david f, you do realise all those cultures you want us to learn about, embrace, celebrate are the NATIONAL CULTURES of other lands?

So why are those national cultures deemed worthy of respect, desirable, enhancing, but our own is to be neglected, ignored, despised?

This is the core contradiction at the heart of multiculturalism.
All cultures are treasured EXCEPT our own!
Mind-boggling!

No the government doesn't need to "promote" our culture, but nor should it promote others or deliberately sabotage it through displacement by alien ones.

Dear Banjo,

I apologise for calling BP Banjo.

You wrote: “Since then immigrants have been actively encouraged to maintain the cultural practices of their original nation, which has lead to the erosion of our culture and our social standards.”

Those who came here in 1788 not only disregarded the cultural practices of the original people but imposed their superstitions upon them, drove them off their land and murdered them. What was left of the original inhabitants and their culture has been much eroded.

The descendents of the 1788 invaders continued to impose their culture on newcomers. When my wife’s mother came to Australia in 1929 from Norway the immigration officer asked for her religion. She answered “Lutheran.” The official wrote “Church of England.” In the Australia of 1929 one must be either Protestant or Catholic, and proper Protestants were Church of England.

Fortunately, the government of Australia has decided that the social engineering of imposing a monoculture is no longer a good thing in this day and age and has adopted multiculturalism which does not force immigrants to be ersatz Englishmen.

You also wrote: “You will note since MC we have now instances of FGM, underage marriage, forced marriage, polygamy and even a couple of instances of honour killings. Only last week we had reports of a convicted foreign paedophile being let off because of 'cultural considerations.”

These things you mentioned are crimes in Australia, and those perpetrating those crimes should be brought to account. Multiculturalism does not mean condoning criminal activity. In 1788 genocide was not a crime. Those perpetrating the crime in the early days of white settlement were not brought to justices. In some cases later perpetrators of that crime have been punished. If a crime has been excused because of 'cultural considerations’ that is very wrong.

It is not illegal to flee to another country with or without documentation. The boat people have committed no crime.

Possibly some of them have fled their countries because they wish to be in a country where FGM, underage marriage, forced marriage polygamy and honour killings are illegal.

Dear Shocker,

No one is suggesting to promote the national
cultures of other lands. That's not what
multiculturalism is. Multiculturalism means
the recognition of the diversity of cultures
that exist in our land.

It's apparent that
you want Australia to continue being defined in
narrow nationalistic and xenophobic terms.
Even with our increasingly multicultural population
you are still susceptible to assimilationist and
exclusivist notions.

With more people entering Australia for a variety of
puposes than ever before - Sadly, Australia has witnessed an
increase in hostility to immigration and
multiculturalism, with potent political force.

In the foreseeable future the population of Australia
will continue to be varied in its origins and culture.

Complaining about any aspect of these changes is futile
but will doubtlessly continue.

It's time you realised Australia will never be "white"
or "British" again, will never live in the bush, will
and will never be socially or culturally uniform.

Whatever happens, Australia will be influence by its
proximity to Asia and the islands of the Pacific.

These realities will present challenges to long-established
national myths and legends, many of which have shown
remarkable resilience.

The assumption that all Australians, or "ordinary"
Australians share the same values and attitudes was a
mainstay of conservative rhetoric for the last decades of the
twentieth century. Apart from being manifestly nonsensical,
this denied the impact of immigrants and the
continued presence of the Indigenous people.
Unless they are assumed to be fully assimilated, it is
highly improbable that people who were born and brought up
somewhere else, or who were racially segregated in remote
communities, will share all their beliefs and values with the
suburban majority of the Australian born.

Individual wrote: “It is natural for people to seek a better life but it is unnatural to go go to where people have a better life with the intent of not accepting the rules of that society & even going there with the view of deliberately destroying the host society for nothing more than superstition.”

Dear individual,

Speaking of intent means you can read the minds of the boat people. My father entered the USA without proper documentation fleeing from czarist Russia. He loved America and fully abided by its laws and customs. Quite possibly the boat people are prepared to act the same in Australia even if they may have different superstitions from those current in Australia.

Dear Foxy,

I don’t think Australia needs more people. Considering the resources of fresh water available we are probably overpopulated already. However, the number of boat people is very small, and both Labor and the Libs are willing to exacerbate prejudice to get votes.

Dear Yuyutsu,

I also hope you are well. I will try to accept your agreement with equanimity even though I don’t always accept your disagreement with equanimity. I hope for the day when countries are merely convenient administrative units, and people feel that those outside their country’s borders are as human as those inside.

One thing unique about Australian culture is our systems of government and judicial powers. I watched QANDA last night and democracy was well expressed. It is not rule by the majority; it means equality and rule for all people. Otherwise minorities as in Egypt are suppressed and all power resides in the leader even if he has been voted in by the majority. Which is not what defines Western Democracy. We hear regularly the phrase, "A fair go for all".

Compare countries who believe in a ruling class or rule by the leader of the majority; they suppress minorities and individualism.

david f,
Of course if you want to disagree for the sake of disagreeing you can bring up arguments i.e. you father.
I am like your father, I came to Australia will good intend as did the other 99% on that plane I travelled on. As I said earlier, we're not talking about the many good migrants from years ago, we're taliking about people who come here for a political/religious agenda. Your father obviously was a decent bloke who'd probably ban the likes of the boat people from going to the US nowadays. He'd most likely support a much more refined screening process than what we have now. How many New Australians since the 50"s do you think support this influx on boats ? Do you think they want their new country to revert to what they've left behind ? I doubt it very much because I am an immigrant too who doesn't appreciate the Cavalier mentality of what some who call themselves Australian are doing to Australia.