Egalitarianism: Australian National Identity

Australia’s greatest aspects are its embracement of cultural diversity and the embracement of customs and cultural differences. But are we really an accepting country?

What does it mean to be Australian? Is it our multiculturalism, our wicked sense of humour or is it our recognisable accent? We are unique, we have thousands of species of native animals and we are proud of it. Australia has its own slang, which could be counted as a language in itself and we have neighbours of all different races. Australia is multicultural and is extremely accepting of others, no matter the country from which they have immigrated from, it is an Australian value. Furthermore, we respect and accept others religions and cultures into our society.

As you can see, there are many economic and social costs and benefits of inequality in the distribution of income but in general, having high levels of income inequality is bad for an economy and individuals so Australia has continually attempted to have relatively low levels of income

We 're all Australians, regardless of our ethnic background, political and religious beliefs (NSW Department of Education, 2015).

There are many diverse interpretations of the words “Australian Identity”. The national anthem, as evidenced in Stand Up, is a primarily white interpretation of Australia and the Australian identity, with many of the lines ignoring the Indigenous people of Australia (Perkins et al, 2012). Another form of the “Australian Identity” was one presented by Prime Minister Paul Keating in his Redfern Address in 1992. He proclaimed that “Australia is a first-rate social democracy…truly the land of the fair go and the better chance”. This idea presented represents an egalitarian society, where every single human has an equal opportunity at life. Yet another, shown in the songs Paul Kelly sang, but especially in “this land is mine” is the difference between the identity of Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians (Kelly et al, 2001). Each of these texts addressed a major issue. Stand Up compared the relative value of tradition and the right to freedom of expression. Keating’s speech expressed the need for justice and recognition of both the stolen generation and the injustices done to the Indigenous people as a whole. Kelly’s songs represent the importance of the land to Indigenous people and why the “returning of the land” is so important. Although they each mentioned a major issue, the texts all gave solutions to these issues, from reiterating the importance of the basic human right of freedom of speech in Stand Up, to explaining the role and qualities of the Aboriginal

Australia’s identity has always been a complicated one. Starting with Aboriginal genocide, 1800’s cowboys and villains, two world wars and a bunch of poems describing them, it makes it difficult to conclude on what being an ‘Aussie’ really is. Thankfully, the two thought-provoking poems Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore by Komninos Zervos, and My Country by Dorothea Mackellar both use their discerning selection of themes to reflect modern attitudes in some extent. Along with their themes, Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore and My Country both use their story to capture the attributes modern Australians possess to some degree.

Reports from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2003a, 2003b, as cited in Ashman & Elkins, 2009, p. 7) show 25% of the Australian population is currently made up of migrants from around 200 countries. This fact demonstrates Australia, on the whole, has a tolerant and inclusive society. A society can be identified as a collection of people who live together in a relatively ordered community (Ashman & Elkins, 2009, p. 7). It could be said, Australia has one of the most inclusive societies on the planet; however, this was not always the case.

Inequality is present in every economy, but to what extent are income and wealth in Australia unequal and what government polices contravene income and wealth inequality? Income is defined as money that an individual or business receives in exchange for providing a good or service or through investing capital, while wealth is a measure of the value of all of the assets of worth owned by a person, community, company or country.

It is applied indiscriminately within the Australian media to label array of factors seen as threatening to national identity, way of life or values. This uncomplimentary use of Americanisation sees Australia as adopting social practices and cultural values which originates in the United States. (Bennett 1999)

6). The Diversity and Equity policy (DET 2013) was created to respond to the growingly diverse Victorian Community. Many Victorians face issues of racism and bullying and due to cultural and religious backgrounds, as well as socio-economic status, many do not experience equal or equitable opportunities. This is due to the emergence of our society as neo-liberal. Neo-liberalism means that ‘the agenda of economic and social transformation’ (Connell, 2013, p. 99) has moved from public agencies to ‘companies selling services in a market.’ A society modelled under neo-liberalism is skewed to support those with money and privilege, a majority of which, in Australian society, are middle class Anglo-Australians. As a result, the issues of equity and diversity within a neo-liberal society leave those affected at a marked disadvantage in comparison to the majority of Australians. The Diversity and Equity policy (DET 2013) is an attempt to improve the disadvantage experienced by the

Egalitarianism is a philosophy that supports the idea of equality for all people regardless of race, religion, age or gender (Fox, 2013; The Australian Collaboration, na). It is a principle which can be broken down in sub categories such as ‘economic egalitarianism’ or ‘opportunity egalitarianism’. These subcategories examine parts of society which, if equality in each was achieved, would create a situation in which the pure form of the philosophy would exist (Joseph, 2014). However, the extreme outcome of this philosophy has already shown that it has the potential of not fulfilling its ideals, as demonstrated by communism in Russia (Joseph, 2014; Fox, 2013).

For so long, Australia has had a reputation knee-deep in racial discrimination and hostility. ‘The White Australia policy’ and ‘the Dictation Test’ are two of many causes to the negative misshape of how the world now sees the Australian nation.

Australia has always been centered around diversity and change, specifically with the vast multiculturalism and migrant culture throughout the nation. The specifics of Identity hold an important role in shaping our identity as students and as a nation. Australians pride themselves on being a land of the free and full of diverse culture. This is specifically referred to in our national Anthem; “For those who've come across the seas, We've boundless plains to share; With courage let us all combine,”(McCormick, 1984). Displaying Australia’s open attitude towards immigrants and contributes to the diversity present within our society today. Even before this, much of Australia’s Identity was associated with caucasian culture (Originating from British Settlers). Which is the dominant perception of Australia through the media with australian representation being present through the stereotypes of Bogans, which was made popular through shows like Kath and Kim (ABC, 2007). Also, represented through the popular depiction of Australian people - the bushman made popular by movies like Crocodile Dundee (Faiman, 1986) and through famous real life bushman; Steve Irwin. An important aspect of Australian identity which is consistently neglected is the culture and representation of the initial owners of the land; the aboriginal people. Throughout history the constant mistreatment and neglect of the indigenous, has lead to a massive gap in privilege between the aboriginal people and our

The standard of living in Australia is comparatively higher than the rest of the world. However, there is still a disparity among the citizens of Australia regarding living standards. Though Aboriginal Australians only make up 3% of Australia’s total population, Australia is still home to an

Australia is a settler nation which is now made up of many ethnic groups who share similar cultural traditions, common language, shared history and a shared identity (ABS, 2016). These groups contribute to what is referred to multiculturalism. Australia has a higher proportion of people born overseas than the US, Canada and the UK, with 49% of Australia’s population (or a parent) being born overseas (Census of Population and Housing, 2016). Compared to other Western nations, Australia has one of the most diverse immigration populations (Collins, 2013, p. 145). The meaning of multiculturalism in Australia has changed significantly over time. Today, Australia is a culturally and ethnically diverse country and therefore is a multicultural society. In terms of public policy, multiculturalism can be defined as policies and practices implemented by the Australian government that aim to manage cultural diversity to benefit the whole of society (Department of Social Services, 2014). Although Australia is a multicultural society, there are criticisms of public policy surrounding multiculturalism.