MOVING TO AUSTRALIA

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KEY FACTS

Official Name: Commonwealth of Australia

Capital City: Canberra

Official Languages: English

Area: 7.686 million sq. km/2.966 million sq. mi.

Population: 21.2 million

Religion: Catholic 26%, Anglican 19%, other Christian 37%, unspecified or none 18%

Currency: Australian dollar (A$)

Number of Time Zones: 3

Perth: GMT plus 8 hrs.; N. Territory, S. Australia: GMT plus 9.5 hrs.; Sydney, Melbourne: GMT plus 10 hrs. Daylight Savings Time is observed in the summer months in some states; dates may vary.

Weights and Measures: Metric system

Country Domain: .au

Country Tel Code: 61

AT A GLANCE

Australia can be defined as a large country, a continent, and an island. It is slightly smaller than the United States with a population of over 20 million people. It is a land of diversity and contrasts, culturally and environmentally, with roughly 20 percent of its population being immigrants.

Government

Australia is a member of the British Commonwealth with Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State. The country is organized as a federation of six states and two territories and is governed on the federal level by a prime minister as the chief executive, and a bicameral parliament made up of a House of Representatives and a Senate. Members of the House are elected for three years and members of the Senate for six-year terms. The Senate does not initiate legislation but must approve laws enacted by the House, where all legislation is introduced. The prime minister and his cabinet must have the support of the majority in the House of Representatives, but a majority in the Senate is not required.

Economics

Australia is a country rich in mineral wealth, the world’s leading supplier of wool, a major energy producer, and a land blessed with sun, sea, mountains and beaches. To take advantage of these attractions, the tourist industry is rapidly expanding its facilities. However, the Asian economic crisis that began in the summer of 1997 resulted in the market for Australian commodities from Asian trading partners being depressed. As a result, an effort is being made to expand technological industries, which are less subject to fluctuations in prices than Australia’s traditional exports. There is also a concern about the high rate of unemployment and the need to reform the tax structure.

The country was certainly affected by the global economic crisis that began in 2008, but it has fared better than some nations. While the government was still describing the economy as fragile in early 2010, it had just seen a drop in unemployment, down to 5.5 percent, spurred by growth in the mining industry.

Australia today

After years of European immigration, Australia is now attracting large numbers of Asians. Australia realizes that it is more a part of Asia than Europe, and Australians are beginning to identify with the Asia-Pacific world. Visitors will find the blending of the two cultures to be a unique and interesting mix.

UNDERSTANDING THE PEOPLE

Quality of life

Most Australians live comfortable lives. Many own a home and car, and enjoy sport and socializing with “barbies” (barbecues). Indigenous Australians, often referred to as Aborigines, live with considerably fewer luxuries.

Patriotism

Historically, Australians have been great patriots. During World War I, the Aussies had the highest Allied casualty rate – 68.5 percent of the 330,000 who served were either killed or injured. Close to a million Australian men served in the Second World War, and half of those were either killed or wounded. More than 8,000 died in Japanese concentration camps, a fact not forgotten by many of the older population. ANZAC Day, observed on April 25, honors fallen military.

Ethnic makeup

Caucasians make up roughly 92 percent of Australia’s population. Asians make up seven percent. Indigenous Australians and other races make up 1 percent.

For most of Australia’s modern history, the majority of its residents were of British or Irish ancestry. However, the overall population of Australia has quadrupled since World War II, as the result of immigration initiatives.

Immigrants

Australia is proud of its emerging multicultural society. It is also proud of its historic and generous refugee resettlement policy. More than 500,000 displaced persons and refugees have settled in Australia since 1945. Between 1945 and 1985, 4.2 million immigrants came to Australia, mainly from the U.K., Italy, Germany, and Greece. The government encouraged the immigrants to settle in rural areas, but most preferred to work in the cities.

In recent years more than 500,000 refugees, almost entirely from Southeast Asia, have settled in Australia. Britain is still the largest single source of migrants, though its overall share has slipped substantially. Today, about 20 percent of all Australians were born abroad and 40 percent were either born overseas or have foreign-born parents.

Indigenous Australians

Most frequently referred to as Aboriginals – from the Latin ab origine, meaning “from the beginning” – Indigenous Australians have been on the continent for at least 40,000 years and perhaps as much as 100,000 years. They live a nomadic existence, organized in tribes. Their relationship with the land, and their social organization, have always been extraordinarily complex.

Australia’s early white settlers were indifferent or hostile to the richness and complexity of Indigenous cultures, some of the oldest in the world. A small, nomadic people, Indigenous Australians had learned to survive in an incredibly harsh environment with little more than sticks and a remarkable weapon they called the boomerang. They had developed a sophisticated sign language, “finger talk,” that allowed tribes from all parts of the continent to communicate. They were skillful trackers and hunters, able to read signs on the sand and rock that no white man could see. They also had a complex central belief system called The Dreaming, the spiritual world that belongs to the land, and shapes the past and present.

After Europeans settlers arrived in the late 18th century, the Indigenous population declined drastically: from about 300,000 originally, to 60,000 by the early 20th century. European diseases and systematic annihilation by white settlers were primary factors in the decline. More recently, the population drop has slowly begun to reverse.

For centuries, government policy aimed to assimilate Indigenous cultures to European ways. This usually meant neglect or outright oppression of Indigenous people and their culture.

In the 1960s, there was a growing recognition of the uniqueness of Indigenous culture, and of the right of the survivors to determine their own development. The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act of 1976 turned over more than 33 percent of the Territory’s acreage to Indigenous ownership. The governments of South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales enacted similar measures.

The most dramatic gesture, however, was in 1985. Uluru, previously known as Australia’s most distinctive landmark, Ayers Rock, was returned to Indigenous Australians. Uluru is a massive five-mile-wide monolith, and a sacred place to the Indigenous. In 1993, to mark what had been designated as the Year of the Indigenous People, the government passed the historic Native Title Act, which sought to return lands taken from the Indigenous over the centuries.

Although pride in their past is slowly reawakening among the Indigenous, many have already left the land and the tribal way of life for the cities. Alcoholism and poverty have combined with leftover racism to keep a significant percentage of them below the high standard of living enjoyed by other Australians.

Language

English is the official language of Australia. More than 78 percent of the population speak English, but there are some class and especially regional variations of speech – from state to state, between city and countryside, and between the coast and outback. Chinese is spoken by 2.5 percent of residents, Italian by 1.6 percent, Greek by 1.3 percent, and Arabic by 1.2 percent.

While the government encourages all to become proficient in English, some of the newer immigrants from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia speak their national language.

Indigenous peoples have a vast number of languages. Approximately twenty are in common use among them.

Terminology

Australians use many British terms, such as petrol for gasoline, boot for car trunk, serviette for table napkin, biscuit for cookie, entrée for appetizer, and footpath for sidewalk.

However, Australians have also put some unique variations on standard English. These include as “arvo” for afternoon, “barbie” for barbeque, “station” for large ranch, “mate” for friend, and “whinge” for whine.

Religion

There is freedom of religion in Australia, and all of the world’s major religions are practiced there. Established religion does not play a significant role in government or society.

About 64 percent of the population declare themselves to be Christians, but not all are participants in religious communities. Christians are roughly divided one-quarter Roman Catholic, one-fifth Anglican, and the remainder other Christian denominations. There are numbers of Jews and Muslims, and many of the newly-arrived Asians are Buddhists. Almost 19 percent of the people declare themselves as non-religious.

Education

Individual states and territories determine educational policies and requirements, and provide educational services. They receive additional funding from the federal government.

Education is free and compulsory from age 6 until age 15, age 16 in Tasmania. About 72 percent of children attend government schools, which are mostly coeducational. Most children begin school before the compulsory age; each state maintains a preschool program.

Children in remote areas receive education through correspondence schools, or two-way radio link. Indigenous children are integrated into the state systems, but special programs assist in maintaining their distinct cultural heritage.

Common attitudes

There is an easy-going affability about Australians, a generous spirit, and a “give it a go” attitude. However, they are impatient with snobbery, pomposity, and arrogance. Indeed, Australians refer to the self-important as “tall poppies,” implying such blooms are the first to be cut down. This is not to say that Australians are free from class awareness. Private schooling is important for many, and there is still a sentimental affection for British royalty and the formalities of the Crown.

Although most Australians live in urban areas and only a few actually live in the bush, the Australian “Outback,” the frontier, is an important part of the national consciousness. “Aussies” – as Australians call themselves – have a sense of living in a country with enormous space, vast vistas, and endless opportunity. “Waltzing Matilda,” a bush ballad about a wandering sheep thief pursued by police and sheep owners, is still Australia’s unofficial national anthem.

Toward foreigners

For the most part, Australians are open, friendly people who like foreigners and enjoy becoming acquainted with them. Like most peoples, Australians appreciate those who demonstrate respect for their culture. They resent those who behave in a superior fashion, and can be wary of practices outside of their standards.

Toward hierarchy

Hierarchy in the work place is more prevalent in large organizations than in small ones. There is less distinction between the ranks than in many other countries, as Australians are not overly concerned with levels of authority.

There is a sense of equality and cooperation between workers and managers. Work assignments may be given to those with the necessary ability and knowledge of a particular issue, rather than to a more senior person.

Toward women

Women serve in government positions and hold office in federal and state legislatures. There is also an increasing number of women who have ownership in small businesses. Relative earnings to males in the work force is about 84 percent.

Although both men and women are protected by law against harassment and discrimination, Australians sometimes exhibit somewhat chauvinist attitudes. Women should not be put off by what seems like “bawdy banter”. It is rarely intended to be malicious or offensive, and Aussie women often participate themselves.

Women are always included in after-work activities.

Toward work

Although Australians are conscientious workers, they often believe that home life and leisure time are as important as the job. They are known to play hard and work hard but with a casual, down-to-earth attitude.

Culture caught on film

Australia has been robustly depicted by its writers and filmmakers over the years. Australian authors include Peter Carey, Elizabeth Jolley, David Malouf, and Nobel Prize winner Patrick White.

Australian films such as “Man from Snowy River”, “Breaker Morant”, “Crocodile Dundee”, “Gallipoli”, “Picnic at Hanging Rock”, “Strictly Ballroom”, “Shine”, and “Australia” also present Australian landscape, culture, and history. “Rabbit-Proof Fence” won multiple awards and nominations for its portrayal of the non-fiction book by the same name.

Information provided in association with Living Abroad