Reengaging with Australia’s Asian connection
When it comes to establishing and developing Australia’s ‘Asia-relevant’ capabilities, Australia needs to start utilising the experiences and cultural knowledge of Australians from Asian backgrounds writes Jieh-Yung Lo
By Jieh-Yung Lo, Author, strategic advisor and consultant specialising in Australia-China relations
The rise of Asia has every nation in the world thinking and talking, whether it’s in the form of setting up trade missions, strategic documents, discussion papers or opinion articles, Australia is no exception. With so much talk about Australia preparing itself culturally and socially to engage with Asia, we seem to have forgotten that our experience with Asia can be traced back before Federation.
Thousands of people and families from across the Asian continent have made and called Australia home since the early days. Migrants from Asia made their way to Australia in many forms, from labourers, tradesman and refugees back in the 19th and 20th centuries to students and business investors in the modern day. The Chinese became one of the earliest migrants from Asia to settle permanently in Australia. This trend continued in the 1950s to 1980s with waves of migrants from Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia and Indonesia, followed by more recent migrants from South Korea, India and Sri Lanka.
Since the 19th century gold rushes in Victoria and New South Wales, through the labours of Chinese settlers, they built communities, pioneered new trade routes and cultural institutions that have forged the very shape of urban and remote Australia. Migrants from a range of Asian nations have contributed to the development of our multicultural nation with their rich cultural life and entrepreneurial enthusiasm.
The former Gillard Government’s much anticipated Asian Century White Paper included projections, statistics, and outlooks of Asia’s future growth, opportunities for Australia’s economy and how we build deeper relationships. But what it fails to mention is Australia’s social makeup and our connection with Asia through our successful migration history. To establish Australia’s ‘Asia-relevant’ capabilities, let’s start utilising the experiences and cultural knowledge of Australians from Asian backgrounds.
The white paper focused on strategies for embracing Asia, but what it did not recognise is that this is happening already in our backyard. A good example is the outer metropolitan suburb of Glen Waverley, once an anglo middle class suburb but within a few short years, transformed into one of the most popular Chinese cultural hubs in Melbourne. These cultural hubs exist everywhere around the country in all states and territories.
Australia is arguably one of the world’s most culturally diverse countries. Today, Australians come from more than 200 countries, identify with more than 270 ancestries and speak almost 400 languages. We have a strong multicultural community comprising of people from a range of Asian backgrounds. These bilingual and bicultural abilities are exactly what Australia needs to build our relationship with Asia.
My point is, that when it comes to better understanding Asia, Australia does not have to start from scratch. We have a large pool of talent that’s able and available to skilfully navigate and articulate through Asian culture and language. Australians from Asian backgrounds have a great deal of benefits to offer the Australian community and economy. They should be encouraged to maintain and foster these important skills and talents and contribute their knowledge and experiences to our developing shared culture and increasingly diverse global workplace.
Our cultural diversity remains an untapped resource. Individuals with knowledge of another culture and language have the ability to engage businesses to better understand and service the needs of increasingly diverse local and global clients and opening up new networks in international markets.
In the areas of diplomacy and foreign affairs, Australians from Asian backgrounds are able to provide us with a new outlook on the region. In addition to a new outlook, Asian Australians have the diplomatic skills, cultural knowledge and resources to advance Australia’s regional interests. Asian Australians have a unique and important role to play in changing the way in which Australia relate and engage with the Asian region. This resource remains unnoticed and unutilised.
Former Lord Mayor of Melbourne John So understands this important point. During a community event a few years ago, he said to me, “With Australia becoming more culturally diverse, governments and businesses cannot afford to ignore our Asian Australian talent pool. With so much talk about Australia embracing the Asian century, we have the resources and talent to do just that at our doorstep. We just need to give them confidence and an opportunity.”
Mr So believes it’s important for Australia to raise awareness of its localised Asian history and connection. Asian Australians and Australians from non Asian backgrounds need to embrace our history and take on board the lessons learned from the past. Relationships with our Asian neighbours need to be more than a business contract, we need to establish emotional connections that are based on cultural understanding and friendships. During his time as Secretary to the Department of Treasury, Dr Ken Henry believed we must further integrate our goals and objectives with Asia at a regional level. Dr Henry stated it would be a mistake to think that geography and/or geology alone will get Australia where we want with Asia.
For Australia to integrate successfully with Asia, we must reconnect and rediscover our migration history, a story that continues today. If we are to strengthen this interaction for the future, we need a coordinated effort from policy makers and the community. We must include and utilise the knowledge and cultural understanding possessed by Australians from Asian backgrounds. These underutilised resources could provide the best pathway for Australia as we move into the Asian century.
Jieh-Yung Lo is a writer, strategic advisor and consultant specialising in Australia-China relations. He is currently writing his first book “Australia’s Multicultural Ambassadors”, which examines Australia’s multicultural makeup and their underlying potential for statecraft and diplomacy to advance Australia’s global interests.