Pauline Hanson used her National Press Club address to outline her concerns about Australia’s future and her belief that Australia should aspire to become a monocultural society.
Like many Australians, I listened carefully to what she had to say. While much of the debate that followed focused on whether people agreed or disagreed with her position, I found myself thinking about a different question.
What exactly does a monocultural Australia look like?
Not because I am worried about losing my culture or my identity. I know exactly who I am. I am Australian and I am Indian, and I have never felt the need to choose between the two.
My concern is something broader. When I think about Australia, I think about a uniquely Australian melting pot, a country that has drawn people from every corner of the world and transformed those stories into something distinctly Australian. To me, that is not a problem to solve. It is one of our greatest strengths.
What Does a Monoculture Mean?
Traditionally, a monoculture refers to a society where people are expected to share the same cultural norms, customs, language and identity.
But what does that mean in modern Australia?
Today, around 51 per cent of Australians were either born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas. Migration is not a side story in modern Australia. It is one of the central stories of modern Australia.
If we are pursuing a monocultural future, what exactly are we winding back?
Are we winding back the festivals that have become part of Australian life? The food, traditions and languages that are now woven into our communities? The idea that people can contribute to Australian society while retaining a connection to their heritage?
The Australia I grew up in had fish and chips and curry. Christmas and Diwali. AFL and Bollywood. None of those things weakened our national identity. Together, they helped shape it.
My Parents’ Australia
For me, this conversation is deeply personal.
My parents arrived in Australia during the years of the White Australia Policy. They came first to study and then to work, believing they could build a future through education, hard work and contribution.
My father was an accountant. My mother was a nurse. They spoke two languages fluently, one of them English. They worked hard, paid taxes and contributed to their community.
Yet they encountered discrimination that many Australians would find difficult to imagine today.
People moved away from them on public transport.
They were often served last in shops.
Rental properties suddenly became unavailable when landlords realised they were Indian.
My father was asked to leave a worksite because he was Indian. That instruction came from the CEO of the company.
My mother experienced prejudice from senior staff in the health system… just to call out a few experiences.
Then, after eight years of living, working and contributing in Australia, their visa application was rejected.
They had done everything Australia had asked of them. Yet they were told they could not stay.
For my parents, the message was clear. At that point in Australia’s history, race still played a significant role in determining who belonged and who did not.
Imagine spending eight years building a life in a country, only to discover that your contribution mattered less than the colour of your skin.
Yet when I ask my father about those experiences, he rarely speaks with bitterness. His advice was always simple.
“Make sure it doesn’t get you down.”
The Australia We Built
Australia has changed significantly since those days, and that progress is worth recognising.
Alongside the prejudice and discrimination, there were Australians who welcomed my parents. People who invited them into their homes, became lifelong friends and saw beyond the colour of their skin.
Those Australians helped shape the Australia I know today.
Like many Australians from migrant backgrounds, I have experienced discrimination too. But I have never felt the need to choose between being Australian and being Indian. Those identities coexist comfortably because they are part of the reality of modern Australia.
People continue to choose Australia because it offers opportunity, education, safety, freedom and the chance to build a better future.
That aspiration has helped shape the country we know today.
What Happens Next?
Of course, every country needs shared values. Respect for democracy, equality before the law, personal responsibility and mutual respect are foundations worth protecting.
But shared values are not the same as cultural uniformity.
My parents experienced an Australia where opportunity was sometimes influenced by race. The Australia I know today is far from perfect, but it is immeasurably better than that.
The question we should be asking is not how we return to some imagined monocultural past. The question is how we continue building a country where people from different backgrounds can contribute, belong and succeed together.
That is the Australia my parents came here seeking.
It is the Australia that gave me opportunity.
And it is the Australia worth protecting.