EMZBARGO: MIDNIGHT SUNDAY, 25 JANUANR, l98ll
FOR MIEDIA MONDAY, 26 JANUARY, 198).
AUSTRALIA DAY AND CITIZENSHIP
Many of us spend the Australia Day long weekend with our
friends and families in sport and recreation. But we also
all recognise that Australia Day is much more than just.
another summer holiday.
Some time ago the* Government established a national Austr alia
Day Committee designed to foster amongst all Australians an
awareness of what Australia Day stands for, and of its.
significance to us as a growing and prospering nation.
Australia Day is an appropriate occasion to reflect on
what being a citizen of Australia means the privileges
it confers, the sense of Australian identity and of
our aspirations.
Australia is the best place in the world to bring up a
family; Australia is one of the freest and most open
societies in the world.
Until the Second World War, which is already beyond the
personal memory of the majority of living Australians,
Australia was largely an Anglo-Saxon society. Most
Australian settlers had come from the United Kingdom or
from Ireland.
On reflection, I think we were sometimes n, arrow and
inward looking. Since the last war, all that has changed.
Australia is now a multicultural society. Tens upon tens
of thousands of new settlers have come as refugees from war,
or displaced from Eastern Europe as their homelands were
overrun by Communism. There has been a great economic
migration; many families from Europe came because they
believe Australia offers a bett,-er life, a fuller life, for
themselves and for their children.
All this has changed the face of Australia. Our factories
could not have grown, our mining industries could not have been
established, our standard of living could not have risen
without the help, the energy, the initiatIve of people
from overseas. But that is only part of the story.
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New settlers have brought with them their own sense
of history and their own culture from different
backgrounds. They have made this a part of modern
Australia. As a result, we have become a more tolerant, and I hope
a wiser people. In the last few years we have taken in
many refugees from South East Asia, from Vietnam and
Kampuchea. In this respect Australia has been one of the
more generous nations in the post-war world and I strongly
believe that we should continue to be so.
That is the kind of Australia we are all. building. These
are the hopes we have for the future.
But what are the privileges, what are the responsibilities,
of Australian citizenship?
There are simple but important rights the right to vote
for the political party and for the candidate of one's chOiCc-!
in State and Federal elections, the right to stand for, and
enter, Parliament.
Accordingly, I would urge all those who have comte to this
country from other lands to participate as fully as possible
in Australia's national life.
Taking out Australian citizenship does not mean casting aside
affection and love for the land of one's birth. It does not
mean casting aside the history, the culture or the language
of one's country of origin. I believe people are good
Australians and able to love this country best, if they also
maintain their l~ inks and their affection for their land
of origin..
All people who choose to lead their life in Australia have a
responsibility which I believe is the highest responsibility
of citizenship. That is to contribute to making Australia a
better, more tolerant society, and a more prosperous one, in
which, out of the varied pasts of citizens, Something
distinctive and uniquely Australian can continue to grow
and develop.
Australia is not something remote and untouchable. It is the
sum of all the actions of all the citizens and all the residents
of Australia.
We might think that individually what we do cannot have much
impact, but I believe that is not so. Australia is the sum
of the actions of 14 million Australians.
It is the cumulative effect of those actions that determines
the nature of the society and the kind of life we can give
our children. So what you do is important, not just for
yourself and your own family, but for Australia.
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Citizenship in its broadest sense involves a knowledge
and an understanding of that.
There are a million people living here in Australia who
are eligible to become Australian citizens but have chosen
not to do so. If they intend to lead out their lives in
Australia, I would urge them to consider sharing our
Australian citizenship.
Those who do not, can still participate in much of our
national life. But there are important responsibilities
and duties which are denied to them unless they become
Australian citizens.
They are not being asked to forget their past, or to forget
their heritage, but build upon that, and to be a part
of Australia. 7000---
o.-