The impact of multiculturalism on the Australian society

Résumé du document

The continent of Australia is divided into six States and two Territories. Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, is the biggest Australian city and by far the oldest place where Europeans first settled. The bridge of Sydney, "Harbor Bridge" and its Opera are the symbols of this beautiful city. In 1911, Canberra was chosen as the administrative capital of Australia along with it becoming a state called the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Victoria is the smallest state of the continent but is very densely populated. Melbourne, the capital of Australia, is considered as the "most English" of the Australian cities. South Australia is famous for its wonderful landscapes, its wine and its opals and its capital is Adelaide. Close to two million people live in Western Australia, with 70% of them residing in the capital, Perth. There are only 200,000 inhabitants in Northern Territory that has Darwin as its capital. Although the majority of the Australian population is from the European origin, Australia is well-renowned for its diverse culture. Though earlier, Australia favored controlled and filtered immigration, just after World War II, the country had to widen its borders in order to boost its economic development. That explains how millions of immigrants coming from a hundred of different countries settled in Australia. Today, this "melting-pot" is the first characteristic of the Australian culture and society. Australia has many assets, the "Terra Incognita" is considered as dynamic and attractive for the rest of the world.

Extraits

[...] Today, this “melting-pot” is the first characteristic of the Australian culture and society. Australia has many assets, the “Terra Incognita” is considered as dynamic and attractive for the rest of the world FROM WHITE AUSTRALIA TO MULTICULTURALISM History of Australia The history of human habitation within the Australian continent begins with the first arrival of peoples ancestral to the present indigenous inhabitants at an indeterminate period. The archaeologists evoke two different dates: years BC and years BC. The ancestral Australian Aboriginal peoples were well established; they develop, diversify and settle through much of the continent. [...]

[...] Multiculturalism is one of the greatest successes of the Australian social policies, the country forgot about its former racism to become the more tolerant nation of the world. It is well known that Australia is now one of the most culturally diverse societies in the world and that's why this austral continent has to deal with many issues which are linked to a multicultural society. Currently, the majority of the Australians perceive multiculturalism as a great chance for the country WHAT MULTICULTURALISM BRINGS TO THE AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY At the time of the 2001 census, there were almost 19 millions people in Australia. [...]

[...] We are and we will remain a multicultural society. As a policy, multiculturalism includes government's measures which aim at fitting in with this diversity. Multiculturalism has nothing to do with the selection of immigrants. This is a policy which should deal with the consequences of cultural diversity in the interest of the individual and the society as a whole. The goals of multicultural policies included in the National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia adopted (1989) have always targeted the same rights[16]: All Australians have the right to express and to share their own culture and beliefs (cultural identity). [...]

[...] The law is based on the principle of Business Skill Migration which favoured the immigration of people who had already a good work experience during the last 4 years. Population growth and international immigration Australia's population reached million at the end of June 2005[19], the population growth in 2004-2005 was composed of 127,000 natives and 110,100 overseas. The United Kingdom was the largest overseas-born group, but as a proportion of the total overseas-born, it is declining. The second largest group is the New Zealand born. There were 167,319 migrants more in 2004-05, made up of 123,424 permanent arrivals and 43,895 permanent visa grants. [...]

[...] The council represented a link between immigrants in the Australian society and the Ministry of Immigration and Ethnics Affairs. In 1978, the government decided to create the Special Broadcasting Service this media body was launched on the radio at first to broadcast programmes in languages, and then it appeared on TV and became a multicultural TV channel for ethnic minorities. The Galbally report recommended a huge effort concerning the teaching because school had an important role in the process of cultural tolerance. [...]