A typical Australian has the following characteristics.docx
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A typical Australian has the following characteristics.docx
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AtypicalAustralianhasthefollowingcharacteristics
AtypicalAustralianhasthefollowingcharacteristics:
∙astrongsenseofjustice,balancedbyadesiretochampionthe"underdog"
∙loyaltyandastrongsenseof"mateship"andstickingbyone'smates(friends)
∙Enjoysbarbequesandbeer(butnotallofuslikebeer!
)
∙enjoysadayatthebeach
∙appreciatesandrespectsthedryoutback,withallitsdangersanditsraw,untouchedbeauty,eventhoughnotallAustralianshavetheopportunitytotravelthroughit
∙hard-workingandoftenhard-playing
∙Andenjoysanicelemonorcoffeeice-creamonahotday
People,cultureandlifestyle
Australia’sdiversecultureandlifestylereflectitsliberaldemocratictraditionsandvalues,geographicclosenesstotheAsia–PacificregionandthesocialandculturalinfluencesofthemillionsofmigrantswhohavesettledinAustraliasinceWorldWarII.
Australiaisaproductofauniqueblendofestablishedtraditionsandnewinfluences.Thecountry’soriginalinhabitants,theAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpeoples,arethecustodiansofoneoftheworld’soldestcontinuingculturaltraditions.TheyhavebeenlivinginAustraliaforatleast40000yearsandpossiblyupto60000years.
TherestofAustralia’speoplearemigrantsordescendantsofmigrantswhohavearrivedinAustraliafromabout200countriessinceGreatBritainestablishedthefirstEuropeansettlementatSydneyCovein1788.
In1945,Australia’spopulationwasaround7millionpeopleandwasmainlyAnglo–Celtic.Sincethen,morethan6.5millionmigrants,including675000refugees,havesettledinAustralia,significantlybroadeningitssocialandculturalprofile.
TodayAustraliahasapopulationofmorethan21millionpeople.Morethan43percentofAustralianseitherwerebornoverseasthemselvesorhaveoneparentwhowasbornoverseas.Australia’sIndigenouspopulationisestimatedat483000,or2.3percentofthetotal.
ManyofthepeoplewhohavecometoAustraliasince1945weremotivatedbyacommitmenttofamily,oradesiretoescapepoverty,warorpersecution.ThefirstwavesofmigrantsandrefugeescamemostlyfromEurope.SubsequentwaveshavecomefromtheAsia–Pacificregion,theMiddleEastandAfrica.
MigrantshaveenrichedalmosteveryaspectofAustralianlife,frombusinesstothearts,fromcookingtocomedyandfromsciencetosport.They,inturn,haveadaptedtoAustralia’stolerant,informalandbroadlyegalitariansociety.
Sharedvalues
Thedefiningfeatureoftoday’sAustraliaisnotonlytheculturaldiversityofitspeople,buttheextenttowhichtheyareunitedbyanoverridingandunifyingcommitmenttoAustralia.
WithintheframeworkofAustralia’slaws,allAustralianshavetherighttoexpresstheircultureandbeliefsandtoparticipatefreelyinAustralia’snationallife.
Atthesametime,everyoneisexpectedtoupholdtheprinciplesandsharedvaluesthatsupportAustralia’swayoflife.Theseinclude:
∙respectforequalworth,dignityandfreedomoftheindividual
∙freedomofspeechandassociation
∙freedomofreligionandaseculargovernment
∙supportforparliamentarydemocracyandtheruleoflaw
∙equalityunderthelaw
∙equalityofmenandwomen
∙equalityofopportunity
∙peacefulness
∙aspiritofegalitarianismthatembracestolerance,mutualrespect,andcompassionforthoseinneed.Australiaalsoholdsfirmlytothebeliefthatnooneshouldbedisadvantagedonthebasisoftheircountryofbirth,culturalheritage,language,genderorreligiousbelief.
Anegalitariansociety
Inmostpracticalways,Australiaisanegalitariansociety.Thisdoesnotmeanthateveryoneisthesameorthateverybodyhasequalwealthorproperty.
ButitdoesmeanthattherearenoformalorentrenchedclassdistinctionsinAustraliansociety,asthereareinsomeothercountries.Italsomeansthatwithhardworkandcommitment,peoplewithouthigh-levelconnectionsorinfluentialpatronscanrealisetheirambitions.
Theunemploymentrateisrelativelylow(inDecember2007itwas4.3percent)andthegrosspercapitaincomeisaround$39000.AllpeopleareequalunderthelawinAustraliaandallAustralianshavetherighttoberespectedandtreatedinafairmanner.
AtypicalAustralian?
Giventhediversenatureoftoday’sAustralia,somepeoplequestionwhetherthereisa‘typical’Australian.Thereis,ofcourse,noshortageofpopularstereotypes,someofwhichcontradicteachother.
Forexample,somepeopleseeAustraliansasegalitarian,irreverentpeoplewithadeepsuspicionofauthoritywhileothersregardthemasmostlylaw-abidingandevenconformist.Somepeople,particularlythoselivingoverseas,believeAustralianslivemainlyincountryareas,theAustralianoutbackorthebush.Infact,morethan75percentofAustraliansliveacosmopolitanlifestyleinurbancentres,mainlyinthecapitalcitiesalongthecoast.OthersseeAustraliansaspeoplewholiveina‘luckycountry’wholovetheirleisure,particularlysport,bothasspectatorsandasparticipants.Infact,Australiansareamongthehardest-workingpeopleintheworldwithsomeofthelongestworkinghoursinthedevelopedworld.
AnothercommonperceptionofAustraliansisthattheyareinformal,openanddirectandsaywhattheymean.Theyarealsoseenaspeoplewhobelieveintheprincipleofgivingpeopleafairgoandstandingupfortheirmates,thedisadvantagedandtheunderdog.
ManyofthesepopularimageshavesometruthtothemandmostAustraliansconformtoatleastsomeofthem.ButAustralians,likepeopleeverywhere,cannotbesoeasilystereotyped.Thereare‘typical’Australianseverywhere.Buttheyarenotallthesame.
Language
AllpeopleinAustraliaareencouragedtolearnEnglish,whichisthenationallanguageandanimportantunifyingelementofAustraliansociety.
However,languagesotherthanEnglisharealsovalued.Infact,morethan15percentofAustraliansspeaklanguagesotherthanEnglishathome.
ThemostcommonlyspokenlanguagesafterEnglishareItalian,Greek,Cantonese,Arabic,VietnameseandMandarin.Australiansspeakmorethan200languages,includingIndigenousAustralianlanguages.
AustralianEnglish
WhileEnglishisAustralia’snationallanguage,therearecertainwordsandexpressionsthathavebecomeregardedasuniquelyAustralianthroughcommonusage.Someofthemmightseemstrangetonon-Australians.
Theuseofthesecolloquialorslangwords,oftencoupledwithanAustraliansenseofhumourthatischaracterisedbyironyandirreverence,cansometimescauseconfusionforinternationalvisitors.ThereareanumberofbooksonAustraliancolloquialismsandslang,includingtheMacquarieBookofSlang.
Religiousworship
AustraliaisapredominantlyChristiancountry,witharound64percentofallAustraliansidentifyingasChristians.However,mostothermajorreligiousfaithsarealsopractised,reflectingAustralia’sculturallydiversesociety.
Australia’searliestreligionsorspiritualbeliefsdatebacktotheAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpeoples,whohaveinhabitedAustraliaforbetween40000and60000years.IndigenousAustralianshavetheirownuniquereligioustraditionsandspiritualvalues.
Australiahasnoofficialstatereligionandpeoplearefreetopractiseanyreligiontheychoose,aslongastheyobeythelaw.Australiansarealsofreenottohaveareligion.
Vibrantartsscene
Australiahasavibrantartsscenethatreflectsboththenation’sIndigenousculturaltraditionsanditsrichmosaicofmigrantcultures.Allformsofthevisualandperformingartshavestrongfollowings,includingfilm,art,theatre,danceandmusic.
Accordingtoonesurvey,almost13millionor88percentofadultAustraliansattendatleastoneculturaleventorperformanceeveryyear.Themostpopularartformisfilm,attendedbyabout70percentofthepopulationeachyear.Morethan26percentattendapopularmusicconcert;25percentgotoanartgalleryormuseum;19percentseeanoperaormusical;18percentattendlivetheatre;11percentattendadanceperformance;and9percentattendaclassicalmusicconcert.
VisualartistshaveplayedanimportantroleinshapingandreflectingAustralia’simage.TheyrangefromAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderartiststothenationalistpaintersoftheHeidelbergSchoolinVictoria,symbolicsurrealistssuchasSidneyNolan,ArthurBoydandAlbertTuckerandmodernartistsreflectingissuesconfrontingcontemporaryAustralia.OthernotableAustralianartistsincludeJohnBrack,WilliamDobell,RussellDrysdale,MargaretOlley,JohnOlsen,MargaretPreston,CliftonPugh,JeffreySmart,BrettWhiteleyandFredWilliams.
Australiahasastrongliterarytradition,whichstartedwiththestorytellingofIndigenousAustraliansandcontinuedwiththeoralstoriesofconvictsarrivinginAustraliainthelate18thcentury.AustraliahasoneNobelPrizeforLiteraturetoitscredit,withnovelistPatrickWhitereceivingtheawardin1973.OtherrecentAustraliannovelistswhoseworkhasaparticularlyAustralianflavourincludePeterCarey,BryceCourtenay,KateGrenville,ElizabethJolley,ThomasKeneally,ChristopherKoch,DavidMalouf,ColleenMcCullough,ChristinaStead,MorrisWestandTimWinton.
Asportingculture
Australianslovetheirsport,bothplayingitandwatchingit.
Australiahasoftenachievedimpressiveresultsattheelitelevel.Inthe2004AthensOlympicGames,AustraliarankedfourthoverallinthemedaltallybehindtheUnitedStates,ChinaandRussia.Inthe2006FootballWorldCup,Australiareachedthefinal16.Australiaisalsorankedthetopcricketingnationintheworld.
Butit’snotjustatthistoplevelthatAustraliansenjoytheirsport.Arecentnational
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