Last month the acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alan Tudge announced that from November, there will be an updated Australian Citizenship Test which for the first time will include a section on Australian values.
That section seems very similar to the “Australian Values Statement” which the Department of Home Affairs has been espousing since 2013: respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual, freedom of religion, commitment to the rule of law, Parliamentary democracy, gender equality, egalitarianism, mutual respect, tolerance, fair play and compassion for those in need, and equality of opportunity. All good stuff.
A new article, “The Unravelling of America” by Canadian anthropologist, Professor Wade Davis makes a compelling case that the US is in serious decline and has been for decades because of its screwed values. Since 1945, he says, the United States “has lionized the individual at the expense of community and family” and common purpose: “old certainties” have been “shown to be lies, when the promise of a good life for a working family is shattered as factories close and corporate leaders, growing wealthier by the day, ship jobs abroad, the social contract is irrevocably broken.”
A country’s values are extremely important. Accordingly, there is real benefit in Australia articulating its values, as a first step to walking the talk.
How well do we live up to Mr Tudge’s values? Do we turn a blind eye to our shortcomings?
My perception is that the US is much deeper in the throes of the values disease than Australia is. But Australia has also been infected, and we need actively to combat the disease.
The report “Poverty in Australia” by the University of NSW (UNSW) and the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) says that Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world per head of population. The report quoted Credit Suisse’s Global Wealth Report 2018 which found Australia to be the wealthiest country in the world by median wealth; its Global Wealth Report 2019 found Australia to be the world’s second wealthiest country.
Despite these impressive figures, according to the report, even before the pandemic, nearly three and a quarter million Australians were living below the poverty line – that is one adult in eight. This included nearly three quarters of a million children – one child in six. We fell nearly exactly in the middle of OECD countries in terms of the percentage of the population living in poverty. The Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden) did best.
The report observed that people living in poverty in Australia often miss out on essentials such as food or a roof over their heads.
The number of children living in poverty had gone up considerably in the last decade. The report attributed that increase in child poverty largely to changes in Australia’s welfare system:
“This is especially true for sole parent families. Parenting Payment, upon which many sole parent families are reliant, was excluded from an increase to pensions in 2009. This was exacerbated by the transfer of 80,000 sole parents from Parenting Payment to the lower Newstart Allowance in 2013, and the freezing of Family Tax Benefits”.
The report pointed out that the rates of Newstart and Youth Allowance have not increased in real terms for 25 years, while the cost of living, especially housing, has risen dramatically; and pointed to Australia’s high rates of unemployment and, increasingly, underemployment.
Michael West Media’s “Tax Dodgers List – 2020” lists the 40 companies which paid the least tax on the most income earned. The 40 earned about $348 billion. The top tax rate paid by any of them was less than 4%. Sixteen of the 40 paid no tax at all. If the 40 had paid 25% tax – the rate that will soon apply for smaller companies – the tax take would have been nearly $27,000 for each of the three and a quarter million people living below the poverty line. That would make quite a dent in poverty. And that’s just for the top 40 tax dodgers.
As West points out, the 2018 list did not even include some of Australia’s biggest tax dodgers such as Google and eBay. The top 40 included many household names – Glencore, ExxonMobil, Energy Australia, Santos, Citic, Chevron, Virgin, Vodafone, Mitsubishi, GM, Ford, Nissan, Spotless, Healthscope, Graincorp, Foxtel, Mirvac, CSR and Sydney Airports Corporation.
Australian Governments have faffed about for many decades on the pernicious phenomenon of tax dodging. They have given grants and benefits worth millions of dollars to the dodgers, and continue to do so.
Look at another measure – wealth and income inequality. Again according to a 2020 report by UNSW and ACOSS, “Inequality in Australia”, inequality for both wealth and income has significantly increased over recent decades, with a bit of a blip for wealth in the Global Financial Crisis. Based on the latest available figures (from 2017-18) the average income of the top 5% of the population was nine times that of the lowest 20%. The average wealth of the top 20% of households was almost a hundred times that of the lowest 20%. The CEO of Rio Tinto, Jean-Sebastien Jacques was penalised $4.9 million in bonuses for the Juukan Gorge atrocity. That represents 127 years work on the Australian minimum wage and nearly 340 years on JobSeeker.
We are not as unequal as the US and UK, but we are heading that way.
Critics on the right are accustomed, when these points are made, to shriek about “the politics of envy”. I am envious – for what is being achieved in those Nordic countries – against poverty and for equality.
Patting ourselves on the back about egalitarianism, fair play and compassion for those in need is so much hypocritical poppycock while we turn a blind eye to these iniquities and inequities, and fail to tackle tax dodging head on and with the determination of a top Rugby League front rower..
Lawyer, formerly senior federal public servant (CEO Constitutional Commission, CEO Law Reform Commission, Department of PM&C, Protective Security Review and first Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security; High Court Associate (1971) ; partner of major law firms. Awarded Premier’s Award (2018) and Law Institute of Victoria’s President’s Award for pro bono work (2005).
Comments
9 responses to “Australian Values for new citizens”
It’s head-spinning to imagine the degree of cognitive dissonance necessary for the Australian government to be promoting a set of national values that it demonstrably doesn’t believe in. Or perhaps, like so many corporate strategic plans, the espoused values are aspirational. At least corporations have KPIs (and subordinate PIs) that must be measured to check progress towards their achievement. The government has nothing, and actively works towards ensuring there is nothing, against which its activities can be measured. And no, winning elections doesn’t count: these are not values-based.
“Australian Values Statement” which the Department of Home Affairs has been espousing since 2013: respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual, freedom of religion, commitment to the rule of law, Parliamentary democracy, gender equality, egalitarianism, mutual respect, tolerance, fair play and compassion for those in need, and equality of opportunity. ” All THE good stuff is equally applied to all existing Australian citizens first and they should show by example, starting I suppose, by our Government Ministers down. Great article Ian, for Governments at all levels to set a good example of governing for the people, of the people and by the people.
I have always been curious as to how any organization could rate Australia as wealthy let alone the second most wealthy nation in the world. According to the Global Wealth report non-financial assets which are mainly houses are the main stimulus to overall growth in wealth. But for heavens sake we are the worlds largest borrower ,our so called wealth is based on debt, which prior to the pandemic reached $2.4 trillion.
If it wasn’t so serious it would be hilarious the way this government talks about “Australian Values”.
Amongst the Australian Values exhibited by our government are the following:
> Utter disregards for the human rights of the many genuine refugees that are locked up in prisons and concentration camps. The casual way that some ministers treat refugees. All great Australian Values.
> Utter disregard for the living conditions of the lowest paid or unemployed Australians. In normal circumstances the fact that there are so many living below the poverty line in one of the wealthiest countries in the world would be an outright scandal. Not here. It seems to be one of our Australian Values.
> The widespread corruption amongst our politicians and business leaders is another of our Australian Values.
> The latest changes to our tertiary education system and the continued bleeding of funds from these institutions (TAFE/VET). Great Australian Value.
> The relentless reduction of public services (health care, aged care, Centrelink, etc, etc) resulting in increased poverty, suicides, illness, homelessness etc exhibits another great Australian Value.
Welcome to modern Australia.
Hans, to which you may add, ‘A housing policy that is delivering huge gains to to investors, increasing inequity, cutting off any chance to a large percentage of the population to live in a house of their own and increasing homelessness.
Hans – rather than highlight treatment of refugees why not ask why something like 40 million people have fled the country of their birth making a risky journey to a land with vastly different cultures. You could also look at the indigenous disadvantage report…
To dono and Colin Cook.
Of course you are both right. I only tried to give a sample of our Australian Values
Hence the word ‘Amongst’. A complete list would have taken most of the day to write.
Of course all these tax dodging companies will be eligible for the business rebates and hand outs in the latest budget. New rules and standards for migrants wanting to be citizens but poor regulation and no standards for our corporate citizens.
Thanks yet again for a clear-eyed view on the ugliest companies and other tax dodgers who are fracturing our society in the name of their right to become super-rich and ignore those who should be cared for – the single parents/those without jobs (for there are actually none – providing dignity and rewards) and above all – the children. And those with age, with different abilities, with carer responsibilities – and all set against the selfish property portfolio gougers. Who among us quite honestly needs any portfolio above two! Anyway – much to think on Ian – I shall send this on to The New Liberals to incorporate into their policy setting now ongoing!