Australia, a country that has been described and celebrated as a diverse, multicultural and a unique country is in danger of being destroyed by Pauleen Hansen and her racist political group ‘One Nation’. This white-supremist-extremist group full of vitriol are fighting for a change, a horrible change that would destroy Australia’s well known multicultural society with their White Australia Policy. In order to gain more power in parliament, they create division and hatred within our society, using fake news-fake facts to create an illusionary enemy-today’s enemy (in their distorted eyes) being refugees and immigrants.
One facet of the so called Australian identity, which is increasingly misrepresented to the rest of the world, is the image of
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The Australian society has changed over time, as migrants from all over the world have shifted the balance from a previously British, Anglo-Saxon dominated population. The appearance of an average Australian could now be Asian or European or white but could possibly be a mix of a couple of cultures, accordingly the aspect of appearance cannot be contemplated when looking for Australian Identity.
One Nation has it all wrong when it comes to our Country and it’s culture and identity, our country is not defined by a dominant stereotypical tanned blonde, it is defined by the wide range of cultures that unite us. Yes, our culture is not defined by one race it is defined by the original inhabitants of Australia, the Aboriginals, the Asian and European communities and white Anglo-Saxon’s. This is why we cannot let one nation gain power as they will prevent many innocent people that want to start a new life in Australia from being able to enter the country at all. One Nation bases there arguments’ on appearance and an image an image of what is not the multicultural
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
Over the years Australia has had many different problems with racism and racism affecting peoples’ lives. Many racial groups have been affected, most significantly the Aboriginals. The end of world war two in 1945 marked a huge change in types of racism. Australia went from the ‘superior’ white Australians dominating over immigrants and aboriginals. To a relatively multicultural and accepting society that is present today.
The National Multicultural Advisory Council, chair Neville Roach is a firm believer in continued immigration: “Australia is a multicultural society, he said. Our cultural diversity has been a strength and an asset in our development as a nation.”
...at these several events in our nation’s history have demoralised our reputation to other countries globally. To make us known as a better country to other nations, we’ve completely abolished the White Australia Policy, gave back the aborigines their freedoms and we were also the first country in the world to give women rights. Australia today in present day is now one of the most multicultural societies on Earth, and we definitely follow our values of mateship, acceptance and freedom.
Reynolds, H. (2005). Nowhere People: How international race thinking shaped Australia’s identity. Australia: Penguin Group
Australia has had a long history of receiving individuals and groups who are seeking asylum as well as unfortunately a long history of turning those away who are perceived as different. (McKay,Thomas & Blood 2011).Even though the white Australia policy was abandoned decades ago it still lives on as a strong resonance in the conservative right of politics (Westoby & Ingamells, 2010). Community fear about Australia’s border seem easily triggered, which has prompted the term ‘paranoid nationalism’ to be used to describe the heightened refugee politics of the Howard years linked to discrimination and maltreatment of asylum seekers which still lives on today (Westoby & Ingamells, 2010). This paper will use the term asylum seeker to identify those who have arrived at Australian shores seeking refuge without a valid visa. I aim to consider throughout this paper this history of how asylum seekers have been constructed as the ‘other’ and to examine the role of public discourse and political, legal and media responses, such as the implementation of detention centres, as creating and reinforcing the position of asylum seekers as different and not belonging. It will be therefore argued that while we have come a long way from the treatment the Howard government gave asylum seekers, we have not come far enough. Two key areas being the use of ‘othering’ and the implementation of detention centres need to be challenged if we are to take the responsibility of providing refuge for asylum seekers seriously.
In today’s society there are many words that are used or said without giving it complete thought. For example, the word “identity” is something to which I have never really given much thought or even considered how I identify myself.
There is a reference to our multiculturalism in the lines ‘All cultures together as one. Yet, individual until the game is won’. These lines acknowledge the fact that even though Australia is an increasingly Multicultural society, all Australians, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, share the same values, principles and national identity.
‘Approximately 1 in 5 people and 7 in 10 teens are victim to racism.’ This is truly alarming and worrying for Australia. Racism has been in Australia from the very first settlement in 1788. Britain claimed Australia as ‘terra nullius’ (empty land) even though they knew that aboriginals existed. The indigenous people of our land were treated more like flora and fauna than citizens of Australia and only were counted in
Since the time of federation the Aboriginal people have been fighting for their rights through protests, strikes and the notorious ‘day of mourning’. However, over the last century the Australian federal government has generated policies which manage and restrained that of the Aboriginal people’s rights, citizenships and general protection. The Australian government policy that has had the most significant impact on indigenous Australians is the assimilation policy. The reasons behind this include the influences that the stolen generation has had on the indigenous Australians, their relegated rights and their entitlement to vote and the impact that the policy has had on the indigenous people of Australia.
Ever since the 1970s, Australia has become a multicultural nation. Australia’s multiculturalism is a way to explain the variety of ethnic backgrounds within the Australian people. “It implies that there are many ways of being Australian, not just one ‘Australian way of life’” (Carter 333). Multiculturalism has majorly changed the way that people view Australian history and identity.
Collective Identity is an individual or groups set beliefs and rituals that make up there own personal identity. It is how one can belong or feel accepted by a group or create how a person is. Indigenous people here in Australia are an example of a very strong version of collective identity. Indigenous people belong to tribes or clans, and all the separate clans have different collective identities but they are all similar in some ways. An indigenous clan that you are apart of determines on where you are born and also your language group. There are many different things that make up the aboriginal identity one of the main thing being the Dreaming, which is the creation story of the aboriginals. The originally known as the Dream Time is the
The multiplicity of cultures has played a significant role in defining Australia’s identity. In order to understand the problematic nature of the application of multiculturalism in Australia, it is imperative to observe and analyze two claims of the concept of multiculturalism. The first claim of the concept of multiculturalism is associated with identity, while the second claim is associated with recognition. At this juncture, it is important to pose the following question; how is the application of multiculturalism affected by identity and recognition within Australia’s diverse
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.
In fact, Australian Human Rights Commission (2015) states that a socially cohesive society is important as it allows individuals to have a sense of belonging and also fights marginalisation and exclusion. Further to this the acceptance indicates that the government recognises the importance of ethnic cultures, and they believe that everyone should work to unity but not