “a lot of local events, particularly in the bush” who told him “we came to this wonderful country because you were free, you were kind, you were generous”.

“And – isn’t that terrific? Do you really have to redefine that relationship?” he said. “I think one of the problems with multiculturalism is we try too hard to institutionalise differences, rather than celebrate what we have in [common].”

Much of Mr Howard’s time as Prime Minister was marked by hard-line policies against asylum seekers attempting to come to Australia by boat.

However the latter years of Mr Howard’s prime ministership delivered a significant increase to net overseas migration as a proportion of the population.

Mr Howard added to his comments while speaking to GB News.

“We don’t want separation based on race or background. We want a natural acceptance,” he said.

“And this is a problem that the Americans are facing.

“I remember reading a book... and it said that for years after the Civil War the philosophy of a ‘melting pot’ was adhered to.

“But in more recent times, they started talking a lot more about the different tribes.“And that was a mistake in America and that was a mistake here.”

‘Emotional blackmail’: Price fires up

Mr Howard wasn’t the only high-profile Aussie to speak at the forum in London.

Northern Territory Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Price used the platform to accuse the Yes campaign in the Voice referendum of “emotional blackmail”.

The No campaign leader advocated for “no more separatism, no more dividing us along the lines of race, no more political correctness, no more identity politics”.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Picture: James Whatling / Parsons Media

“They tried to teach everyday Australians that we belong to a racist country, tried to teach our children that they shouldn’t be proud to call themselves Australian, tried to suggest that if you voted No that you belonged to the wrong side of history – well, we showed them,” she said.

“While it led many Australians to genuinely believe that the Voice was the last hope, that without this change the situations of those who most need our help will not improve, it was ultimately a story of blame.”

Why are so many Liberals in London?

Conservatives from around the world are in London for the inaugural Alliance for Responsible Citizenship — a new think-tank-style body founded by Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and Philippa Stroud, an influential UK Conservative member of the House of Lords.

According to its website ARC is an “international community with a vision for a better world where every citizen can prosper, contribute and flourish”.

Jordan Peterson and his heaven and hell suit.

“We are inviting you to join us in developing a better narrative in response to life’s most fundamental social, economic, philosophical and cultural questions,” it reads. “We reject the inevitability of decline and instead are seeking solutions which draw on humanity’s highest virtues and extraordinary capacity for innovation and ingenuity.”