To provide an objective view, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which is an independent government broadcaster, conducted a national survey to 54,970 Australians to share their thoughts and opinions on being “Australian”. The purpose of the survey was to obtain data representing the communities across Australia in a number of areas, including sex, age, education, language, finance, lifestyle, religion and geography. According to the survey, the following proportion of Australians, indicated the following areas were affecting them personally (highest to lowest):
• Climate change – 72%
• Saving enough money for retirement – 62%
• Health or the health of the family – 56%
• Affording a home – 46%
• Australia must do more to address injustices against indigenous people – 41%
• Not having enough money to get by – 40%
• There is still a lot of racism in Australia these days – 40%
• Job security – 38%
• Crime – 36%
• Providing for family – 30%
In other sections of the survey, the respondents were required to provide a score from one to ten, on a range of questions about being an Australian. The results from the survey were very interesting – listed below from the highest to lowest.
Respecting Australia’s institutions and laws |
8.7 |
Appreciation of Australia’s natural environment |
8.3 |
Feeling Australian |
7.5 |
Speaking English |
7.1 |
Having Australian citizenship |
7.1 |
Sharing the same values as most Australians |
6.9 |
Being knowledgeable about Australian history |
6.6 |
Living most of one’s life in Australia |
4.7 |
Being born in Australia |
3.0 |
Being white |
1.8 |
Whilst it would have been interesting to understand how many Aussies enjoyed Vegemite for breakfast, or which sporting team was the most popular in Australia, it was pleasing to see the key aspects with being an Australian, were focused on “respect” and “attitudes” towards the local laws and environment. On a personal level, it was also surprising to see that 80% of respondents agreed that immigrants to Australia, are able to retain their cultural values without being less Australian.
My takeaway from the survey? Being an Australian is a subjective test with varying indicators, however it includes key notions of being part of a society that preserves individual cultures, backgrounds and at the same time instigates equality and respect amongst all.
If you are personally interested in comparing your own results, the article from ABC provides the link where you can complete the survey:
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Written by Robert Lu.
Robert is the Immigration Manager at Oz Migration Solutions. He has been working in the industry for the last 12 years, passionate about immigration and a believer in “Big Australia”.
MARN: 0848586
