So with Australia Day firmly out of site in the middle of last week, it seems like an interesting point to talk about the strange creature that is Australian nationalism. Of the group of us that went to the concert and BBQ and fireworks over Australia day only two of us were Australian, one of whom was a girl visiting Canberra from my lab back in Oxford! We're a very international group, though my housemates are all Australian or Kiwi.
Australians are very proud of their nation and what it has achieved. Helping others is a strong part of the Australian psyche, from the State Emergency Services which are run by volunteers and help out during bushfires, flooding, cyclones etc. In the wake of the natural disasters across the country in the last couple of weeks, "helping fellow Australians" has been a common phrase as has the "Aussie spirit".
Being "UnAustralian" is a term bandied around quite a lot, from things as trivial as whether you eat Australian lamb or not on Australia Day to more serious things like looting in Brisbane. Its quite an interesting concept coming from a place where being unBritish means not queuing properly or apologising profusely for something that isn't your fault. They also take a lot more pride in Australian made produce. Partly because so much of it is Australian made, especially foodstuffs which is almost all from this country. Australians almost see it as their duty to buy products made in their country as a way of keeping Australians in business and working. There's a nationwide community approach in this country that doesn't exist in the UK. Although I've never quite understood why those countries with the strongest national fervour and desire to help their fellow countrymen tend to also be quite conservative in their political views. The "I can give money to help people but the government can't take my money to help people approach" currently being played out by the enormous donations to the Queensland flood appeal combined with the somewhat of an uproar over the idea of a Flood Levy of extra taxes on the wealthy for a single year to cover the costs rather than budget cuts to services or a few extra billion dollars of government debt. Australian politics being as wonderfully spiky as it is has both sides of the arguement calling the other unaustralian!
The Australians have somewhat of a chip on their shoulder, being so out of the way location wise they've always felt they have to stick up for themselves, promote themselves, make some loud noises. But with the global economy shifting ever eastwards the Australians now find themselves ever more important on the world stage, they've survived the GFC better than most, and now have parity with the US dollar, slowly realising the ups and downs of a strong economy (poorer exports, cheaper imports).
There's been some talk about how the Ashes defeat doesn't mean as much to the nation as previous ones. Whereas back in the 80s the last time England won down under it was a big event, now the Australians aren't so fussed. Beating the Poms is now longer such a matter of national pride. Sure its important and the thing the sportsmen aim for, but it doesn't affect the national mood so much. This country is starting to feel all grown up. Having said that I have heard stories of the consumption of beer in Australia rising and falling with the fortunes of the Australian cricket team, but this may just be an urban myth.
Further to all this there is something of an acceptance of foreigners as being Australian. As a nation of immigrants, the definition of being an Australian is not something of birth or of race, but of living. When there were public interviews "Hi, who are you, where are you from, are you having a good time", carried out as part of Australia day, the response towards a couple of foreigners who revealed they had been living in Australia for a couple of years was one of acceptance, of them being an Australian. Again though this is reconciled with quite a large anti-immigration lobby and sentiments. Perhaps there remains a touch of unspoken racism lingering on from colonial days when certain ethnic groups were favoured in official immigration policies and later unofficial practices. But no country is without their contradictions and it would be silly to take too much to task over the combination of welcomeness and political conservatism. Perhaps this is a Canberra thing, which copes with having such a large transient population anyway in students and public students, but I reckon its probably Australia wide. The sentiments seem to be to bring with you the best of your country and to accept the best of theirs. That having Australian values and living in Australia is what makes you Australian.
I've been here for five months now, I guess it really won't be long before I too am partly an Australian, if I'm not already.
