multiculturalism in australia essay

Why Australia is the world’s most successful multicultural society

December 2018

• Australia is one of the most multicultural societies on earth.
• Despite anti-immigrant rhetoric abroad and at home, most Australians still welcome multiculturalism

IMF estimates show that Australia’s current migration program will add between 0.5-1 percentage points to annual GDP growth from 2020-2050 .

• Immigration contributes significantly to Australia's economy. Income tax alone from recent immigrants topped more than $80 billion.

  Download the discussion paper here.

The path to a multicultural Australia

Over the past century, one of the most defining trends has been globalization and the increasing migration associated with it. Multiculturalism has become a defining feature in many of the world’s economies with Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa examples of nations that have embraced a strong immigrant receiving tradition. Similarly, Australia has a robust tradition as a country built upon migration that continues to this day. In  2016-17, Australia demonstrated a net overseas migration gain of 262,500 persons, a rise of 27.3 percent compared to 2015-16.

In practice, empirical research suggests that multiculturalism is related to “immigrant assimilation, integration and adaptation, which impacts immigrants’ success in their adopted countries”. Evidence indicates that as a nation, Australia has truly embraced multiculturalism following an approach of integration between the different ethnicities and cultural groups where the dominant and minority groups are expected to respect each other’s cultures.

For much of Australia’s early history, its immigration policy was hampered by a racist view of the world that limited immigration to those who qualified under the White Australia Policy. It wasn’t until the 1970s that Australia began embracing the virtues of a multicultural immigration policy – a largely bi-partisan policy that has enabled Australia’s economy to become one of the world’s strongest, and its society to become one of the world’s most peaceful. Although there have been times in history where policies and incidents have not always fostered an open-minded approach to multiculturalism, today, Australia has made significant strides in creating an environment where immigrants from countries around the world can truly attain comfortable and satisfying living standards in the melting pot of Australian culture.

In 2016, the Scanlon Foundation’s ninth ‘Mapping Social Cohesion’ survey came out and among other findings, it noted that 91 percent of the respondents indicated a ‘sense of belonging in Australia’ to a great or moderate extent with 89 percent of the diverse respondents agreeing that they ‘take pride in the Australian way of life and culture’.

The success and acceptance of Australia’s genuine multiculturalism has relied on immigration being accepted as a nation-building project which has underpinned the cultural generosity and diversity that characterises Australia’s society and economy.

Measuring success

On a range of measures,  Australia is a multicultural success story. On educational attainment, studies show that children of immigrants in Australia attain better average results than children of native-born Australians. This is significant because according to research conducted by the OECD, the successful integration of immigrant students is an important indicator of a country’s success in its education system and equity and broader socially cohesive policies . A country that has positive outcomes in this sector shows that immigrants and their children have opportunities to grow and thrive and the variance in performance gaps between immigrant and non-immigrant students across countries, even after socio-economic status is adjusted for, illustrates the role that proactive education policy can play in a nation.

The success in educational performance is mirrored in the broader economy of Australia as it attracts a significant proportion of skilled migrants annually who have a high labour market participation rate. In the years between 2016-17, skilled migrants accounted for 67.3 percent of the total migration program outcome that year. The net effect of a multiculturalism policy for Australia has been a brain gain for Australia and this is expected to continue growing .

In general, economic migration in Australia has been managed relatively successfully compared to other developed democracies . There have not been significant social and political upheavals and anti-immigration rhetoric has generally not been able to gain a successful footing in Australian public discourse.

In 2015, an estimated 28 percent of the Australian population was born overseas, the highest proportion since the end of the nineteenth century. This ranks Australia first among the rest of the OECD nations with populations over ten million. There is substantial evidence that Australia and Canada consistently rank as countries most receptive to immigration.

A survey conducted by Gallup World Poll between 2012-14 indicates that out of 142 countries, support for immigration was highest in the Oceania region (Australia and New Zealand), 69 percent followed by Northern America at 57 percent.

Attitudes towards multiculturalism

Since 2013, the Social Cohesion surveys conducted by the Scanlon Foundation have found a consistently positive attitude towards immigration among its respondents with 83-86 percent of responses indicating that multiculturalism has been good for Australia.

Migrants currently account for just over 50 percent of Australia’s population growth. For the three decades of rising labour force participation leading to the early 2010s, there was a decline in labour participation with a significant cohort of the baby boomers reaching retirement. However, in this time, Australia’s intake of skilled migrants and the broader cohort of migrants, have aided in filling this gap and thereby curbing the inevitable ageing of the population in Australia by boosting the labour force.

Most immigration to Australia has resulted with a permanent move and citizenship in this country with close to 80 percent of immigrants with more than 10 years of residence choosing to take up Australian citizenship.

The most recent data available on citizenship shows the high rate of citizenship in Australia in the last year for immigrants compared to the rest of the OECD nations and the trend in citizenship conferrals in the past two decades.

The benefits of multiculturalism in Australia

Research indicates that immigrants have played a vital role in generating business activity and driving economic growth in Australia leading to greater diversity in the labour force and positive benefits to the broader economy . The positive effects of economic migration are clearly pronounced among skilled migrants and have shown positive outcomes in four key areas: population, fiscal impact, productivity and innovation and immigrants’ employment and labour market outcomes.

These positive outcomes are especially pronounced in rural and regional areas which have historically faced severe challenges in ‘attracting and retaining workers to address labour market shortfalls ’.

Analysis conducted by the Treasury in the beginning of the year indicates that the migrant intake from 2014-15 alone would provide a $10 billion boost to the budget over the next five decades and this is just a small indication of the far-reaching economic benefits that migration has injected into Australia’s fiscal position.

The research further stated that migrants lift the economy, and give it a boost by up to one percent a year. The average migrant arriving since 1996 performed better than Australian-born employees, with positive spill-over effects on GDP and the living standards of all Australians.

Migrants actively contribute to growing the population of Australia and increasing consumption levels which result in increased GDP and economic growth. Additionally, migrants attract capital inflows from their country of origin into Australia with research indicating that in OECD countries, a 1 percent increase in the number of migrants can lead to an approximately 0.15 percent increase in capital inflows .

Further, higher levels of migration also show a positive correlation with lower spending per capita by the government on social services since migrants are predominantly of working age and therefore are more likely to contribute towards tax revenue than be dependent on social services. In the absence of migration, Australia’s workforce would be shrinking rapidly by 2020 affecting GDP and per capita growth significantly.

Empirical evidence estimates that migrants accounted for increased levels of labour productivity growth and knowledge sharing in Australia, in the years leading to the global financial crisis. The geographic mobility of labour helps to increase the spread of knowledge and diverse experiences among countries which lead to advancements in technology and innovation .

The increasing number of international students that Australia hosts for higher education have more than doubled in real terms over the past two decades and in 2016, education was Australia’s third largest export industry at $28.0 billion accounting for 7.5 percent of total exports . This is a vital contribution to Aggregate Demand and the levels of GDP production and economic growth in this nation.

Lifetime fiscal benefits of migrants to the economy

Analysis conducted by the Productivity Commission and Deloitte Access Economics illustrate the impact of one year’s migration intake, on the Commonwealth Budget in 2014-15 and extend it to the positive lifetime impact on the Australian economy. This would only multiply exponentially with the annual intake of migrants.

Migrants contribute significantly to the tax revenue of the government. They usually arrive in Australia at a time when their taxable income is at its highest and their use of government services like health, education and aged care is at its lowest.

According to the ABS , migrant taxpayers contributed $84 billion in total personal income in a year.

This contributes directly to income tax revenue, GST and other types of state taxes.

Australia: the most successful multicultural nation in the world

The history of immigration and the multicultural policy in Australia has been a long journey of facilitating an environment where migrants can fully participate and add value to the economy.

Research clearly indicates the positive economic and social benefits of migration to society as it improves economic growth and strengthens the Government’s fiscal position through tax revenue and increased participation in the workforce .

Further, the changing demographic composition of Australia is largely indicative of the inevitable effects of an ageing population and migration allows the economy and society time to adjust and increase labour force participation rate, in order to sustain economic growth levels and provide for a society where the proportion of people working and delivering income tax revenue, is less than the number of people dependent on government social services.

It is also necessary that current economic and social policies address the growing needs of migrants in that they receive adequate social assistance and are successfully integrated into their respective communities in order to help better alleviate the stresses of migration and working in a new culture.

The Australia we currently live in has been shaped by decades of successive waves of migration and helped to strengthen the cultural, economic and ethnic diversity of our nation. Australian multiculturalism has always been a nation-building endeavour that has strengthened the national identity and has been committed to preserving and fostering the national identity and democracy of this nation. This significant cornerstone of the Australian economy must be preserved and nurtured in order to best provide for successful future generations.

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Multiculturalism in Australia Essay Sample

An Australian is stereotyped to be laid-back, having a beer in hand and a conversation with their mates after a hard-working day. Australian society is composed of laid-back people from different cultures, creating a well-known multicultural representation that Australians are proud of. Multiculturalism in Australia allows for equality between individuals from different cultures, accepting various cultural traditions in Australian society. Aussie films attempt to incorporate aspects of Australian society, such as culture, making these films so successful. Characters and stereotypes in Rob Sitch’s ‘The Castle’ accurately portray culture in Australian society today in order to inform the audience what multiculturalism in Australia really means. However, other texts, such as ‘Summer Heights High’ and ‘Here Come the Habibs’, create juxtaposing representations, which should be considered derogatory and disrespectful. These three texts portray multiculturalism through character development and satire of stereotypes. While some reflect Australian society wonderfully, others get criticised for their inaccurate representation of Australians.

Rob Sitch has utilised multiple film techniques to explore the Australian representation of culture in 'The Castle' through characters and stereotypes. Con Petropoulos is stereotyped as an individual with Greek heritage, with his absurd last name and hair shown to be oiled back. During the wedding speech, Darryl acknowledges Con as part of his family. This scene demonstrates multiculturalism through straight angles that capture Darryl and Con, presenting the audience with the idea that these two characters have equal status despite their cultural differences. Furthermore, the emotional language used by Darryl demonstrates how love breaks cultural barriers, leading to the positive acceptance of Darryl and Con as characters. Thus, the audience understands that multiculturalism in Australia creates egalitarianism in society. In addition, stereotypes play a crucial part in creating multiculturalism in 'The Castle'. Farouk is stereotyped as a 'wog' due to his appearance. 'Wog' is a derogatory term that means foreigner from southern Europe. However, Darryl treats Farouk with love and affection, the opposite of what the audience imagined. The director has deliberately juxtaposed Darryl's relationship with Farouk with the term 'wog', causing the audience to appreciate the mateship created between the two characters. Hence, the audience concludes that multiculturalism in Australia forms a sense of mateship between individuals. Ultimately, multiculturalism is present in 'The Castle' through characters and stereotypes, accurately informing the audience of multicultural Australia. 

Contrasting the representation portrayed in 'The Castle', 'Summer Heights High' presents a juxtaposing view of culture in Australia through inadequate use of stereotypes and portrayal of characters. Jonah Takalua, a Grade 8 student in Summer Heights High, has been stereotyped as a brownface through his appearance and ethnicity. In one such scene, Jonah is in trouble for bullying another student; the association of Jonah being a troublesome individual is clear to the audience. The juxtaposition of characters with different colours, in this situation, can represent a rivalry between two cultures, portraying a negative view of culture in Australia. Furthermore, the two characters don't look at each other once, reflecting the distant relationship between cultures in Australia. In addition, the two characters are both stereotyped so much that the audience cannot ignore this and thinks this is normal in Australian society, making them believe that Australia is not the multicultural society it is said to be. However, the representation of stereotypes and character has recently been criticised, with Netflix cancelling Summer Heights High "due to the use of blackface and brownface in the portrayal of characters" (The Guardian). Thus, 'Summer Heights High' has failed to successfully portray multicultural Australia because of inappropriate characterisations and stereotypes within the text.

Another major series that focus on cultural diversity is Here Comes the Habibs, presenting a similar representation of Australian culture to Summer Heights High. The O’Neill family can be seen as racist and privileged individuals who think too highly of themselves as a result of their ethnicity and their social status. In the intro of this series, the audience can easily recognise that the O’Neills dislike the Habibs immensely. Olivia O’Neill starts by acknowledging Fou as the ‘pool boy’ rather than the owner of the house, which causes the audience to recognise Olivia’s toxicity towards those of another race. Furthermore, the juxtaposition between angles creates the sense that Olivia is superior to Fou. The disregard of Fou’s name further emphasises Olivia’s self-esteem and the stereotype of the superior white Australian. While many see this as an underdog situation for the Habibs, breaking the prejudiced stereotypes set by the white Australians, others believe the sitcom marginalises people. An article from SBS states, ‘Our screens should reflect the diversity on our streets, but they don’t.’, implicitly saying that Here Comes the Habibs utilises negative stereotypes and turns them into harmful jokes which aren’t funny. Ultimately, Here Come the Habibs has done a terrible job at portraying Australian multiculturalism by overlooking the Australian’s egalitarianism and creating humour at racial conflicts.

Ultimately, culture in Australian society has been accurately portrayed through characters in Rob Sitch’s The Castle but are not portrayed accurately in texts such as Summer Heights High and Here Come the Habibs. Culture in Australia seems to be represented poorly by the majority of texts, with the filmmakers not actually understanding Australian multiculturalism, but instead, blatantly jumping to their own conclusions, trying to create humour within racial jokes that are not appreciated.

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The success of australia’s multiculturalism, speech to the sydney institute, 9 march 2016.

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Multiculturalism is a reality of Australian society. We live it everyday: in our cities and suburbs, in our schools and workplaces, on our buses and trains. In all these places, Australians mix with those from different backgrounds.

For the most part, we are comfortable with this reality. Surveys have shown that public acceptance of multiculturalism has been consistently high. The 2015 Mapping Social Cohesion survey, for example, found that 86 per cent of Australians agree that multiculturalism has been good for the country. This level of agreement has been constant for the past three years. [1]

Yet such acceptance of multiculturalism is accompanied by debate. For many self-declared friends of multiculturalism, this can sometimes be a source of concern. It shouldn’t be. It is important that we have civil debates about matters of race, culture and identity.

In any debate, though, it is important that we recognise some of the distinctive characteristics of the Australian multiculturalism. Our experience has been different from those in other parts of the world. While it is true that multiculturalism is in a troubled state in many liberal democracies, it is not the case for Australia. Ours is a success story, not a failure. But it is a success that demands our vigilance.

The criteria of success

Debates about multiculturalism often track events overseas. During the past decade, something of a consensus in Europe has emerged. Governments in Germany, France, Britain and the Netherlands have sounded a retreat from a policy of multiculturalism.

Some commentators have argued a similar retreat should occur here. Critics of multiculturalism believe it may promote more division than unity – that it may prevent groups from being integrated into a common national culture and identity.

These reflect legitimate concerns. Cultural diversity cannot be welcomed without some limits. Public policy should aim to bring people into a national community, rather than prevent them from doing so.

In the European context, there are clear indications that many immigrant groups are not integrating into national communities as they should. It is manifest through experiences such as the residential segregation of ethnic groups, the acquisition of language, the educational and employment of those from migrant backgrounds.

If Australian multiculturalism were to be considered a failure, we should see such signs of trouble. The evidence, however, doesn’t appear to suggest this is the case.

On social cohesion, even multiculturalism’s critics would readily concede the social miracle of Australia’s twentieth and twenty-first century migration history. In the most recent Scanlon Foundation survey on social cohesion, there was evidence of a large measure of social cohesion – including at the level of neighbourhoods. Only 2 per cent of people strongly disagreed that people of different backgrounds get on well together in their local area. Only 3 per cent strongly disagreed that the mix of different backgrounds improved life in their local area. [2]

On educational attainment, studies from the OECD clearly demonstrate that the children of immigrants in Australia attain better average results than the children of native-born Australians. [3] Such performance is mirrored in economic participation. Skilled migrants have a higher labour market participation rate than the overall population; their median annual earnings are also higher. [4]

On civic integration, an estimated 80 percent of immigrants with more than 10 years of residence have chosen to take up Australian citizenship. [5] It’s not a case of immigrants remaining foreigners. Those who do arrive here clearly want to become full members of the Australian nation.

On all these counts – social cohesion, educational attainment, economic participation, civic integration – Australia’s multicultural society has been a success. Unfortunately, this is missed by some commentators who turn to Europe and draw the wrong conclusions for our country. It is akin to finding a design flaw in an Audi or Peugeot and concluding that a Holden will have the same flaw.

Explaining success

Australia’s multicultural success has been predicated on Australian society accepting immigration as a nation-building project. In many countries, immigration occurred without planning. But that wasn’t the case here. A well-ordered immigration program has ensured public acceptance of cultural diversity; it has underpinned the cultural generosity of Australian society.

Another reason is that we have had a very particular model of multiculturalism. There are important differences between what Europeans have called multiculturalism and what we in Australia have called multiculturalism – especially in the realm of policy. [6]

Here, multiculturalism as policy emerged in the 1970s. It replaced the initial policy approach of assimilation that was adopted towards mass immigration from Europe in the immediate post-Second World War years. In the very simplest of terms, multiculturalism means there is public endorsement and recognition of cultural diversity. It means a national community defines its national identity not in ethnic or racial terms, but in terms that can include immigrants. It means a national community accepts that its common identity may evolve to reflect its composition.

What has been called multiculturalism in France and Germany does not accord with the policy of multiculturalism in Australia.

The French approach, for example, is better described as a republican or assimilationist one. In France, if there are to be expressions of cultural difference, they are to be confined to the private sphere – they have no place in public. This explains French bans on the wearing of religious symbols in public places such as schools, or the wearing of face coverings such as the burqa in public. There is nothing that can be described as multicultural about such bans.

The German approach, meanwhile, has been shaped by the guest worker model of immigration it adopted in the post-war years. While Germany accepted immigrants into the labour market, it did not for a long time welcome them as fellow members. Immigrants were tolerated as guest workers who were expected to return home once their work was done. It wasn’t until 2000 that German nationality law was changed to allow those born in the country to parents without native ancestry to claim German citizenship.

Australia has taken a different path. Unlike French republicanism, Australian multiculturalism has not confined cultural differences to the private realm; Australian society openly celebrates cultural diversity. Just consider last month’s public celebration of Lunar New Year. That kind of open, public endorsement of diversity wouldn’t be contemplated in French republican society. If anything, it would likely be regarded as fundamentally threatening to the civic order.

And unlike the German approach, Australia has extended the hand of civic friendship to immigrants. Those who arrive on Australian shores as migrants aren’t expected to remain mere guests. Rather, they are expected and encouraged to become fellow citizens of equal standing in society.

Australia’s multiculturalism is based on a compact of citizenship. Cultural differences are to be embraced, but only when they are consistent with living in an Australian democracy.

This bargain is embodied in the pledge an immigrant takes when they naturalise as an Australian citizen: ‘I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.’ In those four clauses we have writ the contract of citizenship in this country.

Contrary to its critics, Australian multiculturalism has never sanctioned a form of cultural relativism. Any right to express one’s cultural identity and heritage has been accompanied by responsibilities. There must be a commitment to liberal democratic values – to parliamentary democracy, to the rule of law, to equality of the sexes, to freedom of speech. [7]

In other words, Australian multiculturalism has always been an exercise in nation-building. It has always aimed to strengthen Australian national identity, not to supersede it. It has always been robust and muscular; it has always been committed to liberal democracy. As Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs Craig Laundy has recently said, ‘our success as one of the most culturally diverse and socially cohesive nations in the world is firmly grounded in our adherence to the values which underpin Australian society’. [8]

Civic multiculturalism and the Racial Discrimination Act

Let me turn to two challenges in sustaining Australia’s multicultural success.

First, the civic and non-partisan character of multiculturalism must be defended. If the Australian public has a broad acceptance of multiculturalism, as the evidence suggests, then it is because our model has avoided political sectarianism. Australian multiculturalism enjoys – and rightly enjoys – political endorsement from all the major political parties.

Too often, however, there is missing a measured view of multicultural policy. Some on the progressive side of political debate see only rights, but not responsibilities. Some on the conservative side of political debate see only a recipe for cultural difference and not also one for political unity.

Yet, in one respect, Australian multiculturalism has an emphatic conservative spirit.

It is something that is explicit about the sacrosanct nature of our parliamentary democracy and our rule of law. It says that while we should accept cultural diversity, we must also affirm and protect our liberal democratic institutions. It says that we should endorse values of civility and respect. These are not radical ideas, but deeply conservative ones.

A second challenge concerns the legal architecture of multiculturalism – namely, the Racial Discrimination Act . An official multiculturalism would mean little were it not supported by laws that guarantee equal opportunity in public life. Over the last forty years, the Racial Discrimination Act has done this, and it is important that it continues to do so. [9]

But in much recent debate about the Act, there continues to be widespread misunderstanding about its provisions – especially section 18C, which makes it unlawful to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate someone because of their race. There continues to be commentary, which suggests that section 18C stifles free speech by capturing conduct that is merely offensive. Some recent commentary has also questioned section 18C’s constitutionality.

Such commentary is misguided. Since it was introduced in 1995, section 18C has been found by the courts only to apply when it causes serious and profound effects involving race; it does not cover acts which cause mere trivial slights or harms. And it remains rare for complaints about racial discrimination to reach the courts. For example, in 2014-15, the Australian Human Rights Commission finalised 405 complaints about racial discrimination. Less than 3 per cent of finalised complaints in 2014-15 end up in court. The majority of complaints under the Act are successfully conciliated (in 2014-15, 67 per cent of complaints where there was a conciliation). [10]

As for the constitutionality of section 18C – to be more precise, the constitutionality of Part IIA of the Act – the body of case law to date suggests the law is settled on the issue. The Federal Court, in the case of Jones v Scully , has held that section 18C reflects a domestic implementation of Australia’s international legal obligations as a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. [11] The reasoning of Justice Hely in that case has been followed in all subsequent cases where the issue of constitutionality has been raised. Part IIA of the Act, as Justice Hely put it, ‘is reasonably appropriate and adapted to serve the legitimate end of eliminating racial discrimination’ and does not unnecessarily or unreasonably impair the freedom of political communication that is protected by the Constitution. [12]

Understanding how section 18C works requires attention to section 18D of the Act, which explicitly protects freedom of speech. This section protects anything that is done reasonably and in good faith that is artistic work or fair reporting and comment on matters of public interest. Among many critics of the Act, and among those calling for its review, there is a puzzling ignorance of this section of the legislation.

The courts have interpreted this provision broadly. There have been numerous instances where acts causing racial offence have been found to enjoy the exemption of section 18D. Consider the case of Bropho v HREOC , where cartoons lampooning the return of the head of Yagan. (Yagan was a Noongar warrior shot dead in 1833 and whose preserved head was displayed in a British museum.) Despite the racial offence taken by Noongar Aboriginal communities in Western Australia, the cartoons in the West Australian newspaper were found by the Federal Court to have enjoyed the protection of section 18D, being deemed to constitute fair comment. [13]

If we are to endorse Australian multiculturalism, we should give it expression through the law. The law acts, among other things, to express our values as a society. The Racial Discrimination Act continues to be an important statement about Australian society’s commitment to civility and respect.

Civility and respect are, as I noted earlier, values that transcend political divides. Again, we see in Australian multiculturalism and the Racial Discrimination Act , a spirit that could be described as conservative. Conservatives, after all, have never shied from prescribing for society – as Edmund Burke did in his Reflections on the Revolution in France – the right kinds of ‘sentiments, manners and moral opinions’. [14]

Community harmony and extremism

I would like to conclude by focusing attention on a third, and most urgent, challenge. That’s the challenge of extremism. As illustrated by a number of examples during the past two years, there are elements present in our society intent on pursuing violent extremism, using religious justifications. These elements have no place in Australian multiculturalism.

We must take care, however, not to judge entire communities by the actions of an extremist few; we must not allow stereotypes and prejudices to take hold. Last year, I conducted around the country consultations with communities about their experience of racism. It was commonly reported by representatives of Muslim and Arab communities that public debates about terrorism were spilling over into disharmony within communities. [15] This is corroborated by research from Western Sydney University, which found that Muslims experience a level of discrimination three times higher than the national average. [16]

This warrants our attention. Saying that some communities may be susceptible to experiences of racial or religious vilification doesn’t amount to encouraging a sense of victim mentality (as some commentators have suggested). We must be prepared to speak out against prejudice where it exists. Not speaking out can make it easier for extremists to seduce alienated youths with their messages of violence.

Indeed, if we are to expect Muslim communities to repudiate extremism perpetrated in the name of Islam, our society must be prepared to repudiate extremism that targets Muslim communities. It has been concerning to see present in many anti-Muslim protest rallies agitators aligned with far-right-wing nationalist organisations.

Such groups may not confine their energies to one community. During the past two years, for example, we have seen numerous instances of vile anti-Semitic bigotry, which appear to be linked with far-right organised groups. The alarming rise of far-right politics in the US and Europe further highlights how liberal tolerance is being challenged by extreme nationalism.

There are, then, numerous challenges for Australian multiculturalism. It is a reminder that while it has been a success, we cannot be complacent. But, as I said at the outset, civil debate about multiculturalism is always to be welcomed. I thank the Sydney Institute for facilitating such a debate this evening.

[1] A Markus (2015), Mapping Social Cohesion National Report 2015, Scanlon Foundation and Monash University, Melbourne, p 41. [2] Ibid [1] p 59. [3] OECD (2012), Education at a Glance 2012: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, p 92. Available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2012-en (last accessed 8 March 2016). [4] Department of Immigration and Border Protection (2014), Australia’s Migration Trends 2013-14, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, p 118. [5] D Smith, J Wykes, S Jayarajah and T Fabijanic (2010) ‘Citizenship in Australia’, Paper for OECD Seminar on Naturalisation and the Socio-Economic Integration of Immigrants and their Children, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra, p 8. Available online: http://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/citizenship-in-australia-2011.pdf (last accessed 8 March 2016). [6] For more detailed discussion, see T Soutphommasane (2012), Don’t Go Back To Where You Came From: Why Multiculturalism Works, NewSouth Publishing, Sydney. [7] See, e.g., Australian Government (2011), The People of Australia – Australia’s Multicultural Policy, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. [8] C Laundy (2016), ‘Cultural diversity is one of our strengths’, The Australian, 1 March 2016. [9] I have offered a more detailed treatment of this in T Soutphommasane (2015), I’m Not Racist But... 40 Years of the Racial Discrimination Act, NewSouth Publishing, Sydney. [10] Australian Human Rights Commission, (2015), Annual Report 2014-2015, Australian Human Rights Commission, Sydney. p 144. [11] Jones v Scully [2002] FCA 1080 (at paragraphs 239-240). [12] Ibid [11]. [13] Bropho v Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission [2004] FCAFC 16. [14] E Burke ([1790] 1980), ‘Reflections on the Revolution in France’, The Harvard Classics, ed. Eliot, C. Grolier Enterprise Corp, Connecticut, p 217. [15] Australian Human Rights Commission (2015), Freedom from Discrimination: Report on the 40th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act, Australian Human Rights Commission, Sydney. [16] K Dunn, R Atie et al. (2015), The resilience and ordinariness of Australian Muslims: Attitudes and experiences of Muslims Report, Western Sydney University, Sydney, p 27.

The Public Life of Australian Multiculturalism pp 169–206 Cite as

Multiculturalism and Australian National Identity

• Anthony Moran 2  
• First Online: 01 December 2016

1213 Accesses

This chapter focuses on the relationship between multiculturalism and national identity, and challenges the claim that these are opposed. It argues that multiculturalism constitutes an important aspect of contemporary Australian national identity, and that part of multiculturalism’s success in Australia has been its articulation with a continually evolving, increasingly open and inclusive national identity. Comparisons are made with Canada and Quebec, the USA and the Netherlands. It is clear that nationalism in some of its guises (ethno-nationalist, assimilationist nationalist) can be inimical to multiculturalism, and the chapter explores examples of this negative relationship. The chapter also discusses ongoing debates about Australian identity, especially between more ethno-cultural, liberal and civic national versions. This taps into broader debates about multiculturalism and national identity in the international context.

• National Identity
• National Culture
• Multicultural Society
• Diverse Society
• Australian Citizenship

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I developed the original arguments, which are further developed and substantially revised here in this chapter, in an earlier article (see Moran 2011 ).

This quote was from an interview in our sample, conducted in 2003. The young woman felt a strong sense of Australian identity, but also strongly identified with her Lebanese heritage.

Gellner did not, however, argue that this sacralising aspect was peculiar to nations. Following Durkheim he saw some degree of sacralising of the social as central to all human societies (Gellner 1994 ).

Anderson, B. 1983. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism . London: Verso.

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Multiculturalism In Australia Essay And Its Features

Multiculturalism is the policy aimed at preserving and development of cultural diversity in a certain country and in the whole world. Multiculturalism is considered an opposition to the notion “melting pot” which is based on the fusion of cultural peculiarities of different countries.

This idea is widespread in economically developed Western countries that have the great influx of immigrants every year. Although, the idea of multiculturalism was strongly criticized by plenty of developed countries, such as:

Essays provided by our skillful authors are able to help you to get the new information about multiculturalism in the countries mentioned above. Therefore, we may proceed to the point of our discussion, multiculturalism essay.

Nowadays, Australia is a country with one of the highest living standards in the world. Its population amounts to 20 million people; about 95% of them are Europeans, others are Asians and aborigines. Australian immigration policy has essentially changed since the second half of the 20th century. Initially, it was aimed at assimilation. The authorities were concerned that immigrants had to settle and work among the Australians.

Thus, they failed to prevent the formation of ethnic groups. Australian employers did not procure well-paid labor to immigrants because they did not pay attention to their diplomas. In the 60s, the government began to create the programs of social adaption for immigrants:

          - improved English courses

          - phone support by interpreters

          - financial support from public organizations

However, the assimilation-orientated program did not have any success, and the government began to use multiculturalism strategy. After 1970, there appeared different structures aimed at the care of ethnic communities (for instance, Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs), a special TV-channel and radio orientated to immigrants; the multicultural education was introduced. If you are interested in multicultural education essay, look through best essay on education.

For about a decade, the multicultural policy of Australia was based on the folkloric understanding of ethnic minorities. However, this strategy did not have any success. The model of multicultural society that functioned about a decade in the 1970s forced immigrants to identify themselves with a certain community, which was considered self-isolated. It could cause the risk of ethnization of social diversity and relationship. If you want to get the additional information, search for our multicultural society essay.

Consequently, the multicultural policy was reviewed and its ethnocentric model was replaced with public one. Henceforth, multiculturalism has been formulated as the terms of real equality of citizens. The support of ethnic minorities was no more in the foreground; the priority was given to constitutional rights, mostly social.  National Agenda of Multicultural Australia defined three aspects of multicultural policy:

• cultural identity
• social justice
• economic efficiency

The first point gave a citizen the right to the cultural realization (including language and religious self-expression). Ethnicity, as language and religious affiliation, was considered a free decision. The second point assumed legal guarantees of equality and absence of social discrimination based on a color of skin, sex, confession and other factors. Finally, the third point meant the encouragement of talents of citizens (regardless of their origin), preferably from the humane point of view.

The equality of human rights despite their origin is the way to success for every country, isn’t it? The change of migration policy, which allowed Muslims and Asians (and also Europeans of non- British origin) to migrate to Australia, had a positive effect that cannot be refused. Due to this policy, the country achieved a lot of prominent citizens – famous executives, politicians, scientists, doctors, artists and qualified workers.

It also positively influenced the demographic situation. Many interracial marriages appeared, and their children claim themselves Australians. In respect to cultural innovations, the immigrants brought a wide variety of dishes to Australian cuisine, as well as cultural and folkloric festivals.

Pros and cons of multiculturalism

Some scientists consider that this policy failed and led to the discretion of the nation. They think it stirred such problems as:

               - illegal immigration

               - ethnic crime

               - inter-ethnic clashes

               - terrorism threat

The cultural distance appeared. A part of immigrants isolated in their communities and began to orientate to their own connections and principles that are often far from pluralism and tolerance. It is mainly referred to Islamic communities. The main role of it is connected to their religion, but it is another difficult problem of modern population.

To sum it up, the policy of multiculturalism is a rather controversial issue. At the first blush, it has a lot of positive aspects and purposes. Immigrants that for some reasons had to leave their motherland need human’s support in new countries. Moreover, they fear to be isolated because of their native language, a color of skin, religion or other factors. They try to preserve their own cultural peculiarities even in a new country and still stick to new traditions.

Assimilation is an inevitable phenomenon, but some immigrants try to preserve their native traditions for their children (language, culture). What is the purpose? Nevertheless, it is their decision.

In spite of all these difficulties, Australia does not refuse the policy of multiculturalism. Throughout the centuries, more and more immigrants come to this continent and receive an appropriate support there. Australian government created efficient programs that help them to accustom rather quickly.

Do you watch a lot of news about Australia? Moreover, are they about crimes? It seems to be one of the quietest countries in the world. Mainly, these characteristics are achieved because of the successful policy of multiculturalism that is based on the equality of human rights. There are still some difficulties, but Australia may be considered one of few countries that have notable success in multiculturalism. That is clearly seen in the extremely low level of aggression and crime of modern Australian population.

Do you have some thoughts about this phenomenon? In case, you have an opportunity, do not fear to share them with us. If you appreciate our essay, you may search for our resources to find some new interesting information. Join us!

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Multiculturalism In Australia Essay

Bian and I’s presentation today discussed the topic of everyday multiculturalism. I started to talk about the Susanne Wessendorf reading for this week and stress her point on how interactions are essential to developing a united and diverse community. I then chose and excerpt from the reading which accentuated this point through using the example of the Orthodox Jewish community in the London borough being discussed by Wessendorf. The example entails the discussion amongst two white British ladies and, an Orthodox Jewish woman, and then an Orthodox Jewish man. I chose this portion of the text to discuss as I thought it not only touched on the importance of interactions in developing a multicultural community, but also it made it evident how that even though …show more content…

I choose to present this through an interactive website created by SBS. This website allowed the visitor to type in a suburb in Australia and then would present the rate of diversity in that suburb. This proved to be a successful part of the presentation as the class got involved and gave suggestions as to what suburb I would type in. This provided a real interpretation of everyday multiculturalism as people could relate to the information being shown. I presented this information to show that Australia is in fact very diverse but then compared it to Hackney and how Australia does not reach their level of “super diversity” as we are still experiencing uncertainty towards multiculturalism in Australia. To then align everyday multiculturalism to the Modern Australian context I presented the class with an article which discussed Malcom Turnbull’s update of Australia’s multicultural statement. I showed this article as I thought it was not only topical and current but it showed how Australia is currently dealing with the concept of Multiculturalism. I could have elaborated on this article more and discussed the pros and cons to updating this

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We’ve all heard the Australian stereotypes. But where do the stereotypes come from? Australia’s identity encompasses many widespread stereotypes, some of which are used advantageously to promote Australia on a global scale. Globally, Australia’s main stream identity is that of a baron outback. Adding to the collective stereotype; bogans and yobbos have played a developmental role in the Australians characteristic identity.

Australian Race Relations

The book of my choosing was Australian Race Relations by Andrew Markus, this book gives detailed reasoning on the thinking behind why Great Britain decided to embark upon Australia and the reasoning behind doing so. I plan to discuss some of the similarities and differences regarding three main points that we have both discussed in class and that is presented in Australian Race Relations and they are; the idea of superiority that Europeans had regarding other countries, the racial immigrant segregation seen in the nineteen century Australia, and the ways in which Australia tried to keep themselves white from integration of outside races. Markus starts off his novel by addressing the underlying reason for the British takeover of Austria.

Theme Of Racism In Entre Les Murs

Issues such as racism and xenophobia consistently surface and there is a mutual distrust and resentment of other races amongst the pupils. This results in the teachers struggling to do their jobs in a tense environment and having to tackle complex issues such as discrimination. They are forced to attempt to unite students of differing ethnicities who are completely unaccustomed to co-existing with each

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Australian forces had significant success in the North African campaign during World War 2 (1939-1945) which is highly evident in their extensive contribution and notable allied victories in various battles including the battle/siege of Tobruk and the second battle of El Alamein. Axis powers focused their attention to the Suez Canal and the Persian oil fields. This would enable them to control Mediterranean shipping/trading and would warrant axis power to accumulate crucial resources in order to retaliate and expand through-out the Middle east. Australia’s success was due to a multitude of factors including the military ability of the Australian 9th division and Australian artillery and soldiers skill tactics in the face of intimidating German

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The Impact Of Racism In Australia

In this day and age, many believe racism to be an issue of the past, when as a matter of fact, it is still frequently impacting peoples lives all around the globe. Unfortunately, many issues regarding racism occur in the sporting world. In Australia, it occurs most often in Australian Rules Football, or in the major competition, AFL (Australian Football League). It is a widely accepted idea that the players and spectators of a sport, rather than the sport itself have a direct impact of inducing racism within that particular sport. Relating to the AFL, the main offenders of racism are the spectators, who are commonly abusing players of different race to them.

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Ethnocentrism occurs when one culture comes into contact with another. It the evaluation of one culture based on preconceived ideas that have derived from the customs and traditions from one’s own culture. William Summer, an American sociologist, believes that an ethnocentrism is “A view of things in which one’s own group is the centre of everything and all others are scaled and rated in reference to it” (Sorrells 2013). This phenomenon can have detrimental outcomes; such as stereotyping and prejudice both of which may hinder intercultural relations and assimilation therefore impacting on societal cohesion.

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Due to the power of perceptions, the Australian identity has for a long time been negatively associated with racism, homophobia, and hostility to culturally different ethnicities. The misrepresentation of identity is also a result of long-held stereotypes and generalizations, which are an exaggeration of actions or beliefs of a few people in the Australian society. The misconceptions, perceptions, and stereotypes have unfortunately created a false identity that all Australians are racists, biased and hostile when it comes to people of other ethnicities and cultures, or beliefs that they

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The Importance Of Living In A Multicultural City

But, living in a multicultural city is by itself a very beneficial exercise not only on a personal level but also in terms of cultural exchange, economic exchange and generating new ideas. One experiences what is called cultural variety when living in a diverse area. He is somehow introduced to new kinds of foods, architectures, arts, music, festivals, religions, mythologies, writings and more of general day-to-day life. These new things would easily open one’s heart and mind to new places, new ideas and new people. According to (Wolfstone, 2010) nowadays all people around the world happily go out and eat Chinese food, use Japanese technology, drive German

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• Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism In Australia Essay

What is multiculturalism as a descriptor of Australia’s population and settlement policy? How has it changed before, during, and after the Howard government? In practice, is life in Australia more integrationist or more multicultural?

Australia is a melting pot of races, cultures and beliefs. This country was built by people from rich variety of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. The lives of Australians have changed greatly along with the active policy of immigration since 1945 (Brett 2003). Today we can clearly see many different cultures get together to call Australia home and most of the cultures have embraced the Australian way of life. This essay will firstly give a brief description of Australian immigration history along with earlier policies and the phase of multiculturalism that was dominant for several decades as well as look at government practices and changes in immigration policies before during and after Howard government.

Multiculturalism refers to several different cultures which can be brought together to live peacefully and equally as one. The history of human habitation with the Australia begins with the first arrival of peoples families to the present native inhabitants. It is believed that the Australia’s foremost indigenous tribes arrived over 50,000 years ago from an unknown region of Asia (Brett 2003).European exploration of Australia began in 1606 when a Spanish navigator sailed through the Torres Strait, which separates Australia from Papua New Guinea. He was soon followed by Dutch, French and English explorers who began to map the continent (Brett 2003).

Australia was generally depicted as a distant and unattractive territory for European settlement but for Great Britain it had deliberate and socio economic value. The British Control of the continent offered a solution for the relocation of convicts in its overpowered prisons and also assists as a base for British naval. Therefore the British settlement of Australia began in 1788 and afterwards the colony began to develop rapidly as free settlers arrived from Britain and Ireland and new lands were opened up for farming (Carter 2006, p. 341).

However, with the discovery of gold in 1851, the nature of Australian migration changed completely. This gold rush era cause an early migration boom and started the international arrivals, People arrived in far greater numbers and from more varied backgrounds than ever before. Between the period of 1851 and 1861 over 600,000 people migrated to Australia (Hodge 2006, p. 91).

When the colonies federated in 1901, control of immigration changed. The first legislation passed by the new parliament was the immigration restriction act which was also referred to as the ‘White Australian Policy’. In spite of relatively large amount of Chinese residents in Australia this act ensured those who were not of European descent were not permitted to live in Australia and also banned Asian migration for the next fifty years (www.Australiatodayhistoryofimmigration.htm) That same year the Federal Parliament passed the Pacific Islands Labourers Act to exclude their employment as contract labourers and to deport those already in the country. During this period Australia had many unfair immigration laws which were conflicting and could not be met by those who were not of European descent (Horne 1980).

In 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War, migration almost ceased. Furthermore, some migrants from countries such as Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey previously thought acceptable were now reclassified as ‘enemy aliens’ and prohibit people from these countries for five years (Hodge 2006, p. 91). As with the end of First World War Church and community organisations such as the YMCA and the Salvation Army sponsored migrants. Small numbers also arrived independently. As the United States sought to limit migration of Southern Europeans, increasing numbers of young men from Greece and Italy paid their own way to Australia. By the 1930s, Jewish settlers began arriving in greater numbers, many of them refugees from Hitler’s Europe (www.ads.gov.au).

Before World War two, Australia was a country with a homogenous European population and remained in this manner for some time. However during the Second World War, Australia became home to many non-European refugees, especially to Asian countries. Malaysian’s, Filipino’s and Indonesian are settled down in the country. Australia actively required these immigrants, with the government assisting many of them, they found work due to an expanding economy and major infrastructure projects such as’ Snowy Mountain scheme’. There were workers from over thirty different nations who were not necessarily of European descent. Seventy percent of the workers who were part of the scheme were migrants who saw potential in coming to Australia (www.Australiatodayhistoryofimmigration.htm).

Harold Holt’s decision in 1949 to permit approximately 800 non-European refugees and the Japanese war brides to be admitted was the first movement for Australia to become a multicultural society. When the war ended, Australia launched a massive entirely new immigration programme Australia negotiated agreements with other governments and international organisations to help achieve high migration targets (Lopez 2000, p. 131)

Former Australian Prime Minister John Curtis’s dream of keeping Australia in the hands of its white European descendants did not last. From the 1950s, Australia began to relax its ‘White Australia’ policy. In 1956 non-European residents were allowed to apply for citizenship (Hodge 2006, p. 91). Two years later the transcription Test was abolished as a further means of exclusion. By the 1960s mixed race migration was becoming easier and in 1966 Australia entered into its first migration agreement with non-European countries. This was a big step for Australia as it was the first time that both the political government and the Australian people agreed on letting different cultures mix around together (Brett 2003).

Then in 1972 Australians elected their first Labour government since 1948. As Minister for Immigration, Al Grassby radically changed official policy. The quota system, based on country of origin and preservation of racial ‘homogeneity’, was replaced by ‘structured selection.’ Migrants were chosen on the basis of skills and capital, rather than the country of origin, selecting those most likely to integrate easily and become self sufficient. In 1973, the White Australian Policy was formally discarded and declared Australia as a ‘multicultural’ society, Al Grassy announced that every relic of past ethnic or racial discrimination had been abolished (Lopez 2000, p. 131). Multiculturalism policy has been reoriented from a focus on settler groups to the broader constituency of all Australians with the mission of promoting harmonious community relations and building social cohesion in a way that inhibits and prevents racism (Probert 2001)

In 1988 the Fitzgerald Inquiry led to further changes in migration with a move away from ‘family reunion’ towards an emphasis on skilled and business categories. The assisted passage scheme had ended in 1981 and only refugees are given any level of support on their arrival in Australia. Tiananmen Square Massacre incident was occurred in 1989 and the Prime Minister Bob Hawke granted permanent residency to many Chinese students in Australia. After the Jakarta riots of May 1998 migrants from Jakarta trickled in to major cities in Australia (Hodge 2006, p. 91).

Although the multiculturalism was adopted by the government and accepted by majority of the Australians still there were some conflicts regarding the multiculturalism during that period. Political harmony on multiculturalism was shattered when John Howard, leader of the opposition, took a different approach on multiculturalism. Howard was a staunch believer in traditional Australian values. In 1988 Howard pushed for a number of policy changes: one was for an adjustment of the mix of migrants; another was for a ‘One-Australia’ post-arrival. Stating that he believed the rate of Asian immigration into Australia should be slowed down for the sake of social cohesion. He stated: “I do believe that if it is – in the eyes of some in the community – that it’s too great, it would be in our immediate-term interest and supporting of social cohesion if it were slowed down a little, so the capacity of the community to absorb it was greater”(Richards 2003).

However the Hawke Labour Government of that time was in support of multiculturalism, they created the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet whose objectives included raising awareness of cultural diversity and promoting social cohesion, understanding and tolerance. Even though Howard broke the harmony of the major parties over multiculturalism, Hawke Labour government remained committed to the policy and the Labour party’s platform professed the goal of ‘Working Together for a Multicultural Australian’ (Probert 2001).

Howard Government was elected in 1996 As Prime Minister; John Howard pointedly avoided using the ‘M’ word, multiculturalism. He insisted it not be used in the joint parliamentary resolution rejecting racism that was passed in 1996, and avoided it in speeches that nevertheless courted the ethnic constituency (Betts 2000) The Howard government effectively marginalised multiculturalism as an issue by keeping some of its paraphernalia while emphasising common political values and national unity.

There was some scaling down of immigration, Australia accepted 87,000 immigrants in 1994-95 and planned immigrant intake was reduced to 68,000 in the begging of Howard Government (www.ads.gov.au).

Howard’s distaste for multiculturalism was long-standing but motivated as much by political expediency as personal taste, but a decade later his strong commitment to traditional Australian values was condensed. Prime Minister Howard finally accepted ‘Australian multiculturalism’-with strong emphasis on Australian-at least sufficiently to launch the National Multiculturalism Advisory Council’s report Australian multiculturalism for a new century: Towards inclusiveness in April 1999. That report, however, was a rather innocuous and somewhat garbled version of multiculturalism as Australian values and citizenship (Betts 2000). Australia has a ‘pluralist democracy’, the report affirmed, and ‘Australian multiculturalism has been built on the evolving values of Australian democracy and “citizenship”‘. Diversity was recognised as a fact rather than as an end in itself, and valued as ‘a great cultural, social and economic resource’. The report claimed that ‘Australian multiculturalism’ had ‘at its core …the same values that are embedded in the notion of “citizenship”, including tolerance and a commitment to freedom and equal opportunity’. Even John Howard’s old favourites, mateship and a fair go, were incorporated in the revamped version (www.ads.gov.au).

Multiculturalism is now used more by governments at the national and state levels as rhetoric of community relations that aims at social cohesion. The Council for Multicultural Australia, was established in July 2000, and charged with implementing A New Agenda for Multicultural Australia. Its purpose is to promote the benefits of diversity to business and to oversee the implementation of a charter of public service in a culturally diverse society (Probert 2001). In May 2003 the Howard government released its multicultural policy statement, Multicultural Australia: United in Diversity. It updated the 1999 new agenda, set strategic directions for 2003-06, and included a commitment to a Council for Multicultural Australia (Brett 2003).

In 2004-05, Australia accepted 123,000 new settlers, a 40 per cent increase over the past 10 years. The largest number of immigrants (40,000 in 2004/05) moved to Sydney. The majority of immigrants came from Asia, led by China and India. There was also significant growth in student numbers from Asia, and continued high numbers of tourists from Asia (www.Australiatodayhistoryofimmigration.htm).

Planned immigrant intake in 2005/06 had more than doubled compared with the intake of 1996. As at 2007 immigration accounted just over half the overall growth in Australia’s population. In NSW and South Australia about three-quarters of the population growth could be attributed to immigration. The planned intake for 2007/08 was almost 153,000- plus 13,000 under the humanitarian program and in addition 24,000 New Zealanders were expected to migrate under specific trans-Tasman agreement. Under the Howard Government the quota for skilled migrants rose significantly compared with the quota for family reunions (Hodge 2006, p. 91).

Australia’s last multicultural policy, the Howard Government’s Multicultural Australia United in Diversity (2003-2006) expired in 2006. A new multicultural advisory body was established by the Rudd Government in late 2008.

Some of the suggested main points of new Australian Multicultural policy introduced by the Rudd government can be identified as follows ( Hammer 2008)

• Recognition, acceptance and celebration of the cultural, linguistic and faith diversity based around the shared commitment to Australia’s democracy and laws.
• A focus on the importance of intercultural and interfaith as relating to the importance of mutual understanding and respect between people of different ethnic, cultural, linguistic and faith backgrounds.
• Recognition of productive diversity and the great economic, social and cultural benefits of cultural, linguistic and faith diversity for all Australians.
• Recognition of the fundamental human right of all Australians to practice, preserve, enhance, share and celebrate their cultural, linguistic or faith heritage if they so choose.
• Strong indicators, measures and policies for social inclusion and economic participation for Australians from culturally, linguistically and faith diverse backgrounds.
• Greater recognition and incorporation of issues around cultural, linguistic and faith diversity within the important social inclusion policy agenda.
• Stronger and more creative policies and measures that address racism, and racial and religious discrimination and vilification.
• Implementation of a Multicultural Act, along the lines of the Canadian or Victoria Multicultural Acts, recognising Australia as a multicultural nation committed to access and equity for all its citizens regardless of background.
• Renewed investment in population, immigration and cultural, linguistic and faith diversity research.
• Stronger English language training and employment participation programs for migrants and refugees.
• A properly funded and resourced SBS also focussed on its multicultural and multilingual charter objectives, as well as adequate funding mechanisms for community based ethnic broadcasters.

(Hammer 2008)

In 2008-09, more than 171 000 migrants were granted visas under the Skill and Family Streams of Australia’s Migration Program. In this same period nearly 670 000 people received temporary entry visas to Australia to undertake specific work or business, or to entertain, play sport, have a working holiday or study. In addition to this, 13 507 humanitarian entrants were granted visas to enable them to live in Australia to rebuild their lives, having fled persecution or suffering (Hammer 2008).

In October 2007, the Australian government announced a ban on refugees from Africa, which would be reviewed in mid-2008. Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews stated that refugees from Sudan were having problems integrating and those refugees from Burma and Afghanistan should take priority. However, after the Rudd Labour government was elected on the 25th of November 2007, Australia’s stance on keeping refugees off shore changed and on the 8th of February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that all refugees kept on Nauru would be moved to Australia. This signalled the end of the Pacific solution (www.ads.gov.au).

The reality is that multiculturalism is about and for all Australians. Multiculturalism is about mainstream Australia, because mainstream Australia is multicultural. The immigration has influenced the Australian society in numerous ways (Carter 2006, p. 341). Australia experiences a brain gain, in that it records substantial net migration gains in all high skill and high qualification occupational categories. In addition Australia’s growing population spends more and invests more – thus contributing to the expansion of the country’s economy.  Along with such essentials as food and housing, migrants set up new businesses and help business expansion through investment and their contributions to new technologies, which then produce extra goods and services in both the private and government sectors (Richards 2003).

Exotic food and flavors from other countries is another advantage. Moreover Australia is not only considerably richer in experiences, but enjoys much closer economic and social links with other nations as a direct result of diverse multicultural population. Australian fashion, food and culture have all been affected by multiculturalism because it makes up what it means to be Australian. (Hodge 2006, p. 91). Australia is proud of its multicultural society and enjoys the diversity of cultures that ongoing migration from around the world provides. The cultural diversity touches all Australians, benefits all Australians; its success has been achieved by all Australians and it should be cherished and celebrated by all Australians (Horne 1980). As a conclusion we could say even though that Australian culture has adopted lot of cultural backgrounds and different values the Australian society appears to be both multicultural and integrated as well.

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Multiculturalism in Australia - Essay Example

• Subject: Sociology
• Type: Essay
• Level: Undergraduate
• Pages: 6 (1500 words)
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Extract of sample "Multiculturalism in Australia"

Like one would expect in any foreign cultural setting, I faced cultural resistance and exclusion during my interaction with other Australian students in the class and through the groups or teams. This seemed to be the trend when it came to interactions between the Australian students and other international students, as they would treat such students in a different manner than they would treat each other.

The national culture and identity have a significant impact on the feelings and behaviors of different individuals (Reitz, Breton, Dion, & Dion, 2009). Such effects could be in relation to various aspects including communication methods, time, and privatization, and publicizing of information. All these aspects define the national identity of individuals, an aspect that I came to later learn that led to the reduced interaction with the Australian students. For instance, Dutch employees could be highly appreciative of compliments extended to them by their employers due to their culture of individualism, while most Asian employees would be made to feel uncomfortable by a similar compliment due to their culture of collectivism. It is thus important for individuals to identify the national identity of a foreign country that they ought to interact with in order to establish the values and traits of the inhabitants of such a nation as this would enhance interaction with such individuals.

Discussion of Multiculturalism and its Impact in Australia

In order to ensure that multiculturalism is embraced successfully, it is important for the society to establish values that will uphold inclusiveness and allow for a collaborative attitude towards immigrants and other individuals from distinctive cultures (Moran, 2011). The issue of multiculturalism has been well included in the development of policies in the Australian context, with leaders across all constructs encouraging the establishment of an environment that would be inclusive of individuals from different cultures towards the development of the society. Nevertheless, some have argued that multiculturalism has failed to establish such an environment and should thus be replaced by principles of a shared national identity in order to ensure that the different cultures are integrated into one national identity with which each one can be associated regardless of their cultural backgrounds (Teras, 2012). Opponents of multiculturalism term it as a division of loyalties and thus an aspect that undermines the national identity (Taras, 2012). On the contrary, those who are in support of multiculturalism observe national identity as homogenizing and thus a threat to cultural diversity (Bennett, 2013). Such perspectives have a great impact on the general view of the public on the issues of multiculturalism and thus affect the interaction between the native Australians and individuals from different cultures in other countries. For a culturally inclusive environment to be established it is paramount to ensure that both the multicultural and national identity ideas are well merged. As such, being a multicultural country, it is vital to understand that different individuals from different cultures would express their interaction with the national identity in varying ways. It is evident that Australia’s success can be attributed to the emphasis put on multiculturalism, as a cornerstone of nation-building (Leuner, 2006).

The notion that multiculturalism has failed is a major contributory factor to the confusion experienced in the debate concerning how individuals learn to live together amidst the increasing global interconnection and interdependence (Taras, 2012). As such, multiculturalism is a simple definition of the reality experienced in the modern society in most countries, in the sense that there is the presence of a large population of migrant groups, some of whom are at various phases of permanent settlement, while others are on temporary settlement, and they are all from different countries and different cultures (Taras, 2012).

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Does Multiculturalism Contribute to the Social and Political Life in Australia? Essay

Introduction, counter argument, works cited.

Contemporary Australian society can be characterized by extreme diversity. However, this trait has always been associated with the country. Due to the peculiarities of the historical development, the land sheltered millions of immigrants from different regions. They brought their unique cultural aspects and contributed to the creation of a society that combined features of different ethnicities. After the years of its development, the collision of various groups of people evolved into a completely new entity that acquired its features and characteristics (Indelicato 55).

Today, Australian people live in one of the most diversified societies that impact their lifestyles and behaviors significantly. However, there are also some opposing claims suggesting that the role of multiculturalism in the countrys social and political domains is overstated and it remains an insignificant factor (Mares 70). Counter to this perspective, there is credible evidence that Australia remains a country with developed multiculturalism that contributes to the rise of its social and political life.

The emergence and existence of this unique environment have always been ongoing issues for multiple social researchers. They are interested in the peculiarities of the process of its formation and evolution along with the effect multiculturalism and collision of ethnicities have on individuals. For this reason, there are many scholarly sources, such as articles, books, and papers devoted to the problem of multiculturalism in Australia.

These works delved into the social, political, and cultural benefits and challenges that might arise because of this unique feature. Despite differences in approaches, methods, and investigated domains, the majority of researchers are united in the opinion that multiculturalism remains the factor that shapes the society and policy of the state by altering people’s mentalities, modes of behavior, and reactions to various issues. There are also many other factors associated with the discussed topic and impacting Australia and its society that are analyzed in the given sources, and that can be used to prove the power of multiculturalism.

Views of the Youth

Thus, there are many social and cultural difficulties concerning this issue, however, it remains a potent factor shaping all spheres of people’s lives in the state. Harris claims that dominant cultural norms can be difficult for minorities and immigrants as they have to alter their behaviors to adapt to them (3). However, the positive contribution to the nations life prevails. This assumption can be proven by the fact that the increased diversification of the society contributes to the decreased number of ethical conflicts and the constant income of new ideas generated due to the clash of ethnicities and unusual perspectives (Indelicato 55).

Analyzing the views of young Australians on the problem of multiculturalism, Blair states that in general, they have positive visions of this unique feature of their motherland (433). Providing evidence collected from research data, the author proves the idea that people are sure that the further development of the issue and its cultivation will have a positive impact on the state’s social and cultural domains (Blair 434). This assumption emphasizes the role of multiculturalism.

Higher Competitiveness

Moreover, the outstanding diversity contributes to the higher national competitiveness of the state and enrichment of its culture. Thus, according to Blair, intercultural citizens correctly realize the importance of the given factor and prefer global interculturalism to the local one (435). There are multiple reasons for this choice. First of all, Ng and Metz assume that the dominance of multiculturalism fosters strategic tolerance among the population (258).

It becomes an important aspect of people who have to live regarding the income of new immigrants representing different countries. In such a way, the enhanced inclusiveness and reduced hostility towards newcomers due to multiculturalism can be observed which becomes the key to Australias successes at the domestic and international levels (Ng and Metz 258). Ozdowski suggests another argument proving the importance of multiculturalism for the social and political domains: the fact is that it cultivates the capability to respect the rights of all citizens regardless of their nationality, religion, or culture (110). It becomes a critical element in the functioning of any society or state as mutual respect creates the basis for improved cooperation in various domains.

Governmental Support

Another evidence proving the role of multiculturalism in the social and political life of the state is multiple regulations and legislation suggested by the government to monitor the state of the issue. Thus, Collins supposes that cultural and demographic diversity that are traditionally associated with multiculturalism is a potent factor impacting Australian policymaking which has been used as a national building aspect for more than 60 years (133). Multiple efforts to cultivate this phenomenon and create a unique society turned out to be a success. At the moment, the Australian public domain is considered one of the most tolerant ones in the world (Salter 45).

For this reason, it attracts talented people from different countries who are informed about numerous opportunities available for them here. Therefore, multiculturalism becomes a basis for the development of the economy, which is also fostered by the government. It cultivates the existing international links between representatives of different states who live in the country with their relatives abroad (Salter 88). It contributes to the gradual improvement of global trade and the creation of the background for further cultural exchange.

Socio-Economic Development

In such a way, another factor proving the importance of multiculturalism for Australian society is its critical role in the socio-economic development of the state. Ozdowski assumes that despite some past problems associated with racism and low attention to national issues, the government of the country managed to create an open, multinational society characterized by the increased inclusiveness and tolerance (115). At the same time, it contributes to the appearance of such important processes as cultural exchange and the emergence of new opportunities for business owners (Abdel-Fattah 97).

It also means the growth of new jobs, a decrease in the level of unemployment, and the rise in living standards (Abdel-Fattah 98). At the same time, according to Jacubowicz, multiculturalism fosters technological exchange which is critical for the society of any state (87). Nevertheless, analyzing the role of multiculturalism in the development of the country, Maginn and Hamnett presume that due to the wise governmental interference and powerful support, the given factor becomes one of the integral elements of the contemporary state-building process that is focused on the further development of Australian society and all factors that promote its further rise (121).

However, despite numerous arguments suggested by the researchers to support multiculturalism and prove its importance for society, there is an opposite perspective on the issue. Thus, Mares reckons that the growing support provided to the cultivation of diversity poses a threat to the national identity as the country might lose it in several years (76). Investigating the problem, he comes to the conclusion, that there are some population groups vulnerable to this factor.

First of all, young people start to experience problems with their identity (Mares 78). The existence of multiple cultures and the necessity to respect them all without giving preference to a certain one might confuse teenagers or adolescents in their choice of the needed model of behavior (Mares 87). Additionally, the absence of the clearly identified Australian culture means the emergence of problems regarding the value system in the future. Finally, Mares states that despite the idea that multiculturalism fosters international cooperation and attracts newcomers, they might feel problems because of the need to adapt to a complex system of interactions preconditioned by differences in cultures (86).

The given claims are not irrational. For instance, Harris mentions that today’s essential problem for youth lies in their continuous attempts to maintain inert-ethic engagement and cohesion that are demanded to adapt to the existing multicultural environment (54). However, having investigated the problem, the same author comes to the conclusion that despite some issues associated with the discussed phenomenon, the positive contribution to the development of the country prevails (Harris 55). This idea is supported by Mann who assumes that the social and cultural difficulties faced by young people are typical for all societies evolving in the age of globalization (62).

The problem of identity emerges under the influence of other cultures that popularity of which contributes to their dominating roles and strong impact on adolescents’ minds. However, in Australia, the process has other features as the young people live in a diversified society that respects all cultures regardless of their popularity or spread (Ng and Metz 260). In such a way, claims about the pernicious impact of multiculturalism on society should be rejected because of their inconsistency and lack of justification.

Therefore, there is credible evidence stating that modern Australian society significantly benefits from the development of multiculturalism and its dominant role in various domains. Multiple authors revolving around the issue proclaim that regarding the existing processes peculiar to the state, this factor turns out to be a key aspect promoting the evolution of various spheres that play a significant role in the rise of Australia. Thus, the majority of mentioned researchers oppose the idea that multiculturalism might have a pernicious effect on the youth because of the problematic identity. It means that further investigation of the issue can completely destroy the myth that diversification can be dangerous to states because of the problems of identity and new challenges coming from other regions.

Altogether, contemporary Australian society can be described as an extremely diversified one. The peculiarities of the historical development contributed to the constant income of new immigrants and the collision of multiple ethnicities. This process cultivated a new mode of life characterized by the prevalence of multiculturalism which influences all spheres of human activity. First of all, improved tolerance and cooperation observe.

Moreover, the economy of the state evolves due to the international trade and the income of talented people from other countries who are attracted by the positive environment and respect for their cultural values. Finally, the government introduces multiple regulations to ensure that multiculturalism is cultivated at the state level as it provides some benefits to the country.

Abdel-Fattah, Randa. Islamophobia and Everyday Multiculturalism in Australia . Routledge, 2018.

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Collins, Jock. “Multiculturalism and Immigrant Integration in Australia.” Canadian Ethnic Studies, vol. 45, no.3, 2013, pp. 133-149.

Harris, Anita. Young People and Everyday Multiculturalism . Routledge, 2013.

Indelicato, Maria. Australia’s New Migrants: International Students’ History of Affective Encounters with the Border . Routledge, 2017.

Jacubowicz, Andrew. “New Australian Ways of Knowing ‘Multiculturalism’ in a Period of Rapid Social Change: When Ibn Khaldun Engages Southern Theory.” Critical Reflections on Migration, ‘Race’ and Multiculturalism: Australia in a Global Context , edited by Martina Boese and Vince Marotta, Routledge, 2017, pp. 47-69.

Maginn, Paul, and Stephen Hamnett. “Multiculturalism and Metropolitan Australia: Demographic Change and Implications for Strategic Planning.” Built Environment, vol. 42, no. 1, 2016, pp. 120-144.

Mann, Jatinder. The Search for a New National Identity: The Rise of Multiculturalism in Canada and Australia, 1890s–1970s . Peter Lang Inc., 2016.

Mares, Peter. Not Quite Australian: How Temporary Migration Is Changing the Nation . Text Publishing, 2016.

Ng, Eddy, and Isabel Metz. “Multiculturalism as a Strategy for National Competitiveness: The Case for Canada and Australia.” Journal of Business Ethics , vol. 128, no. 2, 2014, pp. 253-266.

Ozdowski, Sev. “Australian Multiculturalism.The Roots of Its Success.” Promoting Changes in Times of Transition and Crisis: Reflection on Human Rights Education , 2013, pp. 109-135.

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Comparison of Multiculturalism in Australia and Indonesia 

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The Definition of Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism in australia, multiculturalism in indonesia.

The essay is written on the multiplicity of culture in Indonesia and Australia. Is Indonesia and Australia is multicultural countries? How Indonesia is different from Australia in multiplicity of culture. Multiculturalism means to foster a honorable community where society of whole cultures, races or ethnicities know its ethnic or community individuality acknowledged and replicated in all part of congregational life – worship, fellowship, governance, education, societal justice, religious, leadership etc. Multiplicity of cultures which means that they form virtuous families where conferences amongst public from various social qualities meet with Unitarian universalist for forming an entirely complete society where, the vision or idea report acknowledged through the Unitarian Universalist Association’s (UUA) Management Council, everyone is welcomed as consecrations and the social people lives reconciled and complete.

Multiculturalism means:

• Comfy others into shared social groups;
• Comfortable an uncountable methods that persons experience outline and express divine or respect which is considered divine in its diverse cultures;
• Recognize community observance or whole social justice determination as an organization in trust with peoples to create the sphere more compassionate and impartial, and a place which is supportive, fair, developed, and safe for all citizens;
• Give general support and broadmindedness through life’s experimentations in such a manner which consider private, as well as social needs;
• Classify, there are dissimilar national languages (act, symbols, and words) which is noticeable in countryside care, mutuality and worship.

Acknowledgments take action of appreciation of assistances to the common life of the important social group as a whole, one request for different safety under the regulations for fixed social groups, or self-governing privileges of specialist for particular cultures. The multiplicity of cultures is a response to a statement of ethnic diversity in current parities and the manner of repaying social groups for former discriminations, exclusion or oppressions. Current democracies involve members with mixed cultural viewpoints, practices and contributions. Few sectional ethnic groups have experienced elimination or else the belittling of their influences and individualisms in the previous year. The multiplicity of culture follows the existence of the views and assistances of diverse associates of civilization while continuance admiration for variations and destruct the request regarding their mixing in the foremost culture.

Multiculturalism or philosophical system stands as a task for substantial elective government. Insubstantial democracies, each and every individual must be preserved in a similar way in light of the rules and regulations through choosing the communal citizens from definite, financial, political, Culture, economic, social positions as well as groups of genuine members of society, which headship to a partiality that regulate the set of individuals which accept a common demotic culture. However, that imaginary outlook oversees another managerial prime feature of the peoples of governmental or demotic issues, which help in, exceed the class of resident like race, gender, class, and religions. However challenging the right parity of citizens, the liberal demotic vision rises to understate the meaning in which individuals are non-identical in the culture.

Some-what more essential philosophical system theorists wished that little social and ethnic groups desire more than appreciation for residing the genuineness and preservation of its diverse originalities and contributions. In adding to resident’s equal or same rights, some have invigorated for different set privileges and self-democratic authority for convinced social groups. The upright of whole and an improvement of the foremost cultures are ultimately secured by the existence of alternative cultures. The theorists who have discussed those maintenances of cultures that cannot fight the powers to embezzle into an important culture, which can be, specified options over the usual norms of identical social privileges for everyone.

An instance of how the multiplicity of cultures has dominated the societal spheres that created in curricula alterations, the curricula of northern America from simple to an academia stages were studied and prolonged to comprise an unnoticed and minimal cultural and social groups group’s influences. Multiculturalism has important opposition that gives the benignant of the certain groups over the benign, so probably depredate the community benign in approval of marginal interest. The next one deteriorates the impression of equivalent specific rights, consequently weakening the radical prominence of equivalent treatment or behavior.

The multiculturalism or philosophical system raises various other numbers of queries. There is the query of which civilization might be distinguished. Some philosophers worried that multiculturalism or philosophical system can direct to competition among cultural groups altogether challenging for acknowledgment and adequately support the sovereignty of foremost culture. Further, an accentuation on cultural and social group uniqueness might decrease an ability to syndicate radical activities or doings that may rise through disparities. Some communist or advanced philosophers have expressed anxiety with regards of diminishing the main variations pooled by members of the culture that do not inset a public.

Australia is a less effective multicultural country than Indonesia. As everyone knows, that Australia is an imperialistic nation. An Anglo-Christian culture is followed in Australia. They celebrate Christian festivals or events. To rejoice and recall Australian events is their culture that is essential to Indonesians.

Conversely, Australia made several varied castes that are extremely Multi-clannish. They hold Irish, Chinese, and Indian brothers. In undertaking this, they recognize those sets of individual cultures and values. They also know Diwali and Ramadan with their Chinese new year’s. . The Australian culture does not rejoice leaves of them and knowing their ethos, but as a kind multi-clannish society, they grip them and endeavor to create the different other rivalries feel united. Therefore, for further multicultural analysts begin to say they need to essentially Left-arm bleeding emotions, it develops their back up. The set of people has originated to an Australia as they feel their ethos, culture, and way of living life is fair that they will cherish. It is not for those people to choose that they have to adjust their way of life or culture to encourage those individuals to feel more at home. Uncertainty individuals want Sharia law, formerly probably Saudi Arabia is appropriate for those citizens. If these require period off to appeal five eras a day, probably well appropriate is turkey for them and if they demand the whole world have guns, probably well appropriate is America for them.

Being a multi-racial nation and multi-cultural nation, which congregate municipal of Muslim. Indonesia needs continuing nonaggressive presence amongst philosophies and morals in the society, as a new union, an Indonesia is fronting an experiment if the multiplicity of cultures makes the difficulty and chance in emerging self-ruling nation or culture.

Indonesia is a vast group of islands cover 17000 landmasses which conceal residents about 255 million Indonesian people. The fourth most occupied country in the world is indonesia. These extraordinary numbers advises that significant language, values or culture, religious and ethnic multiplicity could possibly to be originate inside its boundaries, getting it since the general Hindu customs practiced on Bali island to the happening of Islamic sharia law in Ache (Sumatra) or the semi- nomadic pursuer accumulator presences of Mentawai individuals.

In addition, before an universal plan place upon them and various zones experienced separate political or economic chronicle, still this exists in the existing native dynamics. An Indonesia is broadly saying Bhinekka Tunggal Ika signifies to multiplicity in nation’s internal arrangement but similarly stipulates that, even though all variations in their varied culture, there exists accurate logic of arrangement amongst citizens of Indonesia.This separation of culture of an Indonesia Reserves have goal of offering an individual who delivers with significant experience suggestion on an Indonesia with reverence to the disciplines. These would expressively enhance a person’s culture understandings. Accepting aspects of cultures and country specific forces at work are significant aimed at sustainable and optimistic reserves or when moving to other nation also for personal and commercial aspects. This is mainly effective headed for Indonesia with huge ethnic cultural diversity or difficulty.

The culture of Indonesia is not similar to the culture of Australia because there are many dissimilar hierarchies, belief systems, experiences, views of time, three-dimensional relations, beliefs, faith, and many more. Even in Indonesia, there present a number of regions and cultures. This makes Indonesia a remarkable and multifaceted country. The culture of Australia has similar beliefs, faith, hierarchies, and experience. Indonesia has many cultures and values but still public has harmony between them which unrealized in the culture of Australia even they do not have a diversity of many cultures. An Indonesia is dissimilar from an Australia in religions, populations, or politics. The growth of Indonesia’s amalgamated home-based economy was unusual and fast procedure but slightly non-natural and time-consuming, designed typically by affected from overseas dictators and done in a general state of Suharto’s New Instruction regime. Faith or belief plays a crucial role in the culture of Indonesia and in the ordinary life of the citizens. Indonesia is a country with the main Muslim people in the sphere, however; it includes many peoples that keep an eye on another leading sphere religions and old-style spiritual essence. The financial presentation and demographic construction of a nation normally have an essential relationship. The young residents will generally advise probably massive staff whereas enormous mid-aged individuals will generally propose big consumer power.

Australia, which is unrestricted from discrimination or judgments of any culture however in Indonesia, several cultures are there and because of this, there is the judgment of cultures and beliefs sometimes. Australians understand many different cultural backgrounds peoples and skin hue look since actual young new age and these are capable to adapt themselves, embrace & accept. The cultural or social surroundings of Australia are lively, energized, innovative, and apparent looking. The Australian native culture is wholly intriguing.

However, both Indonesia nation and Australia nation are multicultural, multiculturalism talk about the different multiple cultures together present in Indonesia. It means mostly several persons of different hue appearances together present in Australia. The management of Australia strongly endorses emigrant’s approaches, which is supporting identities, however through practice, these identities leave behind faraway rapidly than it is assumed in Indonesia.

The different values and cultural characters of Chinese descendants migrants in the respective country consider about ideas or thoughts in compliments in what way strategies or plans of a multiplicity of culture has affected individuals. Fourth-era and fifth-era group Chinese descendants migrants have prospered to reserve their native land culture and its uniqueness such as Chinese in Indonesia. The marriage ceremony between Chinese people and Indonesian peoples is rare. Through the second era and third eras, this Chinese originality normally remained maltreated in the Australian country. The marriage ceremony between the descendants of Chinese and the different groups is generally common. Precisely, the Chinese migrants and their descendants have had a tendency to cover themselves in Indonesia. They have combined in the country of Australia.

The conclusion is that the multiplicity of culture is the culture in which dissimilar individualities of a nation do not rule other different ethnic uniqueness in which individual or residents of the country capable of joining in their dependent society. Australia and Indonesia have a multiplicity of cultures, but they vary in their culturalism at some point, that is economics, populations, & politics. The various states and landmasses are covered in Indonesia thus; their values or cultures are diverse from the culture of Australia. The Australian nation does not differentiate its peoples grounded on hue however several types of individualities live together in Indonesia so occasionally in Indonesia it happens that judgment has done grounded on hue appearance. The Indonesian culture is diverse from the Australian culture because of dissimilar hierarchies, denomination, belief-systems, view of time, three-dimensional relations, experiences, and many more found in Indonesian culture. The growth of Indonesia nation is not rapid course than the process of the Australian nation’s growth because of numerous regions or cultures. The culture of Australia made Anglo- Christian because they celebrate Christian holidays and events and Indonesia has a multiplicity of cultures because they cover various cultures such as Hindu, Christians, Muslim- and others. However, Indonesian culture is varied because several peoples belong to diverse cultures though their peoples express harmony in their cultures which is unappreciated in the culture of Australia. Presently, Australia is also functioning or working hard to become a multicultural or multiracial country in the world.

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