Australia Today
Australia is at a crossroads and much work remains to be done to reconcile with and recover Aboriginal civilisation. Today Australia projects images of itself that are often in opposition: strong economic growth, but notably laid-back people. Identity politics plays out in the national conversation while Australians attempt to answer a long-standing question: what is Australian culture?
First Peoples
The First Peoples of Australia are still fighting for recognition more than 200 years since the declaration of terra nullius – the legal fiction that stated Australia was devoid of human settlement – which underpinned the justification of the British Empire’s colonisation at the time. The 20th century saw colonialist practices continue, such as forcibly removing children from their Aboriginal mothers; eugenics to ‘breed out the black’, and slavery-like conditions that saw the routine theft of wages and land continue.
The ongoing impact of these policies are still being felt today, with key indicators showing Indigenous peoples have poorer health outcomes, lower life expectancy and some of the highest incarceration rates in the world.
Treaty negotiations are currently under way in many states, with Victoria leading the way. More recently a document, titled the Uluru Statement from the Heart, called for a Voice to be enshrined in the country’s Constitution so that Indigenous people would have more say over policies that affect their lives. It also stated that the nation needs to go through a truth-telling process.
With debates growing stronger each year over Australia’s ‘national day’, the legitimacy of the Australian flag and national anthem, and statues celebrating controversial colonial figures, Australia is at a crucial moment where it must confront questions about its past and its future identity.
The Rise of Populism?
There are growing signs that disaffection with mainstream politics is growing globally and Australia is no exception. Independent politicians are an increasingly powerful force in Australian parliaments. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson returned to the fore with proposals like capping immigration from ‘Muslim countries’ and compulsory DNA tests for Indigenous people to ‘prove their ancestry’. Other signs populism has infected the political discourse in Australia include the parliamentary declaration that ‘It’s okay to be white’, and the copy-and-paste populist slogans plastered on billboards around the country calling for the people to ‘Make Australia Great Again’.
Revolving-Door Politics
After decades of seemingly stable governments and democratic transitions of power, the two major parties – the centre-left Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the centre-right Coalition of the Liberal and National Parties – have destabilised with a politics of the revolving door (perhaps not helped by the 24-hour news cycle scrutinising politicians’ every move). Since 2010, the prime minster of Australia has changed seven times, though the revolving door syndrome has slowed with the win of the LNP coaltion in May 2019, meaning Prime Minister Scott Morrison remains in office.
Climate of Confusion
Australia’s economy weathered the Global Financial Crisis of 2009 with barely a blip, and the country continues to enjoy low unemployment, low inflation and generally high wages – though the cost of living has soared to levels that threaten to leave behind a generation of would-be home-owners.
Economists have, however, warned that storm clouds could be gathering unless governments undertake meaningful economic reform, while environmentalists are alarmed that the federal government continues to keep the environment a low priority. Recent decisions, such as the approval of a new coal mine in Queensland, arguably pose serious threats to Australia’s environment, including the Great Barrier Reef.
