25 January 2011 in Jamie’s View
This year Australia Day will be particularly poignant as thousands of our fellow Australians struggle to recover from a series of natural disasters.
A series of disasters that have reminded us of Dorothy Mackellar’s famous passage in the poem ‘My Country’ of her love ‘of a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains’.
The floods and fires that have swept our country have caused many communities significant pain. We grieve with those who have lost loved ones and we stand by those who have lost their worldly possessions.
These disasters have been a reminder of the cruel nature of our beautiful environment.
But these disasters have also served to highlight some of the very best attributes of Australians. Vision of thousands of people lining up to help clean up Queensland suburbs and Australians from all walks of life donating money and goods to those in affected areas exemplifies the spirit of mateship that is one of our nation’s finest attributes.
It is right and timely on Australia Day to reflect on our achievements and our challenges.
To be an Australian is to enjoy freedom and opportunity. It is a passport to a tolerant society where you can live your life as you wish without the heavy hand of government dictating who you are and what you should be. This is a unique right that must always be protected.
This is the driving reason why so many want to become Australians every year and very few are willing to give it up.
Many today will join our special club of Australian citizenship. In doing so we don’t ask people to disown their past but rather dream of their future. We ask them to respect our laws and our traditions while contributing in their own way to our vast diversity.
While some will turn Australia Day into a naval gazing episode of our alleged national character flaws, I believe we should use this day to celebrate what is the most special place on earth.
I am proud to be an Australian.