Voices of Australia: Suggested answers - rightsED
Voices of Australia
9. Suggested answers
Activity sheet: Find someone who
To be completed by students.
Activity sheet: Find a character who
- Selina - lived in Malaysia once.
- Diana - a fan of Led Zepplin.
- Aunty Kathy - a respected Elder in Australia.
- Arama - works with children who speak more than one language.
- David - came to Australia in 1970.
- Chris - can perform songs and dances from the Ukraine.
- Vicki - grew up on a sheep farm.
- Adela - escaped from civil war in El Salvador.
Activity sheet: Timeline response
- 1500-1700 AD
- 'Terra nullius' is a Latin phrase meaning that the land belonged to no one.
- 'Pemulwoy' was an early Aboriginal resistance leader who launched attacks on
European settlements in the Sydney region. - 1817.
- John Batman is famous for attempting to make a 'treaty' with Aboriginal tribes
near Melbourne and to 'compensate' them for the use of their land. - Afghan camel drivers helped with the development of communications and railway
lines throughout Central Australia. - 160,000.
- The first mosque was built in 1888 in Adelaide.
- The gold rush of 1851.
- 1962.
- 1966.
- Gough Whitlam.
- See below
Date |
Arrived from |
Reason for leaving |
1788-1868 |
England |
Sent as convicts |
Date |
Arrived from |
Reason for leaving |
1839 |
China, Italy, Greece |
Migrating to Australia |
1847 |
Pacific Islands |
Brought to Australia to work as shepherds |
1848 |
Germany, Hungary |
Fleeing political upheaval in Europe |
1851 |
Europe, Asia |
To work as labourers and miners during the gold rush |
1860 |
Afghanistan |
Camel drivers arrive to work in Central Australia |
1860 |
South Sea Islands |
Brought out to work in Queensland's cane fields |
1940's |
Europe |
Refugees from the war |
1970's |
Vietnam |
Refugees from the war |
1980's |
Africa |
Refugees fleeing the war in Ethiopia |
Additional information
- 1991 onwards. Refugees arrive from the conflict in the Balkans.
- 1994. Refugees arrive from the conflict in Rwanda.
- 2000 onwards. Refugees and asylum seekers arrive from many Middle Eastern Nations
including Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Iran. - 2000 onwards. Refugees arrive from the conflict in Sudan.
- The purpose of the Inquiry was to discover why so many Aboriginal people were
dying in prison. - 1992.
- The Mabo decision was important as it found that Aboriginal people's right to
their traditional land was not extinguished by the British acquiring
sovereignty. - *Students can generate their own responses here. These may vary according to
their knowledge and experience. Suggested responses for discussion include:
- 1995. Racial Hatred Act is passed making racial vilification
unlawful - 2000. Sydney Olympics
- 2000. Corroboree 2000 - hundreds of thousands of people show their support
for Reconciliation - 1996. Federal Parliament endorses the Parliamentary Statement on Racial
Tolerance - 2001. Debates over the rights available to asylum seekers.
Activity sheet: Listening to Voices of Australia
Before listening
- To be answered by students.
- To be answered by students.
- 'Multiculturalism' is when people from different countries and cultural
backgrounds can live together peacefully. A multicultural society is one in which
different cultural practices can be shared and enjoyed with mutual respect. - Migration has allowed the introduction of many, varied cultural practices in
Australia leading to a more diverse society. People from different countries have
brought their traditions and foods to Australia, which many Australians enjoy.
Migrants have contributed to the work force by becoming employees and also creating
new jobs and economic opportunities for others. - To be answered by students.
During listening
Part 1 - Australia: our home
- Being Australian means to value freedom, equality and respect for others.
Australians value a 'fair go'.
- Flo Watson - Spiritual connections
- Kathy Mills - Sacred places
- Steve Pratt - The outdoors, easy going lifestyle
- Marat Sverdlov - Peace and stability, our values
- Razia Zahedi - Freedom to study
- Thao Nguyen - Our values
Part 2 - Unexpected Friendships
- Amareswar Galla - political figure in a library (Gough Whitlam)
- Denis Asaf - going to church
- Dragana Danicic - former war enemies (Serbia/Croatia)
- Luke Gay - sharing religious festivals and feasts
- Shahnaz Rind - during university
Part 3 - Racism: Not in my backyard
Action |
How did each character deal with the situation? |
Questions about nationality |
By acknowledging that racism is based ignorance and helping to educate |
Being ignored by shopkeepers |
By sharing background and stories. |
Denial of community existence in history lessons |
By sharing his culture with his community, focussing especially on young |
Part 4 - Breaking down barriers
1 |
Barbeque |
By taking food and mixing socially with both communities at a music gig |
2 |
Workplace |
By wearing the hijab to work and engaging in conversation with fellow |
3 |
Football |
Dean does not tolerate racism on the field and so he confronts it when it |
4 |
Language |
Vicki had to interpret for her father after a car accident. She now works as |
5 |
Education |
Dorothy's school provides clothing and basic school needs for students as |
Part 5: From tolerance to respect
1 |
Makes the effort to be reliable and trains hard. |
2 |
Encourages young people to be proud. |
3 |
Encourages young people to work hard to achieve their goals. |
4 |
Encourages young people to believe in themselves and to not be silly. |
Thao Nguyen arrived in Australia in the 1970's from Vietnam. Recently she
represented Australia as a youth representative at the United Nations General
Assembly. This meant that she was the first non-Anglo person and the first person from a refugee background to represent Australia.
After listening
- Tolerance is being 'put up with'. Respect is appreciating someone for who they
are and taking an interest in their life and culture. - To be answered by students.
- For discussion.
- For discussion.
- For discussion.
Activity sheet: Investigating racial discrimination
Short answer questions
- 1975
- Everyone in Australia.
- Federal.
- 'Direct discrimination' is to treat someone less favourably because of his or her
race, colour, descent, national origin, or ethnic origin than someone of a different
'race' would be treated in a similar situation. - 'Indirect discrimination' is to make everyone satisfy the same criterion when the
effect is that a higher proportion of people of one 'race' cannot satisfy it. - Remove the request for 'Asian' person to insure the job is not race specific.
Remove the requests for the person to be a 'young woman' to ensure the job is open
for a person of any age and gender. Remove the request for the employee to have
'long, dark hair and a pleasant smile' as these qualities exclude people and are not
necessary job requirements. - Everyone in Australia.
- To promote public awareness and education
- Anti-discrimination and human rights complaints
- Human rights compliance (Specifically - according to the Race Discrimination
Act 1975) - Policy and legislative development
- The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (ICERD)
Jurisdiction |
Racial vilification |
Cth |
Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Part IIA) |
NSW |
Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (Part 2 Division 3A) |
QLD |
Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (section 124A) |
VIC |
Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 |
SA |
Racial Vilification Act 1996 (section 4) |
WA |
Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (section 160) |
ACT |
Discrimination Act 1991 |
TAS |
Anti-Discrimination Act 1988 (section 19) |
NT |
NT Anti-Discrimination Act 1996 |
Essay questions
To be completed by students.
Case Studies
Questions are for discussion.
Activity sheet: Family tree
To be completed by students.
Activity sheet: Poetry
To be completed by students.
Activity sheet: Reflecting on literature
To be completed by students.
Activity sheet: Get creative
To be completed by students.
Activity sheet: Matching exercise
1g) 2k) 3b) 4m) 5d) 6e) 7a)
8h) 9l) 10n) 11i) 12j) 13c) 14f)