A typical Australian has the following characteristics.docx

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