If you haven’t already seen it, this year’s Australia Day lamb TV ad is worth tracking down (you’ll find it on YouTube). With laconic humour it pays homage to our diversity and history of immigration.
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What was designed to be a refreshing antidote to the toxic love-it-or-leave bile that poisons the social media well around this time of year, still managed to raise hackles.
Some members of the Indigenous community took umbrage because the ad told the story of two Aboriginal people hosting a barbecue and welcoming the French, British, Italians and other boat people. They said it was a tasteless, insensitive marketing stunt.
Others took offence because the ad did not once mention Australia Day. Some commentators on news websites actually thought it was racist towards white Australians.
What the reaction to the ad did reveal was that Australia probably needs to grow up a little and stop taking itself so seriously. The measure of a nation’s maturity is its ability to look at itself, laugh and aim to do better.
Australia does this well most of the time but for some reason gets incredibly touchy around Australia Day.
Take the billboard that went up in Melbourne featuring two hijab clad Aussie girls waving flags. Again, it was a message of inclusion that was interpreted as something sinister by some apparently very insecure members of the community.
The outcry over it and threats made to the advertising agency that forced the billboard to come down tell us we have some growing up to do. And the sooner we do it, the better.
We have much to celebrate in this country. Overall, our standard of living is high. Our children have access to education and opportunity. We are generally tolerant and democratic. It might not be enshrined in our constitution but there is an implied freedom of speech.
Apart from our original Indigenous inhabitants we are a nation built on immigration – from the Afghans who opened up the vast interior to the Europeans who built our cities and industries and the Asians who came after. Each group of migrants that has arrived on our shores has added to our diverse tapestry; has helped shape who we are today.
As the lamb ad tried to remind us, Australia Day is about getting together. It’s not about excluding one group from another but about making everyone feel welcome. That’s who we want to be.
