I have no idea how describe Australian values. Having spent 4 years out of the country recently I have an inner knowledge that I am Australain. It difficult to describe a subjective feeling objectively without being jingoistic. Interestingly on my return I did not feel I had come home until I went into the outback, although I have never lived there.
A sense of being Australian has nothing to do with patriotism. Patriotism is a ploy much loved by neocons but not exclusively by them. Patriotism is the last refuge of fools and rogues. I forget who said that but I concur. I think that if a politian wants you to be patriotic one should do 2 things
1 Put your hand over your wallet
2 Draw your children and grandchildren to you, they want cannon fodder.

Ted.

Couldn't agree more.

Since Howard has put his head so far up the anus of George Bush, we can expect that he would only encourage Australians following in their facist footsteps.

Rabid nationalism is encouraged when the government wants to control the masses. It gives them something to think about before, during and after the "bread and circuses" (barbie and football).

History has fascinating parallels in Hitler and Mussolini (both facists who encouraged extreme nationalism).

I'm looking forward to one of our aggressively patriotic posters here to list a few examples of what it means to be Australian...I'm very interested.

And don't say 'mateship', cause I've been to other countries, and they keep friends too. It's a pretty universal quality, actually.

Ted I'm with you. It's next to impossible to put a finger on, because it is so subjective. Love the warnings about policitian calls for patriotism!

I am not altogether against politicians attempts to show that they are patriotic (I use that term simply because it sums up their rather simple approach), as I'd rather that than think they dont care at all.

Historically, it appears that despite what policitians say and argue, Australians maintain a healthier scepticism than a lot of similar countries (eg the US). Our policitians say something, we raise a collective eyebrow and mutter "d!ckhead" under our breath. Whilst we dont always agree (fairly rarely actually) with what our leaders say and do, we generally arent rabid protesters either.

"does the signing of such a pledge by people entering Australia suggest that Australians have an equal obligation to subscribe to whatever values are held by any country they enter? Singapore, perhaps? North Korea?" Well North Korea might be an extreme example - cant see too many people wanting to move there. But generally I would expect that any Australian moving to another country should behave at least in accordance with that countries habits and values. Eg dont go walking around the Middle East in a mini-skirt and skimpy top, or drink alcohol in public places. Its just good manners if nothing else. I wouldnt have a problem signing something to that effect either. If you dont like Zimbabwe's approach to political conduct (for example), then dont go there. Agreeing to another countries values, doesnt mean that you have to do something that you find unethical (eg stoning to death someone that has committed adultery), but it does mean that you need to not do something that offends the people of that country (like the points mentioned above). For that reason, I dont expect muslim women in Australia to throw off the headscarf and start frolicking around on Bondi in a bikini. But I also dont expect to have the local pool open to only women at certain times to cater to the sensibilities of the same women.

Whispering Ted, Boswell claimed it was Samuel Johnson who first claimed that "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel" (about 1775 I think).

There's a good account of patriotism at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriotism

It raises questions about benign and malign patriotism. When is patriotism a virtus and when is it malevolent?

It could be said that there's nothing wrong with patriotism until it blinds us to other peoples' virtues and our own shortcomings. I am extremely suspicious of the motives of public figures (politicians and the like) who throw around words like "unAustralian" as if they have exclusive rights to the moral high ground.