Australian Identity Crisis or Not?

Part 1:

“Forging an Australian Identity”

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/blogs/the-razors-edge/forging-an-australian-identity/20100630-zlu4.html

Part 2:

“So who the bloody hell are ya? Australia’s identity crisis just keeps resurfacing.”

Waikato Times – September 27^th

Sorry there’s no link – it wasn’t archived on the newspaper’s website and so I only have a hard copy! Copious quotes follow though.

Part 3:

The first article is by a woman who launched a Human Rights Commission Report on discrimination against African-Australians. She looks at how through history, various ethnic groups have had their turn assimilating into Australia. She fully expects that in time, African-Australians will be able to find jobs and walk down the street without discrimination. In essence, they will still be African-Australian, but they will also be Australian. In contrast, the second article claims that there is no Australian identity to assimilate into. It describes the identity crisis of Australians arising out of its diverse history: “If you want to define Australia, choose your narrative – British colony, aboriginal, immigrant cosmopolis. In other words, there is no one shared story, no essential Australia.” Australian scholar James Curran says that, “There’s nothing at the moment that allows us to define ourselves and our future.” In light of the first article, I really question whether or not most Australians would agree with these kinds of statements that imply Australians don’t have an identity. The author of the first article uses phrases like “quintessentially Australian” and “totally Aussie,” which reinforce the notion of a collective Australian identity. In contrast to the second article which says “We have no guiding philosophy,” she also says, “The core Australian ethos is to have a go.” Sounds like pretty conflicting ideas of the Australian identity! I’m looking forward to us all being in Melbourne and looking into what it means to be Australian.