Democracy and Social Justice in Australia - Coursework Example

Running head: DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN AUSTRALIA Democracy and Social justice in Australia Name Institution Course Date Democracy and Social justice in Australia Democracy refers to a political government that is either performed either directly by the people or indirectly by elected representatives who are deemed to be spokespersons for the people. Democracy is based on two fundamental principles, equality and freedom, which are key to the execution of the law of the majority. Equality is achieved by considering all citizens as being the same before the law while freedom is provided and guaranteed through legitimized rights that are usually contained within a constitution (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2004). Social justice refers to the application of justice within the society so as to achieve a socially just society. It is based on the notions of equality and human rights and therefore entails a large amount of progressive taxation, economic egalitarianism, equal distribution of incomes and property in order to achieve equality of outcome as well as equality of opportunity. It is thus clear that social justice is a fundamental pillar in the achievement of democracy in any nation. The lack of social justice within a society will play as a major impediment to the realization of democracy. The commonwealth’s social justice policy intends to control or standardize the inequalities that are persistent in the Australian society. Mutual policies are geared towards eradicating the inequalities which result from racial, cultural, religious or linguistic disparities. They are founded on the basis that every Australian irrespective of the origin, religion, cultural or racial background is entitled to equal treatment and should be accorded every right that they deserve. It is on this basis that multiculturalism articulates and compliments the wider social justice policy which is intended to ensure that every citizen enjoys equally in terms of opportunities in Australia. This can only be achieved through a fair distribution of the country’s resources, equal access to vital services like housing, health care and education and equal rights in terms of the law. Every individual is also entitled to participation in the country’s development activities and in decision making within the laws governing the nation (Smolicz, 1999). Diversity in Contemporary Australia The ethnic, tribal and religious diversity of modern Australia implies that there exist obstacles of language, culture or prejudice which persistently hinder some Australians from getting a fair treatment in regard to sharing of the country’s assets. Multicultural strategies are aimed at reducing such obstacles and to equalize life opportunities. Australia has been regarded or considered as a nation of liberal democratic. This is a contradiction since many Asian countries view the nation as one in which few differences exist between the law, commerce and politics. In terms of liberal parlance, the difference between the state and civil society is also insignificant. The disintegration of the application of the law is less evident or prevalent in Australian politics as compared to other established nations such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. This is evident in the manner in which the strength of the workers in Australia as compared to other workers in the world has militated against any inclusive suspension of the law (Addison & Worswick, 2002). Immigrants Australia is well recognized as one of the multi-cultural nations in the world. Australia has been home for millions of immigrants ever since the British settled in the land that is now known as Australia in 1788 (Khakbaz, Gopalkrishnan & Babacan, 2004). Since 1945, the number of immigrants that has arrived in Australia stands at about 6.5 million migrants. This means that almost one quarter of whole Australian population was born overseas (Khakbaz, Gopalkrishnan & Babacan). Despite being a multi-cultural nation, immigrants continue to experience a number of problems when they arrive in Australia. These problems are both internal and external. Internal problems stem from the direct shifting into a new country and the resulting efforts to establish a new life amongst people who are total strangers. External problems stem from differences that exist between people and their respective cultures as the immigrants end up facing social injustices such as isolation, prejudice, stereotypes as well as racism. It is thus clear that immigration has been beneficial to the Australian nation since immigrants make up a large percentage of the nation’s total population and thus contributing greatly to the nation (Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, 2001). Despite this input into the nation’s economy and social well being, immigrants continue to encounter difficult problems in their endeavors to build a new life both for themselves as well as their families. Immigrants who come to Australia are from various countries in the world. They get into Australia through a variety of migration programs run by the government such as the family migration stream, the special eligibility immigrants stream, the skill migration stream, as well as other humanitarian programs which offer refugees and people who are deemed to have special humanitarian need asylum (Immigration Museum, 2003). Problems encountered by immigrants These immigrants normally encounter a number of problems such as language barriers, financials costs, physically movement in addition to socio-psychological challenges. These challenges stem from a range of factors including isolation, prejudice and racism and a conflict resulting from ethnic identity. They are also faced by practical concerns such as language barriers, unemployment, and other socio-economic issues. These immigrants also have to deal with emotion and psychological adjustment that they face during the assimilation and acculturation process once they have arrived into the country (Liu, 2004). All these problems; employment, language barriers, and the lack of finances; contribute to physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of the immigrants (Jamil, Nassar-McMillan, & Lamber, 2007). In addition, some of the immigrants may be in the possession of highly placed qualifications but they are unable to pursue careers that befit these qualifications and skill in Australia due to their inability to find jobs within the towns that they reside in. All of these factors may contribute to depression, anxiety and low self-esteem (Jamil, Nassar-McMillan, & Lamber, 2007; Nikelly, 1997). For instance, newly arrived immigrants in Australia have a challenge in acquiring medical attention. This is because most of them usually settle in the rural and regional neighborhoods that lack specialized services that normally target migrants since they are normally located within major urban areas. In the event that these migrants need these specialized services, they will be unable to have direct access to them and thus could end up dying due to the lack of essential medical care (Orb, 2002). In addition, health service provision still lacks for such groups of migrants such as the young migrants and refugees, second generation refugees as well as the aged (www.crr.unsw.edu.au). Most of the migrants that seek asylum in Australia are normally not eligible for Medicare creating a major difference in the provision of major health care services to such groups of needy people such as pregnant women and children who may require hospitalization (Coventry, Mackenzie & Guerra, 2001). Migrants who are holding temporary protection visas are normally not eligible for various commonwealth funded medical services such as limb prostheses. Racism in Australia In Australia, racism is closely linked to the history of colonization and migration. The original inhabitants, Aboriginal inhabitants and Torres Strait Islander people were evicted from their land and were discriminated against by the initial British and European settlers. This discrimination has had a great impact on the lives of the native Australians in the two centuries of the white settlement. The migration of individuals from various parts of the world resulted to a rising disparity in cultural and linguistic aspects of the Australian population. Prejudice and discrimination have been the regular forms of treatment to various groups of people who went to \Australia. People of other linguistic backgrounds apart from the English speaking nations have been widely affected by this form of treatment. This has been the norm irrespective of many government migration policies urging people to settle in Australia. Racist practices and strategies were also prevalent in the Australian law and institution until a few years ago (Addison & Worswick, 2002). The most striking example is the eviction of Aboriginal children from their families and the rejection of native people and Torres Strait Islander people’s applications for citizenships. In addition, the White Australian policy was intended to prevent immigration by people from other nations apart from the European nations. Unemployment levels are highest within the immigrants leading to a call by the authorities to restrict immigration of people into Australia. Though legislation has been put in place to safeguard the rights of all citizens there still exists a persistent legacy at the moment as a result of the effects of the racial practices. Australian social democracy had been linked with particular protections for its workers, among them the formal recognition of unions and their integration in the nation’s economic policy bodies, a high level of state ownership and guidelines of infrastructure and main industries. The system functioned through firm and definite assumptions that a constituent piece of the nation labor and capital (Smolicz, 1999) History and causes of racism in Australia The Australian society has turn into a more diverse due to the persistent immigration leading to variations in the Australian popular culture over time. Racist language and attitudes that were prevalent by the end of 19th century are not common in the 20th century. Racism however is still common albeit in different forms. Contemporary manifestations of racism which have been established in the recent past are associated with the ideals of national hood which are viewed incompatible with disparities. These racist ideas may be shown in diverse stereotyped views of the descriptions of the real Australians (Addison & Worswick, 2002). This expression of racism is founded on the principles of national culture in which marginal cultures are viewed as alien and a risk to social cohesion. It is composed of insidious cultural assumptions where the traditions and believes of the superior group in the society as taken as the norm. Due to that, the status and practices of the marginal groups especially those who are more strikingly different. These treatments are largely discussed in the media where they are depicted as significant and common sense and expressed via media images that do not clearly describe the Australian cultural diversity. In this manner, racist practices are reflected and reinforced through a policy of group integration and thus accepted into the popular culture. Racism affects everyone in the Australian society. While other people are affected positively, others are negatively affected resulted to failure in democracy. It destroys societies by minimizing the contributions of its members and interrupts peaceful co-existence and collaboration between groups. It destroys individuals by lowering their self-esteem and hinders them from realizing their potential. It is especially damaging to children as it hinders social expansion and limits education chances. The consequences of racism consequences of racism - social injustice, a poor producing economy and disunited community are obviously detrimental, both to its victims as well as the whole society (Smolicz, 1999). Conclusion Australian laws have barred people from engaging in racist activity or to encourage, provoke or permit racist practices. The laws are aimed at safeguarding the citizens who complain about racism. It is criminal to discriminate an individual on the basis of origin, color, ethnicity or religious background. Discriminating on the basis that an individual has a relative from a particular background is also outlawed. Racism is the greatest form of social injustice that affects Australians and particularly the immigrants. The government recognizes that democracy can not prevail in conditions of social injustice. It is thus committed towards eliminating or reducing racism as a form of social injustice. References Addison, T. & Worswick, C. (2002). The impact of immigration on the earnings of natives: Evidence from Australian micro data. , Vol. 78, pp. 68-78. Australian Department of Education (1999). Training and Employment. Adelaide: Adelaide press Centre for Refuge Research, University of New South Wales. The refugee convention: Where To From Here? Coventry, L., Mackenzie, D., & Guerra, C. (2001). Wealth of all nations-Identification of strategies to assist refugee young people in transition to independence. Melbourne: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. (2001). Refugee and Humanitarian Issues: Australia’s response. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia; 11. Immigration Museum. (2003). Frequently Asked Questions about Refugees. Retrieved 15 October, 2007, from http://immigration.museum.vic.gov.au/pdf/IMM001.pdf Jamil, H., Nassar-McMillan, S. C., Lamber, R. G. (2007). Immigration and attendant psychological sequelae: A comparison of three waves of Iraqi immigrants. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77 (2), 199 – 205 Khakbaz, M., Gopalkrishnan, N., & Babacan, H. (2004). Sustaining the regions: Issues of international migration, settlement and ethnic diversity. Paper presented at the 12th Biennial Conference of Population and Society: Issues, Research, Policy, Canberra, Australia. Retrieved on March 3, 2010 from http://www.apa.org.au/upload/2004- 4C_Khakbaz.pdf Liu, S. (2004). An examination of the social categorization of Chinese ethnic groups and its influence on intergroup relations in Australia. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, New Orleans Sheraton, New Orleans Retrieved on March 3, 2010 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p112466_index.html Nikelly, A. G. (1997). Cultural Babel: The challenge of immigrants to the helping professions. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, 3 (4), 221 – 233 Orb, A. (2002). Health care needs of elderly migrants from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds: A review of the literature. Retrieved on March 3, 2010, from: http://cra.curtin.edu.au/publicationsInformation/Health%20Care%20needs%20of %20elderly%20migrants%20literature%20review%20ORB.pdf Skutnabb-Kangas T. (2004), 'Principles for Making All Children High Level Multilinguals through Education'. Juncture Points in Languages Education, Multicultural Education Co- ordinating Committee, pp.43-59, Adelaide,. Smolicz, J.(1999), 'Countering Racism: On a voyage of discovery towards human rights', conference paper presented at the Tolerance or Respect? Countering Racism Seminar, South Read More