"Australian Values"

I am continually surprised by the stupidity (or is it ignorance) of the current Australian Government and many of it's current crop of public servants.

At a time when they appear to be desperate to win over the electorate in front of an election - they leave themselves vulnerable to critique by spending huge amounts of the taxpayer's money on advertising various services provided by the government - ostensibly as a way of finally telling people what they have been doing for them in the last ten years.

Alas, the campaigns are far too little and far too late.

To compound their stupidity, (in my view) the government is about to introduce a 'citizenship test' which no doubt mimics what is current in the USA, the UK. Once again demonstrating to the Australian, public the attitude of servility and fawning that seems to have crept into Australian politics over the last quarter of a century.

There is ostensibly nothing wrong with the notion of a citizenship test - per se. When it purports to test new immigrants and residents of this country about their understanding of "Australian values" is when I draw the line.

Let's explore some of the issues which are referred to in this test.

As a budding new citizen it is expected that the person undertaking the test will be able to reflect on the notions of "mateship" describe the meaning of the term "fair go" or wax lyrical about the state of egalitarianism in this country.

I wonder how many of the young bureaucrats who have invented this charade of a test have bothered to research the background to these expressions and to the notion of their being part of some nominal set of "Australian values"?

Not many, I suspect.

Perhaps I could give them and the government a hand by referring them to a book entitled "Remember When - Reflections on a changing Australia" by Bruce Elder published by Lothian Books in 2003.

Perhaps they should pay special attention to the few words written about "mateship" that commences on page 180 and ends on page 182.

He also explores the myth of the expression "fair go" from pages 167 - 169 and concludes that "the most likely explanation is that it is nothing more than a corruption of 'a fair show' which seems to have entered the Australian language in the 1880's"

He notes that at around the same time it was also an expression used in that most egalitarian of Australian gambling games - two-up. (now there is an Australian 'value' - gambling - just check out the prevalence of poker machines, casinos and betting on - well betting on anything really!)

He goes on to suggest that it really does not matter about the origins, at the end of the day it was an expression used to refer to a sense of egalitarianism about making the contests of life fair and equitable.

For a society that was created out of unfairness - the English class system and the clear division of officers and convicts in Australia's early days - it was a laudable (albeit romantic) notion to work towards an egalitarian society.

Alas we do not seem to have any stories in our history that seem to add credence to this so called "value".

From the very early days of the settlement in this country we have stories about the bush-rangers who stole from anyone and everyone, the early business men who were eager for every commercial advantage, the graziers who were more interested in buying cheap livestock from their neighbours during droughts rather than offer them some pasture or a hand out.

Things have NOT changed and while we mouth the platitude of "give the poor bloke a fair go mate" we actually do not think too deeply about it.

Indeed reflect on the stories of political and corporate greed of the current century as well as the excesses in the last few years of the last century.

When was the last time you actually read in the papers about someone giving someone else a 'fair go'?

I don't know about most of you, but I mostly read about disadvantage and the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor, the increasing misery for most people as housing becomes more and more unaffordable, the prices of foodstuffs rises, the costs of transport rises and all the while we export the only asset we seem to have left in this country - our mineral wealth - to enable a few - especially the leaders of our industries to make obscene personal fortunes while they they downsize the work force or in some other way set out to maximise their own personal situations at the expense of everyone else - ostensibly in the interest of their shareholders.

Indeed I suspect that like most other modern capitalist societies we have more 'globalised' set of values based on "dog eat dog" or perhaps the more "Australian" comment - "I'm all right Jack!"

Let us not compound our paranoia about those few in our society who are extremists and classify everyone into categories of race or class or religious belief.

Let us TRY and get back to a state in which we welcomed the differences brought about by the migration of people from 100's of different countries that created the cosmopolitan, multi racial and multi cultural Australia we have today.

Let's actually recognise that the nostalgic view of Australia was always a mirage.

We never did have an Australia that was wedded to the rural landscape in spite of the love affair we have with the so called "sunburnt country a land of sweeping plains etc" - especially with most of the population ALWAYS just barely hugging the coast lines.

If we ever did have so called "Bronzed Aussies" - let's remember that these are now the people with skin cancer who were too stupid or ignorant to wear sun-block.

Let's not cherish the days of the "blokes" whose main expression of Australian values was the 'piss up' at the pub and the mauling of any 'sheila' they could get their hands on!

Let's value instead the gains we have made from cultural diversity.

Where would be if the Italians had not brought their version of coffee to Australia! Still sipping tea? What would be our most popular foodstuff? Certainly not the spaghetti bolognaise that appears to tip the surveys as the most popular food!

Don't get me wrong folks there are SOME Australian values I do miss.

I miss the Aussie Burger with lettuce, beetroot, tomato and real chips made from fresh potatoes, I miss apricots and peaches that actually had taste I even miss the old 'chip buttie'.

THESE were Aussie values to be treasured!