As we approach what is now a somewhat contentious Australia Day the question of what it means to be an Australian has never been more important..

In the past this topic has been a dog whistle to racists and xenophobes but in 2025 it is remains a very important question that transcends tawdry negatives.

My three year old granddaughter and I love the Seekers song:

“We are one and we are many and from all the lands on earth we come.

We share a dream, and sing with one voice

I am, you are, we are Australian”

Perhaps I am naive;  the issue is of course “what “dream" do we share and to what extent do we “sing” as one?

Western Sydney University chancellor Jennifer Westacott has urged Australians to use the celebration to rediscover civility and our larrikin sense of humour, saying the nation is losing its ability to engage in a contest of ideas

I also think Noel Pearson  said some very wise words in 2014, at the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Australian newspaper

Our nation is in three parts,” he told the audience. “There is our ancient heritage, written in the continent and the original culture painted on its land and seascapes. There is our British inheritance, the structures of government and society transported from the United Kingdom fixing its foundations in the ancient soil. There is our multicultural achievement: a triumph of immigration that brought together the gifts of peoples and cultures from all over the globe, forming one indissoluble commonwealth."

Answering the question “What does it mean to be Australian” may also help us move forward in managing the unresolved issues that follow on from the failed “Voice” referendum.

Michael Ondaatje, long a supporter of Tuesday Dialogues and head of the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science at Griffith University will lead the discussion with me.

What do you think?