On Australia

For a long time I thought that this country was a lost cause, making plans to flee and find somewhere worth some national pride and affiliation. It felt like the nation was a servant to a dead British empire with an hypocritical anthem of sharing land, empty promises of multiculturalism in an era of race hate, and an ever-depleting identity. We were Americanising (a country which I do not consider ideal), monarchistic eunuchs with an allegiance to another country's powerless, meaningless royalty, and we slowly lost anything that used to be 'Australia'.
We lost our ridiculous phrases, irreverent manner, casual and open demeanour, friendly courage and love of our land. We became ken done charicatures of token puppets, iconic, yet banal architecture and carcinogenic lifestyle: all faded by vicious creatures and serial killers.

But I was wrong. All we need to be a great nation is to open our eyes. Like a newly born human, our nation's youth has developed an adolescent search for identity, history and a future worth pursuing.

These are the incontrovertible truths:
We are a desert land of scorched beauty and unique creatures finding innovation in their struggle to survive. Equally, we should promote our strength and perseverance through adverse environment and idolise the beauty of creative innovation.

We are a small continent, not just a large island. If we are to be a single country, we should acknowledge the vastness of our land and allow those who would attempt it, the chance to tame the wild wastelands. We should unite not as federation of states, but as nation shared: a single vision and law with bodies to apply these agreed rules of governance.

We are a nation in Asia, not a colony. We cannot deny our geography. We must not cling to this false and tired image of the 'summer britain' or 'England's far off colony'; we are a new land in the south- a meeting place for cultures and peoples, populated in majority by our curious neighbours and the world's explorers. We are a chance for new beginnings and the salvation of those who choose to test themselves in our terrain. The aboriginal people were not the first here and the English were not the last. 'Boundless plains to share' should have meaning. This meeting place should thrive with the input of limitless perspective and insight, without a national religion, limitations to the bounds of culture, nor immutable tradition. Australia must progress and develop, not as a smaller brother to other nations, but a powerhouse of world change in its own right. Sharing and acceptance will not weaken us, it is the lifeblood of our unique opportunity and potential. No other nation has such a platform for a truly global nation.

We should forge a republic with equal respect for all the sources of our history. We should write our laws with debate and discussion, tailored to the land we see before us, not the traditions of cultures and aristocracy born in a far off locale. We don't need a commonwealth, a monarch, a Union Jack, Union flag, Britannia anthem, nor governor-general.
This new Australia should be uniquely Australian in its identity- we have so many characteristic forms of life, land, manner and history. Australia didn't begin when it was named and won't end when it grows to maturity.

Our anthem will show resilience, innovation and the power within a connection of peoples.
Our flag will bring the pride of what makes Australia unique.
Our currency will hold a story of our history and that which we hold to be forever important.
Our constitution and concrete rights will be those which our people decide FOR our people. These will be the bond that holds us together.