the troubadour

Prime Minister Turnbull in a recent Q&A on ABC TV, defined it as Australian values, as based upon multiculturalism, which acknowledges that contemporary society is a mosaic of different and over lapping identities and communities.


Is this all it amounts to and what exactly does it mean? (if anything) Does Australian law acknowledge all cultural values equally? Highly unlikely IMO.


Just more hot air from our PM, with a very ill defined definition and identity politics that amounts to nought.

GarryP

What does it mean? Whatever you want it to mean at the time.

And multiculturalism is kind of by definition not australian values or identity. It's the antithesis.

What Trunbull really meant by that statement was "there's an election coming up, and we might loose because of what the blowhards who are supposed to be on my team have said. Let's say something meaningless and happy clappy to get a few percentage points back".

the troubadour

I quite agree with above. He obviously took the opportunity to appear on Q&A after winning the ridiculous same sexed marriage plebiscite. Felt he could come over as a 'progressive' thus appeal to the ABC crowd. Obviously his replies on most everything else, left much to be desired.
A very poor leader, but assured of a bright future once leaves politics.


His inability to articulate an Australian identity beyond a caricature picture, really says it all.

Amazulu

Multiculturalism in the west has generally been a failure - just look what's been happening in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden etc. Australia has made a bit of a better go of it but we're heading the same was as those failures in the Northern Hemisphere - looking at what's happened there should be a wake up call for all Australians

the troubadour

What's been happening in the UK? Hardly a failure in that country, but what is a failure is the inequality which may well include more people of migrant backgrounds than the per cent within the population would suggest.


London is a perfect example of a city , even though massively unequal in boroughs, having a harmonious multi ethnic/cultural population almost unequalled in the world.


Amsterdam, to include the European mainland is another that does it generally very well.


It largely depends on how inclusive the migrant populations have feared in their adopted homelands.


France for example has not handled it well. Ghettoising migrant communities was always going to mean trouble.


Australia being a settler society remains somewhat different, but considering a past of non white exclusion, has indeed adopted well to date, to the new realities.


Saying that I do not see how PM Turnbull can classify multiculturalism as the Australian identity.

Amazulu

Apart from the ISIS and lone-wolf islamic terrorist attacks (often by British-born assholes), I agree

spouse of scouse

Countries don't have identities. They have political systems, judicial systems, economic systems, climate systems. They have populations that are relatively culturally homogeneous, extremely diverse or all points in between. They can be termed developed or developing.
What they don't and can't have is a single, all encompassing 'identity'.

the troubadour

Be fair and don't single out a particular group. I lived there when IRA bombs were going off as well as being thrown through restaurant windows ......or a white nazi sympathiser who planted nail bombs at a gay club, multi ethnic area and the like before being caught, or the street abuse and attacks on Muslim minority residents .......


London for its size and composition is an amazing city in diversity and tolerance.

Amazulu

Yet more leftist head in the sand denial

That was then - this is now

London for its size and composition is an amazing city in diversity and tolerance - and tolerance of intolerance

The Trumpster has a point

At least the Austrians are waking up to the threat

GarryP

German

If you didn't just imagine a whole collection of attributes, etc. then you aren't human. We have a stereotype of what a country is, which, like it or not, is it's external identity. People in the country can have a different view of identity, but not usually totally disconnected from the external one.

In this context multiculturalism cannot be part of a identity unless that identity is itself a multicultural mess (and that's rarely the case). For example, Swiss can be french, german, italian, etc. but you will still have a firm identity which isn't tied to different cultural parts.

the troubadour

You could do worse than thinking a bit for yourself and getting of The Islamophobia Bandwagon as already mentioned.


Hate and prejudice a constant theme of yours does you few favours. Trump has few points than create an ever uglier world. I get it the rightards get satisfaction from that for own ideological purposes but somewhat moronic at the end of the day.

Amazulu

Please directly quote from my posts where I espoused 'hate and prejudice'

At least Austria is no longer sleepwalking into a bleak future - like Germany, France and the UK are

Merry Christmas BTW - or happy holidays to someone like you!

ozzieeagle

As a South Londoner born and bred, and living in a like for like area here in Melbourne. Lewisham Borough v Moreland Council ,I honestly believe Melbourne does it just that little bit better.

As far as I'm concerned Multiculturism is a strong part of the Australian Identity, you only have to spend a little bit of time in this region to appreciate that as a stone cold fact.

I've just come back from my walk down my local park, Islamic people with their hookah pipes and charcoal bbq's alongside hipsters reading hard paper books in the sunshine and Meditteraneans blocking the paths and walking very very slowly, all doing their own thing.

In a little, while I may go up to the local supermarket and get served bacon by an headscarf wearing girl at one of the local delis, that really does happen here..... Whilst walking amongst the diverse sound of many different lanaguages..... "Is that Macedonian or Turkish again? " god that's hard to pick that one.

In Melbournes North and the supposed heartland of Australia the Western burbs of Sydney all this stuff really happens. I love it and never feel threatened here in the way I did sometimes, actually more like quite often, walking home late at night in Peckham, especially when the local bouncing ball club was chucking out the rude boys late at night.


So modern harmonious Multicultrism and all it's spin offs in food, events, street vibes spreading it's influence slowly but surely amongst the wider Australian community ticks the boxes for me.

spouse of scouse

If you want to consider a bunch of disparate attributes as comprising an 'identity' then that's fine, that's what you think. I don't think that, and that's fine too.

the troubadour

One thing reasonably assured is that you'll never be accused of the promotion of cosmic harmony.


Of course the new breed of those inciting friction and intolerance differ from their past more egregious compatriots in their learnt subtlety allowing ignorance of discrimination while promoting fear within the community.