Pauline Hanson used her National Press Club address to argue that Australia should aspire to become a monocultural society.
As I listened, I found myself thinking about my parents.
They arrived in Australia during the final years of the White Australia Policy. They came to study, then to work, believing that education, hard work and contribution would allow them to build a future here. My father was an accountant. My mother was a nurse. They spoke two languages fluently, one of them English.
Yet despite everything they contributed, they experienced discrimination that would be difficult for many Australians to imagine today. People moved away from them on public transport. They were served last in shops. Rental properties suddenly became unavailable when landlords realised they were Indian. After eight years of living and working in Australia, their visa application was rejected.
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."
His words came back to me as I reflected on a larger question: What exactly does a monocultural Australia look like in a country where 51 per cent of people have a migrant background? And perhaps more importantly, what are we really being asked to wind back?
This is a personal reflection on migration, belonging, identity and the Australia my parents hoped for, and the Australia I hope we continue building.
