What it means to be Australian
Six values, written plainly, with the part newcomers most often ask about: how each one shows up in daily life here.
01
A fair go
Everyone gets a genuine chance, and the chance is not rationed by who your parents were. It is the country's most-quoted phrase and its most argued-over one, because the test of it is always whether the person in front of you actually got theirs.
In practice
It shows up in queues nobody jumps, in bosses called by first name, and in the expectation that a new arrival's qualifications and effort should count for something.
02
Mateship
Loyalty shown by turning up. It runs through the shearing sheds, the trenches, the surf clubs and the fire trucks, and it asks very little in words. You help, you do not make a speech about it, and you expect the same in return.
In practice
Neighbours check on each other in a heatwave. People bring a plate. Help offered is help accepted without a fuss on either side.
03
Freedom of speech
The right to say what you think, including about the people in charge, and to be argued with in return. Australians exercise it mostly by taking the mickey out of authority, which is its own form of civic participation.
In practice
Criticising a politician carries no risk here. Humour at the expense of power is normal, and being teased back is part of the deal.
04
Equality before the law
The same rules for the powerful and the unknown, applied by courts that answer to no minister. Voting is compulsory, elections are run by an independent commission, and the sausage sizzle at the polling booth is close to mandatory too.
In practice
Everyone on the electoral roll votes, whoever they are. Police, employers and landlords are all answerable to the same courts you are.
05
Respect for difference
More than a quarter of the people here were born somewhere else, and the country works because that is unremarkable. Difference is not something to be tolerated at the edges; it is the ordinary composition of a street, a school and a workplace.
In practice
Keeping your language, faith and food is expected, not merely permitted. Integration here means joining in, not giving up what you arrived with.
06
Care for Country
The oldest continuing cultures on earth have managed this land for tens of thousands of years. Caring for Country is both their inheritance and an invitation to everyone who lives here now to learn how it is done.
In practice
Meetings and events often open with an Acknowledgement of Country. Learning whose land you live on is a good first week in a new town.