Frank Sargent (July 21) writes that multiculturalism is alive and well and thriving in Australia. If by that statement he means that people from different ethnic backgrounds are living, by and large, in their own ethnic groupings in Australia, then he is correct.

Australia is a country defined by diverse ethnic groupings that, for whatever reason, on the whole do not integrate into the mainstream culture of the country, or of what makes Australia Australian. For example, how can a Chinese person who can barely speak English and who lives by his own Chinese traditions in Australia (and it doesn't take 55 years living in Australia to come across many similar people, even from other countries) be expected to feel and live Australian? One need only take a stroll down "China Town" and other ethnically controlled areas in Australia to experience true multiculturalism first hand.

All multiculturalism creates is a society full of segregated ethnic groupings who couldn't give a hoot about the mainstream culture. Multiculturalism is not concerned with integration (which in any case is a failed concept, hence multiculturalism). Multiculturalism is simply a "peaceful" way of settling in a country and creating your own ethnic area, or in other words, creating a country within a country where different customs are practised in contrast to what is mainstream.

So, either Mr Sargent simply looks at the surface of things when commenting or is truly happy at seeing his country lose one common identity in favour of multiculturalism. Thankfully, there are people who try to preserve what is Australian - as Education Minister Brendan Nelson declared, newcomers to Australia must live not just by its laws but by its values, a view reflected by Treasurer Peter Costello, among others.