Australia's Asian conundrum
A week which began with much of Australia enjoying a day off in celebration of the Queen's birthday ended with the start of a visit from China's Vice President Xi Jinping, Hu Jintao's heir apparent. He touched down during the weekend when Barack Obama was supposed to enjoy a spot of family sight-seeing in and around Sydney harbour, a visit deemed by Mr Obama's image-makers to be visually unhelpful at a time when the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is threatening to overwhelm his presidency.
All three events show how Australia continues to be pulled in different directions: the bonds of kinship with Britain are resilient and strong, the strategic relationship with America, as codified in the Anzus Treaty, remains the basis for its regional security, while its commercial rapport with China and other Asian countries explains much of its modern-day prosperity. China is Australia's top trading partner. Japan is number two.
The latest poll from Lowy Institute suggests that Australians themselves are undecided where their country fits within the world. Some 32% said Australia was more part of Asia, 31% said it was part of the Pacific, and 31% said it was not part of any region. Remarkably, 5% said it was part of Europe.
Kevin Rudd, who was captivated as a child by Gough Whitlam's breakthrough visit to China and went on to become fluent in mandarin, vowed to make Australia the most Asia-literate country in the western world. But is it happening?
The teaching of four Asian languages - Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and Indonesian - has long been part of the push to strengthen Australia's influence in the region. But new government figures show that the country has actually witnessed a decline in the number of schoolchildren learning Asian languages in the past decade - a 22% per cent slump.
So few students are studying Indonesian - nationwide, there are only 1,000 students in their final year at school studying the language - that it's feared its teaching could die out in Australian schools. Academics say that more schoolchildren were studying Asian languages in the 1960s than at the start of what many have dubbed the Asian century.
Even Australia's participation in the Football World Cup is illustrative of how its place in the world remains unfixed and unresolved. It speaks of Australia's new engagement with Asia, since the Socceroos are representing Asia, while New Zealand are Oceania's sole representative - and didn't the All Whites do extraordinarily well against Italy! It throws up evidence of the ties with America, the only other competing country which insists on calling the game "soccer" rather than "football". And there's a strong British connection, since most of the Socceroos make their highly-remunerated livings in the English Premier League.
So I'll end with the question asked in the Lowy Institute's survey: where does Australia fit within the region and the world?
I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~53~RS~)
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I found ti amusing when I first moved here that my wife was tought French in school. That made about as much sense as a British school teaching Swahili.
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Good question.I'm an Asian and I've lived in Sydney for almost 3 years now.Sometimes Australia does feel like a Utopian Asia.I could get a job here and live quite comfortably speaking only my mother tongue and very little English.I can practise my religion(and if I don't want to practise it I can do that too!);say what I want to;eat where I want to and party with the people I want to.Rules are followed.Try and violate a traffic rule to fully comprehend what I'm saying.Everything is clean.There is plenty of sun.In the time that I've been here there has been no political "strikes" and people holding banners and shouting slogans haven't blocked my way.People are polite and frequently say 'please' and 'thank-you' or simply "TA" :) and I have 22 million mates here who are always wishing me a good day in that charming Australian accent.Its fantastic but its not Asia and I pray to God that it doesn't become so.
Australia is unique country.Just because one maintains ties with different nations be it for reasons of cultural heritage or business one doesn't need to become that nation/continent.I hope Australia is recognised as Australia for ever.
As far as learning a second language is considered; yes its a good thing and so is improving your general knowledge and being good at mathematics and science and eating all your green vegetables.What's the big deal if Kevin Rudd speaks Mandarin?I speak 4 languages too.Maybe Kevin Rudd saved some money because he didn't have to hire an interpreter.That's about it.Its not like the Chinese premier is going to say "You know what? Lets pay whatever price the Australians are asking for their iron ore because my good buddy Kevin has briefed me about the superior qualities of their ore and the advantages of buying Australian ore over Brazilian ore. Sure he must be speaking the truth because he briefed me about it personally and that too in Mandarin."
Ill leave it at that before I get funny ideas. :)
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Australia is (almost) all of those things: "some 32% said Australia was more part of Asia, 31% said it was part of the Pacific, and 31% said it was not part of any region" is a reasonably accurate summary. We're a big island in the Pacific and Indian Oceans near Asia with (originally) Anglo roots and US ties and a diverse multicultural background... but we trade mostly with Asia. So for me, being part of Asia is very much part of the equation for us. Especially as trade and relationships with Asia will only increase in the next century. (Plus the food's great).
Australians should endeavour to speak another language. I'm always impressed with friends from OS who can speak the lingo of neighbouring countries, and since much of our future is tied to Asia, Asian languages should be high up on that list. However, as I'm trying to learn an East Asian language myself (Korean) I can testify that they're quite difficult to learn (French at High School was way, way easier if memory serves). Mandarin, Japanese and Korean (and Arabic) are the hardest to learn for English-speakers (I believe). So, kids, for the future, get stuck into an Asian language now! Friends and business colleagues from OS are quietly appalled by our lack of willingness to learn another language.
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I agree with djavous in that Australia will never become part of any continental classification/grouping. It has been said for several decades now that Australia will become more and more part of the asian region. I do not believe this is the case. Whilst business and tourism ties have increased, there has not been a significant alignment with asia in any other major areas. Modern Australia can be pretty much summed up as: from Britain/Europe - government, history, historical core culture, ethnic compostion etc.; from USA - strategic alignment and ties, modern cultural influences; and from Asia - business and trading ties, university students, slight majority of contemporary immigration and strategic outlook. These basic and core considerations will not change unless there are major changes to the world in the future.
And with regards to Michael's comment about learning french in school, Id like to say that there is more to it than geographic considerations. I am 19 at the moment and learnt compulsory japanese in school from ages 9-15. From that investment of time and money I can say hello, goodbye, my name, and count to 50. At about 14 I decided I still wanted to learn another language, but not start with one that is probably the most alien to english as possible. So I learn french in my own time as a hobby. I do not believe I am an exception in this either.
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There is a 'strong English connection' but the Queen's birthday holiday is not evidence of it, any more than the UK having bank holidays shows that poms love their banks.
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Australia...
where is it?
The Indian Ocean - yes.
The Pacific Ocean - yes.
The Southern Ocean - yes.
The Coral Sea - Yes.
Etc.
Darwin is closer to Port Moresby and Jakarta than it is to Canberra.
Hobart is closer to Antarctica than it is to Darwin.
We're far away from everything except NZ, PNG and Indonesia - and once you get here, everything's still far away... Perth to Brisbane is like London to Iraq.
As for socio-political standings.. we seem to be reversing the old "trade follows the flag" standard. Our politics are slowly, slowly following what our businesses have known for ages - you've got to deal in Asia.
You can start to see the trend emerging by where we're travelling. Tiger Air, Air Asia etc now flying out of Australian terminals..
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Australia is Australia. It is a continent of its own. Why isn't that enough?
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What should be remembered is that until recently,- post WW2-, India and all of SE Asia, except Thailand, consisted of colonies/dominions of different European Empires, and in the case of the Philippines, the US. China had considerable European/American mercantile interests. Japan had primarily a US postwar occupation
So speaking about 'Asia' involves not only a broad mix of cultures. sometimes with little in common, but also the vestiges of historical European/American influence
I'm not sure that Australia is really so exceptional in the region
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Unless you plan on actually using that other language, and especially if you speak English, arguably the world's universal language, I believe it is a huge waste of time to learn another language. You would be better off doing and learning things that could actually make a difference in your life and maybe even the lives of others.
I say this as a person that is fluent in more than one language. :)
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Perhaps Australia is a global nation.
Its wide ties to such disparate parts of the planet as mentioned in Nick's blog would suggest that.
As the most polyglot nation on Earth, Australia is building a reputation of being truly global in both its people and its outlook.
It is one of the few nations on the planet to have coastlines on two oceans and one of the even fewer nations with coastlines on three.
Here, the old British positionings of the world do not apply.
The Far East is the Near West, the Middle East is the Middle West and the Balkans are the Far West.
Europe is not THE continent it is a continent.
In my travels throughout the world I am often referred to as a European or a Westerner.
I am none of the above, I am an Australian and I am a Southerner.
Yes, we are unique.
# 3. djavous:
Beautifully put!
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I agree with Greg Warner, djavous, and most of the other commenters here: Australia falls into many categories and yet none completely; it is its own region with a mixed population and unique history, with various influences along the way.
I live in Japan, and most people here would have trouble getting their heads around the idea that Australia is 'Asian' somehow. Even the notion of Australia playing soccer (Japan calls it that too) in the Asian Confederation seems bizarre to them and I'm forever explaining why it does. Culturally & linguistically, Australia is closer to Europe/USA and yet msot of our trade is with Asian countries. Those are the realities so perhaps there's no point even wondering about which region the country 'belongs' to.
It's a shame the number of Asian language students in Australia is falling. For all their dealings with each other, there is still a lot of misunderstanding between Australia & its neighbors at times and it'd be much easier to beat that with a larger multilingual population. I remember the Australian Federal Tourism Minister was fired once for doing an unapproved interview on Japanese TV in Japanese. I always thought that was bizarre.
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Nick - I think I can understand the reason for this blog but as you see from the responses Australians seem comfortable with a EU/American/Asian identity.
How can you posssibly classify a Nation that occupies a continent and is one of the most multicultural nations on earth.
I would be interested though in yours on the UK identity. Is the UK a part of the Commonwealth, or is it part of the EU or is it the 51st state. To confuse matters further those inside the UK often think of themselves first as Scotts, Welsh, Cornish etc.
A recent poll here in London showed that a significant number of people living in London consider it to have an identity quite distinct from the rest of England.
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Australia is not very Asia-literate, but seems to be doing quite well nonetheless. Australians drive Asian cars and enjoy some Asian food, but culturally they are more comfortable with the US and UK. In my youth I studied Chinese and I am still able to speak and read the language quite fluently. This skill has proved to be utterly useless in Australia, work-wise, but it has given me a few interesting insights into how our big northern neighbour works, plays and thinks. I don't think there's any point encouraging Australians to learn Asian languages solely from an economic point of view. It would, however, be nice to see a bit more local understanding of the culture, which - like it or not - now has a major influence on Australia and the rest of the world.
Australians still aren't at ease with Asia. 'Asian' still has derogatory connotations here. My work colleagues think nothing of travelling to the US or Britain for holidays, but the only Asian destinations they would consider are Euro-friendly places like Bali, Phuket and Hong Kong.
I'm not saying Australia should consider itself part of Asia, but I think the 'Lucky Country' is lulled by its mineral wealth into a dangerous sense of complacency about its relations with its neighbours to the north.
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Nick, I think your question is a very euro centric one. As an Australian who has lived in the UK for these last 8 years, I'm rather confident in saying the UK and Australia are two very different places, despite thinking the contrary before moving here.
Australia has a very distinct place in the world as far as I'm concerned. Here's how I see it... It has a very British/European foundation, it has it's very own evolved identity - no other country, you could reasonably argue, has Australia's feel, attitude, lifestyle, outlook, heritage and so on. The US is very different though similar in it's heritage, NZ is very much more euro-centric than Australia, yet has it's own identity also. Our nearest other big neighbour, Indonesia, is completely different again. Our biggest trading partners, China and Japan have no obvious similarities... Australia, like the US is very self reliant unlike most of Europe, culturally and to a degree economically.
I think it could be argued that the UK has a far more undefined place. Commonwealth? Europe? US? It's certainly not strong in Asia with the possible exception of India and Singapore. But then again, the US and Australia probably have a bigger influence.
Australia is unique and doesn't really need to 'fit' with a given region - as long as it gets along with it's neighbours and trades with whomever, it'll be fine.
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The question that was asked didn't allow for the 'Australia is its own region' to be selected, instead giving only the Pacific region or no region as the only possible options other than another continent.
I would guess that if 'Australia is its own region' was allowed then the 31 percent that said 'no region' and the 31 percent that said 'the Pacific' would mostly choose the 'Australia' option making the results less interesting.
Whichever way you try to define a country's place in the world, it will always fail for another country using the same criteria. Language doesn't work as all of the America's and much of Africa speak a European language. Trade also is no determinant of how a nation sees itself. One of China's biggest trading partners is America but I doubt that Chinese people feel part of the American region or American's feel part of the Asian region.
Geologically we are connected to India (although we are now breaking apart) and crashed into Asia some millions of years ago, meaning India isn't Asian either.
Are we the only people who would ask ourselves such a question? Are there other research organizations around the world asking their citizens this same question? Are Brazilians or Argentineans being asked if they feel European because they speak Portuguese and Spanish or had descendants from that continent?
Djavous had it right when he/she said that Australia is a unique country, enough said.
So now we can all say together, "we're all individuals, we're all different" except the people at the Lowy Institute who can chime in at the end with, "I'm not".
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I think it would be natural for Australians to feel an affinity towards Europe; almost 90% of the population is of European descent, including the British Isles. When I look at the last census fugures, this is what I find:
- the most commonly used ancestry was Australian (37.13%),
- followed by English (31.65%),
- Irish (9.08%),
- Scottish (7.56%),
- Italian (4.29%),
- German (4.09%),
- Chinese (3.37%), and
- Greek (1.84%).
The rate of Immigration to Australia (after WW 2) was phenomenal: almost 5.9M up until the year 2000; of course this meant that at that time, 2/7 Australians were born overseas. The five largest immigrant groups were those from
- the United Kingdom,
- New Zealand,
- Italy,
- Vietnam, and
- China.
All this being researched, I personally see Australia as more a part of the Asian community – not by descent, but by trading priorities, economic strategy, future development.
Of course, Australia is profoundly different from other Asian nations. Australia has only begun to enact a relatively independent foreign policy from Britain and the US. Thank goodness, Australia is ceasing what has been labeled as its dependence “syndrome” (first with Britain, and then with the US).
I suppose the next question is: can Australia ever be accepted as part of the Asian community?
Asia is profoundly different from Australia. Culturally, Australia has been unambiguously oriented towards the West.
The Hawke-Keating period of government (1983-1996) saw the development of a much more multilateralist approach in Australia's foreign policy. It was in the mid-80s that the Hawke Labor Government really 'discovered' Asia, and set about a deliberate course of 'engagement'. At this time all parts of Asia were experiencing phenomenal growth rates and increases in disposable income.
Asia was suspicious of Australia's motives. No doubt Austrralia helped herself by providing a considerable amount of aid to many countries in Southeast Asia. However the perception remained in some Asian countries that Australia was simply trying to jump on the Asian gravy train.
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Muhammad, put it bluntly: "When the British were rich, Australia wanted to be British. When the Americans were rich, Australia wanted to be American. Now that Asia is rich, Australia wants to be Asian."
Australia's motivation in fact was likely pushed by the very real threat of the world breaking up into economic blocs - NAFTA, the EU, and some as-yet undefined Asian grouping. Australia felt isolated.
Aainst this backdrop in 1989, during a period of exceptionally high Australian diplomatic standing in the Asia-Pacific, that then-Prime Minister Bob Hawke proposed what was to become APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). Initially, the APEC proposal was framed so vaguely that it was thought that Hawke was talking about a grouping only incorporating East Asia. With the trade tensions existing at the time, the proposal gained some quick support, especially from a key nation, Japan. Curiously however, membership of the grouping was almost immediately expanded to incorporate the US, and that alas, was the death knell. The APEC grouping at that time rapidly collapsed. What should have been one of Australia's finest diplomatic achievements turned into nothing because Australia had not yet developed the ability to say 'no' to the US, something that would have truly impressed the Asians.
Australia's continuing attempts to ingratiate itself into the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) also indicates that Asia - not just Malaysia's Mahathir - simply find Australia hard to accept as being 'Asian'. This is completely reasonable: Australia - for all its pretence of multicultural diversity - is a predominantly European nation with a very Western perspective.
The Australian Asian conundrum is not so much a conundrum as it is Australians ACCEPTING their place in the world. They are neither American nor British; they are Asian, and that's where they should build their future. Unless and until Australia begins to decide for herself and not lockstep with the US or the UK, she will remain NON-Asian in an Asian block.
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These things change over time. The world is open and people go where they wish and have economic, intellectual and cultural interests. As much as governments try to control these things, and usually make misguided political decisions that hinder rather than help things, it is still what the average consumer buys that drives the relationships. Big business likes to be the focus when in reality it mainly is interested in political and tax advantages. The media likes to focus on the big companies and big financial deals but they really are less important than stated. So, if the consumer is buying products from China, that relationships will be a focus and if the public begins buying products from Vietnam because the companies start to produce there for cheaper labor than they gain more focus. It all seems complex but remains rather basic, it is the scam of intellectuals to justify salaries and convince the public that they just can't understand these things and that certainly beats a hard days work.
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I had an Aussie friend in Los Angeles who preferred the land down under to LA and was looking forward to going home...
Another friend in LA, a fairly well-off TV director Hollywood guy, was looking forward to retiring -- and sailing south to the forever sunny and lovely land down under...
Now that I think of it, I've never met an Aussie I didn't like.
From their world-view, they're 'On Top of the World'.
I occasionally turn my family globe up-side down in solidarity with them.
May their tribe increase, their economy be strong, and their international relationships grow in abundance.
Peace, ya'.
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So you're 'fluent in more than one language', are you AllenT2? if I translate that into 'truthish' I would take that mean to mean you know how to ask your missis to pass the beef jerky in broken Spanish.
Greg, back to your favourite word, I see, though I still dispute your 'fact'. I simply don't believe that there are more languages spoken in Aus than NYC or London. I used to work in the borough of Newham in London and we were regularly told about the 300+ languages spoken in our borough.
As for belonging, isn't Australia too far from anything to be part of anything? Where's the conundrum? We don't particularly regard ourselves as European here, even though we know England is in Europe. Can't you just have relationships with a country/continent without being part of it?
Despite regular comments about hating the English and how Britain is 'just an overcrowded island off the coast of France' etc. etc. Britain is still a major influence in Australia. Although it would make many Australians' teeth grind to admit it, too many are fixated on Britain. Like I've said before, the number of non-stories in your papers about Britain (particularly its falings) should embarrass most Australians. Your preoccupation with beating England in sport often looks irrational, as are the excuses when you lose. You are still a long way from being secure in your own identity.
Other ex-colonies such as Canada, New Zealand and India don't have the same issues as Australia, and as a consequence appear to be more mature societies. It would be good for you to catch up. However, with so many people like 11pete11 still so resentful towards a population that has never done anything to hurt him, I don't see it happening anytime soon.
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Cassandra, spot on about The UK with all our disparate identities. We in Liverpool have Wales just to our west, and so many of us now work or live there, add in the massive Irish influx over 150 years and the oldest Chinatown in Europe and it's quite a mix.
An accent like no other.
Everyone from south of Birmingham sounds the same to us in northern Britain.
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I think ghost #19 has it about right..'it is still what the average consumer buys that drives the relationships'...Relationships follow trade
For Australian trade, that's Asia
Stirling,#21 Australia being 'too far from anything' is usually a perspective from Europe or North America.
Asia is the most populous area in the world and just a few hours away on a plane
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#21. stirling222 wrote:
"Greg, back to your favourite word, I see, though I still dispute your 'fact'. I simply don't believe that there are more languages spoken in Aus than NYC or London".
I thought of you when I wrote that word : )
And I believe it is true...apparently the most polyglot nation used to be Israel...which seems to make sense because of immigration to both Australia and Israel from such a wide range of countries.
I also assume the USA ranks highly in the "polyglot" stakes, but then again taking stirling's point about NYC, although there are citizens from many nations, many of them share Spanish as their original language.
Can any other posters help on this subject?
Which nation has the most citizens who speak the most different languages?
Hopefully Nick and other posters will see this question as being on topic...
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That is awesome that Austraila also calls it soccer!!! ;)
But I have to admit I have never thought of Austraila as Asian.
I always have thought of Austraila as just Austraila.
When I was growing up, my parents used to put on BMX Bandits sometimes. I absolutely loved that movie! Lol. But that is what I think of when I think of Austraila. And think of Mad Max, too.
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If business were the reason to learn foreign languages,Australians would be advised to learn Spanish or Portugese,they are far more important than most Asian languages.French of course, is now,in international terms, a minor language.
#23@ Wollemi,
I agree,Asia is rapidly resuming its role as the centre of the World economy and Europe is the region that's 'too far from anything'.
#21@stirling 222,
I agree with your comment that we don't need to be part of a continent to have a relationship with it,consequently the question "Is Australia part of Asia?" is meaningless.
I hope you're not generalising about Australians' attitude to the British,some of us couldn't give a rat's who wins at some ridiculous sport.As to unflattering reports in the press,UK journalists dish it out from time to time,as well.So neither Australians or British should..er, whinge.
I think you'll find that many nations have some sort of 'identity' uncertainty, particularly those you mentioned.
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"where does Australia fit within the region and the world?"
I think Australia fits within Australia. We are our own region. I and I would think every other Australian would identify themself as Australian.
Yes we have commercial trade ties and heritage from other regions but we certaintly are not part of the Asian region.
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"....and didn't the All Whites do extraordinarily well against Italy!"
Yes Sir, they most certainly did!!
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HA HA! Cant stop laughing at #29 ninetofivegrind.Yes they did really well sir! Youve done well to slip it in here too.We wouldnt have known about that in the midst of all this serious discussion if you hadnt told us.Its good to celebrate.Man you are hilarious. :).
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Australia is not in the Asian region. It's just that the nearest other countries are Asian. Or is it Melanesian?
But they're not really that near - Africa, Europe and North America have closer borders or shores to Asia than Australia does. Mexico City is about 2300km nearer to Ottawa than Canberra is to Jakarta, to get it in perspective.
Anyway as an Aussie I'll freely admit that the All Whites have shown a superior attitud to the Socceroos in South Africa, another two countries that uses the word "soccer" when appropriate for disambiguation - after all the term orginated in the UK
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By all accounts Australians have a good thing going, don't muck it up wishing to be something you're not and don't need to be. Let Asians worry about being more like Australia.
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29 djavous:
I salute you as well sir!
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stirling222 wrote:
"So you're 'fluent in more than one language', are you AllenT2? if I translate that into 'truthish' I would take that mean to mean you know how to ask your missis to pass the beef jerky in broken Spanish."
So you start off your long response to Greg, and this topic, by choosing to try and insult me first and disrespecting my wife by including her in your insult? What kind of low-life are you?
I reported your response to the moderators, just to see the fairness of their moderation, but apparently insults are allowed so long as they prefer your kind of politics. No surprise, coming from the BBC.
I suspect that my post will be deleted for rightly calling you what you are.
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The answer to this question is quite simple. Australia is neither Asian nor European. It is the west island of New Zealand.
Dont believe me? Watch the Aussies support the All Whites against Paraguay tonight...
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Where does Autralia fit in ? Geographically it,of course, does fit within Asia or to be more specific, within Asia Pcific.But culturally it is akin to Europe. After all, Australia is vintage Britain.No wonder, Australians may have their soulmates in the United States too, both being nations of immigrants and being former British colonies, and both being Enlish speaking.And then the Australia-Brtain-US trio is mercantily advanced countries.The trio is teaching a good lesson to the Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan by fighting ruthless wars there.
But commercially the Australians have to look towards the Asian countries which have thriving population and good prospects for investment as the markets in Europe and America are already saturated.ANZUS ties seem to be in limbo and need to be strengthened. Of necessity, Australia may have to translocate their business in Asian countries.To have commercial ties with Asian countries,learning the major Asian languages-Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and Bahasa Indonesia- is not indispensable, even though it is obviously an added advantage.English is widely learnt and spoken in Asian countries.
But the egoistic Australian policy of restricting labour hire from Asian countries has inhibited globalization of labour. I do not understand what purpose it serves for the Australians to train their dogs to tend their flocks of sheep instead of hiring shepherds from Bangladesh for the purpose. Why not look towards Asia to win friends when all the world is a global village?
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'I do not understand what purpose it serves for the Australians to train their dogs to tend their flocks of sheep instead of hiring shepherds from Bangladesh for the purpose
I have working kelpies to tend my flocks of sheep. So I'll answer you in point form
1. Sheep in Australia are semi wild, they live in large (hundreds of acres) paddocks and see little of humans except when brought into the yards for shearing, vaccinations and drenching. The reason for the large paddocks is that the Australian landscape is barren and can only accommodate a limited carrying capacity ie sufficient food for a few sheep per acre. So mustering of these semi wild sheep from large paddocks is difficult,
2. It would take 1 shepherd all day to muster sheep and likely he/she would not be able to run fast enough to muster the whole flock. Taking all day tires out the sheep especially in the heat and the stress can lead to abortions in ewes. To say nothing of the health of the shepherd
3. Working dogs have an innate instinct to muster, it's related to an atavistic hunting instinct and they do the job quickly and with least stress to the sheep. Humans just do not have that capacity
4. Working dogs live in kennels. I doubt that Bangladeshi shepherds would appreciate the same cheap housing
5. Their puppies, likewise are trained on the job from the age of circa 6 months. I doubt that the children of the Bangladeshi shepherds could be trained in shepherding from the age of 6 months without attention from the Child Protection Authorities
6. Working dogs are not paid, they receive food and lodging (kennels) I doubt that Bangladeshi shepherds could receive the same working conditions without attention from the police and courts
7.Australian agriculture/pastoralism is largely unsubsidised. Paying wages is a big component of the running costs of commercial farms which have to compete with EU and US subsidised agriculture. So Australian agriculture relies substantially on contract labour ie short term purpose driven labour such as shearing contractors or at harvesting, people who come for a few days, not on the regular payroll
8. Australian agriculture is largely mechanised, more efficient and it keeps down labour costs
Basically, Ahsan, I think you're trying to translate a different form of labour intensive cheap wage agriculture which might work in Bangladesh to a different economy and different landscape
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The reason why language studies are declining is simple ; asian immigrants "study" a language they are already fluent in and get straight As. Locals simply can't compete.
Australia is clearly European. What does trade mean ? We don't have any more trade with Asia than any other Western country anyway.
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Australia does not know what it is. It would like to be 'British-esque' but it can't because Britain is now mainly interested in Europe so it has made an attempt at being 'half Asia'n which appears to have been economically great but socially a disaster which has resulted in a divided nation like no other
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Australia is part of the Occident.However that does not mean it should stay oblivious to Asia.One cannot judge a country by few people,but the attacks on Indians in Melbourne seems to cast serious doubts on whether Australia is a tolerant society as a whole.
Why is immigration such a big issue ?One cannot deny that Australia is a big landmass and has population of only 21 million.Why not be open to Asian immigrants ?
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Australia is situated smack-bang in the middle of the Asia-Pacific. It makes absolute sense to learn Asian languages, as I always find that it is through learning a language one starts to understand the culture. It is important to learn these things, not only to stamp out racism, but also to help to communicate to these countries, some of which are in serious trouble, for example Laos. It is obvious to me that it is very appropriate to learn Asian languages.
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