On October 15, 2007 the government shifted from a liberal multiculturalist immigration policy to an assimilation policy. This occurs after a change in the political speech. During the early 2000’s the rhetoric became more nationalistic and Australia like many different countries focus on defining its identity. The citizenship eligibility requirements were reinforced and all applicants for provisional and permanent visa have to read and accept the Australian Values statement. These core values of the nation are summarizing by three dot point:
“ • Australian society values respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual, freedom of religion, commitment to the rule of law, Parliamentary democracy, equality of men and women and a spirit of egalitarianism that embraces mutual respect, tolerance, fair play and compassion for those in need and pursuit of the public good
• Australian society values equality of opportunity for individuals, regardless of their race, religion or ethnic background
• the English language, as the national language, is an important unifying element of Australian society.”
On a first point we will analyse the text and try to understand it purpose and the means use to attain it. Then we will focus on the three dot point and the “Australian values” defined by the state. The issue of this focus is to know if the state-defined values are promoted and recognize by the media and the population or not and if they really occur in reality. Finally we will express some of the critics made to this “Australian Values Statement” form.
We shall consider first the reasons and goals that pushed the government to create this statement and analyse its writing. On Australia Day 2006, the Prime Minister John Howar...
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The 2014 Walkley Award winning documentary, "Cronulla Riots: the day that shocked the nation" reveals to us a whole new side of Aussie culture. No more she’ll be right, no more fair go and sadly no more fair dinkum. The doco proved to all of us (or is it just me?) that the Australian identity isn’t really what we believe it to be. After viewing this documentary
Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy provides an insight into 1960s/70s Australia and helps reinforce common conceptions about Australian culture. One common conception Goldsworthy reinforces in this text is Australia’s increasing acceptance of multiculturalism. Maestro, set in the 1960s to 1970s, shows Australians growing more accepting and tolerant of other cultures. This shift in perspective was occurring near the end of the White Australia/Assimilation Policy, which was phased out in the late 1970s/early 1980s. An example of this shifted perspective in Maestro is Paul’s father’s opinion about living in Darwin:
Australia is a very unique place, along with our multiculturalism there is also a strong heritage surrounding us. At first thought of Australian heritage we think about such landmarks as Uluru, The Sydney harbour bridge and The Sydney opera house, The Great Barrier reef and other internationally recognised places. But our heritage goes much deeper than that; it is far more than outstanding icons. Along with these icons there are also unsung places like the old cattle stations, Aboriginal missions, migrant hostels, War memorials, our unique wetlands and the towns and cities we have built. Adding all of these things together, helps to tell the story of who we are and how we have shaped this land in the unique identity it has today.
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As we are looking at Australia Day as an issue we could determine that it is maintaining the stability of racist policy which works as functionalism does not require that social activities have positive functions. Functionalist theories as discussed by Boisson de Chazournes (2015) work in the discussion of Australia Day as they are most commonly analysed from an outsider’s perspective, in this case non-white Australians, and focuses upon the exploration of restraints which have been caused by functionalism. Australia Day could be seen as a by-product of colonial Australia which seeks to indoctrinate people into being what the white majority consider “Australian”. We can look at how Australia Day has been promoted in previous years to see evidence of how it has been used as a way in which the “Australian” culture is viewed from the perspective of one group over the others. Look to companies which have a large presence within Australia which have promoted and sold shirts with slogans such as “love it or leave it” which was available in Woolworths, or “Australia, est.1788” which was available in Aldi and both shirts being available at Big W (Anderson, 2014 a, Anderson, 2014 b, Young, 2014). This term of being “Australian” is put forth year after year by advertisements which promote eating
In the modern Australian community, there is an abundance of choice, especially with Australia being a democratic country. In Australia, most people can choose their own leader, job, hobbies, food, entertainment and spouse. Choice plays a key role in making everyone different from one another. As David Oman McKay, the former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says:
There can be no gainsaying, as to the fact that Australia is not only a choice destination for many, but also houses some of the most beautiful cities in the world (Bastian, 2012). As a matter of fact, Bastian (2012) continues to state that this change is strongly attributed to immigration, which continues to foster strong cultural and economic growth in Australia. As Australia continues to open its borders to an increasingly diverse population, Australians themselves continue to open their minds to accommodate diversity in the form of new lifestyles, foods, traditions, values, beliefs and so forth (Bastian, 2012). According to Henry & Kurzak (2013), the 2011 census show that 26% of Australians were born abroad and 20% have either one or both
As Australians continue to involve themselves with cause interest groups, their loyalty and membership has grown in recent years (Rennie 2017). A great number of interest groups engage and contribute in political, social and economic issue that affecting everyday Australian, for example marriages
Multiculturalism is the ethnic and cultural diversity that exists within a certain area. Different countries display various forms of multiculturalism. The most common form of multiculturalism is whereby a citizen of a certain country is born overseas, or of the parents of the individual is born overseas. English speaking countries have a lot of multiculturalism in them. Just like the United Kingdom, Australia has adopted multiculturalism as a national identity. My essay explores how Australia appreciates and accepts many different ethnicities and cultures.
To a partial extent I believe that the widespread recognition of the importance of learning English is a result of linguistic imperialism. Kachru’s circle shows English as an expanding international language. It is natural from those expanding countries to naturally want to learn English from the inner circles where the language has originated or is mostly spoken from. It creates a linguistic imperialism. However the importance and recognition of learning English is for intercultural communication between countries for wider communication between multilingual societies like Australia.
In this piece, I will argue that the social factors and attitudes surrounding the distinction of asylum seekers and official refugees, are constructed and exploited by the Australian Government, to improve their political and economic position across the nation. The Government uses nationalism and assimilation to maintain their power to shape the culture and normality of Australian society. They achieve this by influencing society through the media, to fear 'illegal' asylum seekers, but accept those that fit the 1951 refugee convention criteria. By exaggerating the security threat of foreign asylum seekers, but accepting white refugees or those with potential to conform, the government has constructed a common and visible enemy as a racist tool of nationalism.
Attitudes can be mapped back to Australia’s historical roots, and significant religious events over the course of it’s