Good Morning ladies and gentlemen, today I stand before you to start the long overdue conversation on belonging as a multicultural citizen in Australia. ‘What does it mean to belong?’ Most would argue that belonging is the feeling of acceptance, but in reality, it is more than that. As humans, our common nature is to try and fit in with our surroundings. To be accepted, in more cases, for who we are pretending to be, not for who we truly are. In Australia, there are approximately 300 ethnic groups and 100 religions present within the country’s population of 26 million people. These numbers are staggering, and we continue to turn a blind eye to the welfare of our cultural diversity. As a country, we reap the benefits of labelling ourselves as accepting of multi-culture, yet we do the bare minimum to celebrate this diversity. So, how is someone of a different background meant to feel like they belong if they are not …show more content…
Historically, Australia has struggled significantly with embracing diversity to the extent of placing a policy that restricted the immigration of non-white people. This repelling action was called the ‘March of the white Australia policy’, even though the name reeks of racism. It is appalling that our country once represented this mistreatment, and still, we have done the absolute minimum to account for it. If Australia truly wants to continue to prosper in its claims for acceptance of all races, we first need to reflect on our lies, and convert them into genuine and solemn actions. It is shocking that in this day and age, we must still be reminded of the obligation to not discriminate and inflict harm on those of colour. This should be common knowledge by now, and until we finally ameliorate this issue, Australia’s citizens will not feel like they belong in the