Yes, Kiwis encounter a watered-down, jokey form of racism - it carries no real sting, but can still alienate. I can’t imagine what a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf deals with each day. Kiwis cop it easy, because there’s nothing too “different” or “scary” about us (bar perhaps the mighty All Blacks, but their sporting chops almost qualify them as honorary Aussies).
Why am I free to come here, while others with similar dreams or more urgent needs get the cold shoulder? Is it churlish, even “un-Australian” of me, to ask such questions? And if so, should I take Federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson’s advice and “clear off”?
Prior to the 2001 election, John Howard’s campaign line was: “WE will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come.”
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Australia, thanks for deciding I was welcome to stay. As a rule, migrants hate to rock the boat, and (unlike Howard) I’m fighting the urge to say sorry here. But as a citizen of this country, a land settled by boat people, I’m still wondering: who does the Prime Minister mean when he says “we”?
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About the Author
Meg Mundell is an award-winning writer, freelance journalist and university lecturer, and a research assistant at The Australian Centre (Melbourne University). Meg has worked as a policy analyst, communications consultant and advocate for homeless young people, and her writing has been published by The Age, Meanjin, Sleepers Almanac, The Big Issue, the Herald Sun and the Lonely Planet travel guides.
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