Multiculturalism Endowing Australia with Unique Identity

Mengyu++Qin

Multiculturalism， as one of the most acknowledged features of Australia， has gone through several setbacks before gradually settled down. Through the process of the first ‘White Policy which place strong prejudice on non-white immigrants to Racial Discrimination Act that made multiculturalism accepted， and to todays continuing efforts contributing to multiculturalism， it has been tested and witnessed that Multiculturalism contributes to Australian identity in a large sense， enriching it and making it an ever different and outstanding national identity comparing with other western countries.

The immigration history of Australia has suggested that multiculturalism in fact helps to deal with ethnical issues and settle down multicultural conflicts since Australia is a country of immigration since colonial time. During the Gold Rush Immigration period， an enormous number of immigrants from both white and non-white countries flowed into Australia， however the White Policy was published in order to maintain the “unity of Australia”. But it turned out that this policy has later on become a big barrier to coherence of Australia after WWII as many refugees were taken in. Just as Ang states that “to assimilate them into a single category of ‘one people， one culture is simply unrealistic”， discrimination and racial inequality only disintegrate the nation as diversity is an inevitable part for multicultural nations. Therefore it can be seen that only multiculturalism contributes to making all ethnics live in harmony under one nation.

Also， immigrants and multiculturalism keep bringing vitality and creativity to enrich Australian culture. Although Australia is dominated by western-culture， it is still quite different from other typical western countries like America and Britain. From a geographical perspective， Australia is located in a continent closer to Asian countries. The influences and cultural collisions brought by Asian and Arabian cultures have added new light to original culture， while at the same time making Australia tolerant and a country with global outlook. Also， Dandy， J.， & R. Pe-Pua（2010） suggest in their research paper that multiculturalism bonds intergroup of Australia tighter together， and the rich immigrant culture provide chances for Australia to become more international. Moreover people from all kinds of cultural backgrounds populating in Australia have stimulated Australias economy.

Therefore to some extent， multiculturalism is inevitable for Australia from a long-term developing perspective as it contributes to the nations labor forces and economy. ‘For almost two hundred years， migrants have been coming to Australia and putting down their roots. They and their children were the pioneers who… laid the foundations of Australias strength （Ethnic Affairs Taskforce of the Australian Council on Population and Ethnic Affairs 1982， p. 4） （Moran， 2011）. Not only from a very early time did immigrants contribute to Australias development， but also they are an important part of the countrys labour forces and intellect sources today. Ang points out Australia faced an estimated shortfall of 195， 000 workers， hence undoubtedly labour forces are in urgent need， and a lot of the workers are immigrants from other backgrounds.endprint

In an overall view， immigrants and multiculturalism contributes to making Australian national identity more evident and special rather than impede the unity of the country. It is an essential act in preserving ethnical harmony and maintaining Australia a diverse country with tolerance. And also the country is in need of immigrants to provide talents and workers. As Jones states “National identity is not a fixed property assigned at birth but an emergent and constantly evolving sense of what it means to be Australian”（1997）. The powers between various cultures brought by immigrants and the formed Australian national identity constantly negotiate with each other and refresh Australian identity with new enlightenments.

References：

[1]Ang，I.Passengers on Train Australia.Griffith REVIEW Edition：Re-imagining Australia，19.Retrieved from：https：//griffithreview.com/articles/passengers-on-train-australia/.

[2]Dandy，J.，&R，Pe-Pua.（2010）.Attitudes to Multiculturalism， Immigration and Cultural Diversity：Comparison of Dominant and Non-dominant Groups in Three Australian States.International Journal of Intercultural Relations，34（1），34-46.

[3]Jones，F.L.（1997）.Ethnic diversity and national identity.Journal of Sociology，33（3），285-305.

[4]Moran，A.（2011）.Multiculturalism as Nation-building in Australia：Inclusive National Identity and the Embrace of Diversity.Ethnic and Racial Studies，34（12），2153-2172.endprint