23 January 2009 in Jamie’s View
For many, this weekend’s Australia Day long weekend marks the end of the holiday period and the start of another year. Holidays enjoyed over the Christmas break are now a fading memory and the reality of a difficult year ahead looms large.
Australia Day is now firmly established as the country's largest annual day of celebrations and there is much to celebrate.
The former Prime Minister John Howard observed in January 2006, “Australia Day embodies a profound truth and simple irony, the truth is that people come to this country because they want to be Australians. The irony is that no institution or code lays down a test of Australianness, such is the nature of our free society."
As we celebrate Australia Day this year, we should all remember how lucky we are to live in a free and tolerant society, one perhaps we take for granted. For many of us, this is the only society we have known, unfortunately some people from other countries never find such freedom.
Traditionally Australia Day is a time when people from countries not as free as ours, choose to become Australian citizens. We should all welcome these new citizens into our multicultural society. We have much to be proud of in this country, where our egalitarian traditions have led to social cohesion that is the envy of the world.
It is important that we continue to encourage individual achievement, the freedom to excel without over bearing intrusive governments dictating our lives. This is the society that makes an Australian passport one of the most sought after in the world.
As you enjoy the Australia Day public holiday, pause to reflect on everything that is great about this country and the unlimited potential for its future.