E/CN.4/1998/6/Add.1 page 14 58. According to the information received, Buddhists and Hindus may freely carry out their religious activities, including religious services and traditions and the management of the business of their religious institutions. 59. The authorities have also allowed foreign religious leaders to come to Australia to meet the spiritual needs of the Buddhist and Hindu communities, most of whose members are Asian, and to encourage them to integrate more fully into Australian society. 60. Buddhist and Hindu religious leaders also play an important role in establishing an inter-faith dialogue with the Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities. 61. The Buddhist and Hindu communities would like their religious days to be officially recognized, particularly to enable their members to abide by their beliefs in the workplace. The authorities, including those from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, indicated that negotiations with companies were possible, for example, and that, in general, there was an ongoing process of negotiation. (ii) Religious teaching 62. Religious education is one of the characteristics of the Buddhist and Hindu Asian communities. Such teaching can usually be provided in private schools without any problem. However, the authorities and Hindu and Buddhist representatives said that obstacles had occasionally arisen when applications were made for building permits for private training schools; residents in the area of a future building site opposed such projects for fear of an Asian invasion which would upset local cultural and social characteristics and lower property values. It was also stated that local authorities sometimes rejected applications for building permits because they were not in conformity with the relevant legislation, since they did not contain information on the procedure to be followed. 63. Such problems were being solved as a result of the constructive approach taken by the authorities and the key role of the New South Wales Ethnic Affairs Commission and, in particular, its Interdepartmental Committee on Religious Development. The Committee also recommended an information campaign for religious communities on the relevant building permit legislation, using the languages of the communities concerned. 64. The authorities, including the Minister for Multicultural Affairs and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, drew attention to the Government's role in educating the population through campaigns designed to combat racism resulting from ignorance, not religious intolerance. (iii) Places of worship 65. Apart from the above-mentioned obstacles, it may be said that the Buddhist and Hindu communities have enough places of worship.