Is Australia a completely divided nation

The older we get the more we value harmony and the less we like conflict. Some of us feel that some things are ‘worth fighting for’. Some of us actually enjoy antagonism. Some of us feel it’s ‘healthy’. But a lot of us have seen too much of conflict and wonder if we’d all be better off if it hadn’t happened.

This is one reason that there’s so much disillusionment, particularly among older people, with the current state of politics in Australia. It seems to be all about point-scoring – or even better landing some knock-out blows on our ‘opponents’. We have to search hard for someone who puts forward some positive ideas about what the role of government should be and what policies should be pursued – let alone for a politician who might work cooperatively with someone else in the interests of people in general. It’s easier to pick a fight and go for ‘victory’ than grapple with ideas about what serves the good of the majority.

‘Competition’ can, of course, be a force for good. It can bring out the best in us. ‘Competitions’ can result in an individual, or a team, performing to the highest standards, be it in music, sport or cooking. It can mean that ‘spectators’ are able to witness people performing to the best of their ability and providing an enjoyable spectacle. In the case of government, it can lead those who we elect to govern us to pursue the best possible social and economic policies.

But sometimes competition can bring out the worst in us. It can create conflict where none should exist. It can divert us from the pursuit of activities that would be of greater benefit to our fellow human beings.

A case in point experienced every year around the middle of the year is the ‘State of Origin’ rugby league competition between two Australian States (New South Wales and Queensland). In these States there is considerable interest and many passionate supporters. The reader or viewer of popular media can hardly be unaware of the annual contest, though one may wonder if the amount of coverage in the most widely consumed media is a wholly accurate reflection of the depth of general interest in the event. It certainly brings out some comparisons and analysis that reflect a ‘them and us’ attitude that many see as verging on the childish.

Putting aside the fact that it’s about a game that most people outside these States have little interest in and the fact that the competition is of as much interest to most Australians as would a competition in a little known and appreciated game between northern and southern Tasmanians, the main issue is that the sentiments that the inter-State competition generates reinforce feelings of being a ‘Queenslander’ or a ‘New South Welshman’ rather than an Australian.

This is reflected in (or does it reflect?) other rivalries. Some States are richer than others because of the mineral resources (particularly iron ore and coal) that they are lucky enough to have under their soil. Should this wealth be regarded as belonging to all Australians or just to the residents of those States where the minerals occur? Is it reasonable for residents of these States to resent some of ‘their’ income, including the spin-off income made as a result of their luck, being re-distributed to other States whose lack of natural resources has made them relatively poor? To take another case, should we think, as some do, that rain that falls in Queensland (they’ve even been known to call it ‘our rain’) should be dammed and used for the benefit of Queenslanders and not be allowed to flow south into other States and benefit others?

What do you think about these questions? What do you consider to be the main forces that you see as dividing us – or uniting us – as Australians? Are they to be encouraged – or resisted?