‘Systemic racism at work’: Sydney council plan to make English compulsory on shop condemned as ‘kind of crazy’

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Along a bustling street in Sydney’s west, Asian grocers sit alongside Nepalese restaurants displaying images of the tantalising curries inside.

Here, on one of Strathfield’s busiest commercial streets, a Nepalese grocer is nestled between a 7-Eleven and a medical clinic.

Two doors down, a butcher run by the same owners welcomes customers with a sign that reads “Strathfield Veggie Shed” in Nepali.

Bilingual signs are common in Sydney’s west.

It is a similar scene in other major cities, such as Melbourne’s Box Hill where almost 30% of residents were https://abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/SAL20314">born in China and many shops signs include Chinese characters alongside English text.