AUSTRALIA

Task: “Choose one of the following nations: Canada, New Zealand, Australia or South Africa. See if you can find out the following information about them: When did they gain independence as nations? What are the major ethnic groups that make up their population? How large are these groups in numbers or percentages or both? What is the official policy regarding immigration? Is there a debate about multiculturalism in the country?

Introduction

Australia is an Oceanian country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. Australia is the sixth largest country by total area in the world. The indigenous Australians inhabited the country at least more than 40 000 years before the British Settlement, but what are the major ethnic groups today, and how large are these groups? Australia’s eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770, but when did they gain independence? Does Australia have an official policy regarding immigration? These questions are some of the things that this article revolves around. (Wikipedia Australia, 2015)

Independence

To fully understand how Australia got to the point where they gained their independence, we have to look at the nation’s history from the beginning. The human habitation of Australia is estimated to have begun about 48 000 years ago. These first people may have been the ancestors of the modern indigenous Australians. They probably migrated from South-East-Asia by sea-crossings or land bridges. The first recorded European sighting of the continent, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian mainland happened in the early 16th. century, by the Dutch Navigator Willem Janszoon. (Wikipedia Australia, 2015) (Info please, 2013)

The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines, and in 1770, James Cook sailed along and charted the east coast, which he claimed for Great Britain. The British Government sent a fleet of ships to establish a new penal colony in Australia. A camp was set up, and a flag was raised on 26 January 1788, a date that became Australia’s national day. At the time the European settlement began, the indigenous population is estimated to have been between 750,000 and 1,000,000. The indigenous people declined the settlement, and in 1869, the Europeans removed many Aboriginal children from their families, as a result of a government policy of “assimilation”. This practice may have also contributed to the decline in the indigenous population. (Wikipedia Australia, 2015) (Info please, 2013) (Twomey, 2011)

A gold rush began in the early 1850’s, and this attracted new settlers. Sheep farming soon became an important economic enterprise. Free settlers and former prisoners established the six British colonies: New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland. The six colonies individually gained responsible government, and they managed most of their own affairs, however they still remained a part of the British Empire. (Wikipedia Australia, 2015) (Info please, 2013)

But when did Australia gain independence as a nation?
Federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning. The six separate colonies became one nation, and they agreed to have a federal government that was responsible for matters concerning the whole nation. This happened in January 1901. Australia fought in World War I and World War II with Britain, and this was the nation’s first major military action. In 1931, the ties to Britain formally ended, but the final ties ended with the passing of the Australia Act in 1986. This ended any British role in the Australian government, and March 3, 1986 is the day Australia achieved complete independence from Britain. (Wikipedia Australia, 2015) (Wikipedia , 2015) (Twomey, 2011)

Major ethnic groups

More than 90 percent of the Australian population are of predominantly European (white) ancestry. The country’s colonization from Europeans is a significant reason for the majority of the population being white. Therefore, Australia’s ethnic diversity can be attributed to their history. However, it can also be attributed to the country’s location. Australia is one of the most developed countries in the world, and it is close to Eastern Asia. Therefore, 7 percent of the Australian inhabitants is of Asian origin. About 3 percent of the population in Australia is indigenous; most of them are Aboriginals or Torres Strait Islanders. These groups are both indigenous people from different parts of Australia. The Aboriginals are defined as people who are members “of the original race of Australia”. The Torres Strait Islanders are the indigenous people of the Torres Strait Islands, and they are distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia. (Britannica , 2015) (Statista, 2015)

In the paragraphs written about Australia’s independence longer up in this text, there is a lot of information about how the Europeans got to Australia, and what they did there. Therefore, it will be more interesting to read a little bit about the indigenous ethnic groups in Australia, whom there is not so much information about in the latest paragraphs.

The Aboriginal Australians

The category «Aboriginal Australians» was made by the British after they began colonising the country in 1788. Everyone they found who already were inhabiting the country, they put in this category, and all the descendants of these people later on. In the era of the colonial government, your access to human rights was based upon what race you were. If you had an ounce of Aboriginal blood, you had to live on Reserves or Missions, you were given minimal education, you could not use electric devices, and you needed to have governmental approval to visit relatives. The Commonwealth of Australia’s supreme law is named the Constitution of Australia. When the Constitution of Australia came out in 1901, it gave the Commonwealth parliament power to legislate with respect to "the people of any race" throughout the Commonwealth, except for people of "the aboriginal race". Although, the aboriginal people were not legislated to be called a “race” yet. This was removed in 1967, and ever since it has been a number of proposals to amend the Constitution to specifically mention the Aboriginals as a race. (Wikipedia Aboriginals , 2015)

The Aboriginal people has dispersed across Australia over time, and the ancient people differentiated into hundreds of distinct groups, each with an own culture and language. There is about 600,000 aboriginals living in Australia, and they make out 2.7 percent of the Australian population. (Wikipedia Aboriginals , 2015)

The Torres Strait Islanders

The Torres Strait Islanders, like the Aboriginals, were not regarded as a race either. However, the change in the Constitution in 1967 gave the Commonwealth parliament the power to make laws specifically with respect to Aboriginal people, and Torres Strait Islanders, together or separately, as a “race”. (Wikipedia Aboriginals , 2015) (Wikipedia Torres Strait Islanders, 2015)

The Torres Strait Islanders are the indigenous people of Torres Strait Islands, a part of Queensland. They are a seafaring people, and they trade with the people of New Guinea and the rest of Australia. There is an estimate of 50,000 Torres Strait Islanders, and they live all over Australia in addition to the islands. On the picture below, you can see all the Torres Strait Islands. (Wikipedia Torres Strait Islanders, 2015)

Official policy regarding immigration

Since 1945, more than 7 million people have migrated to Australia, as new settlers, and the trigger for this was the end of World War II. Migration was encouraged by Britain and some European countries. The 2011 Cenus reported that over one in four of Australia’s 22,000,000 people were born overseas, and a sociology study from 2014 concludes that “Australia and Canada are the most receptive to immigration among western nations”. Around 1970 there was a fundamental change in Australia’s immigration policy. There came millions of refugees and migrants during the 1970s, which resulted in the issue of a policy of multiculturalism, because this was the first time there were more migrants who wanted to come to Australia, than the government wanted to accept. The latest government in Australia supports high immigration, and in a 2010 Australia Day speech, Tony Abbot stated that "My instinct is to extend to as many people as possible the freedom and benefits of life in Australia". (Wikipedia Immigration, 2015)

Debate about multiculturalism?

There has been a debate in Australia about multiculturalism since the 1970s, when immigration first became a “problem” to the government. It was the first time there were more immigrants who wanted to come to Australia, than the government wanted to take. There has been many diverse opinions in the different governments up through the years. Today, Australia has become one of the most multicultural and diverse countries in the world, with more than 200 languages. There will probably always be different opinions when it comes to migration, but some of the current issues are for example the question about detention for asylum seekers and the question about Temporary Protection Visas . There is an ongoing debate about both these questions, both within the politicians and within the inhabitants. (Wikipedia Immigration, 2015)

To sum up, Australia got their independence in March 1986, after being under the British Empire since James Cook claimed the country for Great Britain. There are many different ethnic groups in Australia, and the majority of the population are of predominantly European (white) ancestry. However, there is also different indigenous groups like the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders. The indigenous groups make up 3 percent of the population. Since 1945, more than 7,000,000 people have migrated to Australia, and this has led to an ongoing debate about multiculturalism in the country. The latest government is supporting high immigration to Australia.

Eline

onsdag 25. mars 2015

In Depth Study - Australia