Cultural baggage and Australian values

There has been considerable political debate about new settlers arriving on Australian shores with their “cultural baggage” and not accepting Australian values. Liberal Prime Minister John Howard has said that a full-bodied commitment to Australian values is something he has always strongly supported and that Australian’s strength and success lies in an overriding and united commitment to Australia.

Labor Opposition Leader Kim Beazley believes Australian values should include respect for each other, mateship, fairness and respect for Australian laws. As a means of encouraging a deeper appreciation of Australian values and the nature of citizenship, Australian Citizenship Conventions could be held, similar to those introduced by the Labor Chifley Government (1945-1949).

These conventions were a direct outcome of the Chifley Government’s massive post-war immigration program. They were to have a two-fold function.

First, to present an organisation that would arouse and enlist the Australian community into appreciating the necessity of the ambitious post-war immigration scheme and second, to educate all Australians to become better citizens and serve as a practical and educative arm in the transition of new arrivals into Australian citizens.

The conventions were federally funded and had the support of national leaders. National radio broadcasting and filming of these important forums further involved the Australian community in the process to inculcate new arrivals into the Australian community.

Modern media and computer technology could be utilised in a similar fashion today.

The inaugural convention was held in 1950 and established the framework for future conventions. They were held in Albert Hall, Canberra, and more often in January to coincide with the celebration of Australia Day. The occasion was to be used to inspire in all Australians a sense of individual responsibility for maintaining the standards of citizenship worthy of a great democracy.

The importance of developing an understanding of Australian citizenship was evident from the first objective listed in the general preamble to resolutions passed at the first convention. It read: “To attain a better understanding and appreciation of Australian citizenship and responsibilities.”

Citizenship ceremonies were highlighted at the conventions to impress upon the nation the symbolic importance of Australian citizenship and were a legal means to instil these ideas upon prospective new citizens.

The Department of Immigration staff created a “grass roots” approach and sent invitations to a large cross-section of the community. Invitations were extended to church groups of all denominations, voluntary bodies, employer and employee groups, state governments, senior government officials, press and radio. They were also sent to representatives of the Salvation Army, Red Cross, Jewish Welfare, Federal Catholic Immigration Committee, Australian Broadcasting Commission and others.

A most practical aspect of the conventions was to provide an organisational structure under Federal Government auspices to inculcate regional and local organisations in the service of a national enterprise in helping new arrivals of non-English speaking background settle into their new homeland.

Discussion groups were arranged at conventions where delegates formulated resolutions. Those passed by delegates at a convention assembly were then submitted to senior immigration department officers for action. The conventions, therefore, established a means through which the immigration and mainstream organisations could continually communicate.

Following each convention there was an official report of proceedings, entitled Digest, which was produced and distributed through the immigration department to organisations and delegates engaged in absorbing new arrivals into the Australian community. Immigration department officials reported back to future conventions on the status of previously passed resolutions.

The role of voluntary organisations in teaching new arrivals about the importance of citizenship was considered vital. Convention delegates to the 1951 convention agreed that voluntary organisations should vigorously encourage new settlers to become naturalised as soon as possible. To assist, the Department of Immigration prepared a brochure on Australian citizenship and the democratic way of life for distribution to proposed new citizens, including a brief statement of Australia’s developments and achievements.

Immigration Secretary Tasman Heyes wrote to education directors in all Australian states enclosing the pamphlet, This Is How You Can Help Someone to Become an Australian Citizen, prepared by members of the immigration department. Heyes said the prime purpose of the leaflet was to enable native-born Australians to explain to new arrivals how they could become Australian citizens.

The pamphlet presented Australian citizenship in a positive light and it was stated that native-born Australians should tell their non-British friends about the important benefits of citizenship. These benefits included:

• having full protection and assistance of Australia’s law;
• having a right to vote at federal and state elections; eligibility to stand for parliament or election to local governing bodies;
• being able to become a permanent government official;
• being able to serve on a jury and with any of Australia’s armed services, holding any rank;
• being able to purchase land in any Australian state; a right to all social service benefits;
• being able to hand in “alien” registration cards and forget the restrictions “aliens” are subject to; and
• to have a homeland with a stake in its prosperity as well as a right to a full share of everything Australia had to offer.

In the late 1950s, there was a shift to encouraging Australia’s cultural diversity. Prime Minister Menzies told convention delegates that Australia’s culture had been enriched by the “lively minds and experience, and the lively imagination of thousands of people whose cultural background is remote from our own”.

At the 1959 convention, Liberal Immigration Minister Sir Alex Downer told delegates that his government was continually searching for new ways to promote migrant integration. To help achieve this, he said immigration department officers were going into homes and factories to meet with newcomers to whom they would converse in their native tongues and not just English. Downer explained that the idea was to create a field force spreading out through city and country districts whose primary purpose was to offer guidance, advice and friendliness to new settlers. Wherever possible members of this field force were to have knowledge of at least one European language.

With Australia’s demographic change through post-war immigration, there was increasingly an appreciation of the cultural contribution of new settlers to the Australian way of life. Although migrant voices at conventions were in the minority, they were gradually influencing the greater acceptance of the “cultural baggage”. Nevertheless, new settlers were primarily expected to adjust to the new way of life and become absorbed into the Australian mainstream society.

The conventions were an important means of encouraging the acceptance of new arrivals as part of the Australian family and co-ordinating community work. The conventions also played a valuable role in increasing awareness of the importance of Australian values as well as citizenship, particularly for new settlers from a diversity of cultural backgrounds.

Today, consensus can be achieved by respecting individual consciousness, one that is free of perceived persecution. Australians have fought in many global conflicts. We have invariably forgiven our foes and moved to creating a thriving nation encompassing people from many part of the world.

However, we need more tolerance and less dissension. We need to realise that we live as one nation, not as separate cultural groups. Our identity should be sought in an “Australian” framework.

National citizenship conventions could today be of great importance in addressing issues arising from cultural disharmony evident in society and in the co-ordination of a much needed citizenship education campaign for all.