The values of democracy, mateship and country

We also need to acknowledge and celebrate our British heritage, which continues to be the dominant culture in many parts of Australia and particularly in the regions. But while no one denies the primary role of British migration in shaping today’s national institutions, we need also to recognise that an exclusive Anglo-Australian identity simply doesn’t match the reality anymore. Such an identity puts somewhere around two-thirds of Australians within the citizenship circle and the remaining third outside. It creates insiders and outsiders, inclusion and exclusion. At its worse an enforced mono-cultural Australian identity becomes the stock in trade of zealots and leads us down the ugly road of racism.

Singing I am Australian in a modest church hall in outer suburban Melbourne last Australia Day with fellow Australians from many different cultural backgrounds was a very emotional moment in my life. In that song was a national story, a national pride, that didn’t need to be manufactured because it was real. The dreamtime is there, the convict origins of early British settlement, the rebelliousness of the Australian-Irish influence, and passing reference to our most evocative national song, Waltzing Matilda.

In the chorus we’re told that Australians come from all the lands on earth. This acknowledges the success of our post-war immigration program with its European continental influence and also recognises our recent waves of Asian, Middle-Eastern and African immigrants who are adding further layers of culture and meaning to our national story.

A nation of 20 million people without a dominant ancestry needs an inclusive national story. We need to let go of some of the stuffy stereotypes and myths that surround our current national identity and get with the Australian mainstream of cultural diversity wrapped around shared and agreed values. The values of democracy, mateship and country might just be a good place to start.