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What It Means To Be Australian

To be Australian means being able to appreciate the beauty of this wonderful country and everything it has to offer in conjunction with sharing your own beliefs and cultural values in return. Australia is not what makes us who we are, it is us, the people of Australia, who make Australia the country as we know it today. Australia has grown into a diverse nation over the years, a far cry from the humble origins of the country which was once used to transport convicts, prisoners from England, from 1787 till 1840. Since then Australia has evolved and embraced multiculturalism of religions and cultures, freedom of speech and human rights and a right to equal opportunities without having to face discrimination. These are all the values Australians have embraced and this is what it means to be an Australian.

We live in one of the most multicultural nations in the world. People come from all over the world to Australia because they know they can find acceptance here and people will appreciate and respect their cultural, religious and background differences. Australia’s constitution guarantees freedom of worship which means, each individual citizen of the country is entitled to worship and believe who and what they want regardless of the fact that the bare majority of Australia is known to be Christian. People in Australia also have the freedom and the right to celebrate their culture without having to endure racism and discrimination.

People in Australia come from many different countries and backgrounds. It is wonderful when you see people dressing in traditional and religious costumes and celebrating their special cultural and religious festivals and it is even better to know that you are free to be able to express yourself in this way and share it with everyone else in the country. It is this very thing that allows other people of other cultures in Australia to learn more and become more educated and accepting of these differences and helps to shape our society into a better and more peaceful place for everyone to enjoy. This particular value should be appreciated and protected as some nations do not allow individuals to express themselves in this manner. Nations such as France have already banned students in schools from wearing any type of religious symbol. This is unfair and unjust as it shows racial intolerance which Australia rejects, and takes the freedom away from individuals to be able to grow their own unique identity.

To be Australian means being able to speak your mind and put your opinion out there for everyone to hear and become aware of, regardless of whether people agree with you or not. This is an incredible privilege because many countries do not get such a privilege. Countries such as Iraq had to suffer oppression for so many years under Saddam Hussein, former dictator of Iraq. If anyone ever presented their view and spoke out, and it conflicted with that of Saddam, they were condemned to death instantly without any mercy. So it is with great honour that we should realise how lucky we are as Australians that we are entitled to have our own opinion and speak out our minds in public, even against the government if we believe it is necessary. We have rights in various forms which protect us from even being harmed or injured, let alone from being killed as Australia does not believe in any form of corporal punishment against individuals.
As an Australian, every individual has a right to equal opportunities whether it be in relation to job opportunities or in everyday life. Australians have the right to not be judged or stereo-typed so that they are not discriminated against, regardless of age, gender, marital status, background, ethnicity, disability and so on. People no longer think that household chores such as cooking, cleaning and sewing are to be done by women only. It can be seen that many men choose to become professional chefs or tailors as a career choice in contemporary Australia. Women are no longer told that they are not allowed to study and receive an education but instead grow their own careers and study just as hard as their male counterparts. Australia has even come as far as eliminating discrimination against females in the workplace which they suffered even as recently as the 1970’s until they passed the Equal Pay Act that very year, entitling women to receive the same pay as men and to be able to be employed under the same working conditions as men and no less.

So it is important to see that being Australian does not only mean being the way what everyone else might say you have to be like and doing what everyone else is doing, it is also about being yourself and being strong as an individual with the ability to contribute your own values and beliefs, whether they are cultural, religious or otherwise. Australia is not what makes us who we are, it is us, the people of Australia, who make Australia the country as we know it today. Australia has evolved into a diverse nation over the years and embraced multiculturalism of religions and cultures, freedom of speech and human rights and a right to equal opportunities without having to face discrimination. These are all the values Australians have embraced and even still, we are working to better all these values and so, this is what it means to be an Australian.

Aroni Matin
Age: 17
School: Sydney Girls High School, Sydney

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