There is little in the way of an Australian nationalism in contemporary Australia and to the extent there is, it is underpinned by racism.

Not only is there little nationalism, Australia’s democracy is fundamentally flawed due to constitutional requirements over sovereignty which still shares nationhood responsibility with the UK, but increasingly the vestiges of sovereignty are being eclipsed by defence and other arrangements with the US.

In 1788, there was no Australian nationalism, putting aside the vexed question of Indigenous peoples, but by 1901 when the federation was enacted, states collectively identified a nation and agreed on a “national” government. Initially, the colonial population was made up of convicts and their keepers, the constabulary, artisans, and farmers. Few were from artistic or cultural backgrounds so these pursuits were slow to develop. Work, sport and child-rearing were central to family life in the early stages of Australia’s development and there was a general lack of interest in politics. The lack of interest was cause for early concern after federation when elections resulted in very poor turnouts. This was of particular concern for politicians, who, rather than improving their representative performance, responded to the “problem” by adopting a stick rather than a carrot approach, by making voting compulsory, first in Queensland state elections in 1914, and federally, in 1924. The apparent reluctance to vote might have reflected the much-vaunted larrikin nature of the Australian, an early manifestation of a national identity.

It was generally thought that Australia had a strong nationalistic identity brought on after World War II, but when the people were asked to choose between British and Australian nationality in 1946, 60% chose Britain and only 37% Australia. Thus, Australia’s nationalism continued to be more conspicuous by its absence. A survey of Australians in 2006 found a similar attitude: that respondents were “generally not interested in mainstream politics” and there remained an “ambivalence” towards national and state matters. This disinterest in political affairs may reflect an inferior quality of political leadership as acerbically described in Donald Horne’s The Lucky Country.

The history of white settlement in Australia does not generally reflect a harmonious culture when the “terra nullius” convention was applied on settlement, followed by numerous massacres of the Indigenous people in the country, and the federation politicians embedding the White Australia policy as an overt monument to racism. However, when farming entrepreneurs demanded cheap labour, politicians bowed to their demands, and Chinese and other non-white peoples were reluctantly allowed to enter the country and, over time, the idea of multiculturalism was celebrated. Migration from around the world continued and by 2023, 30% of Australia’s population was born overseas, the highest in the world (outside Luxembourg), but despite this, Australians still resisted recognition of Indigenous Australians in the 2023 referendum.

Since federation, Australian nationalism has been displayed in various formal and informal ways. Australians mourn the tragedy of Gallipoli and other military mistakes made by the British Empire, with celebrations on ANZAC Day, but curiously fail to acknowledge the events of Milne Bay in New Guinea during World War II, when their own shores were facing the greatest potential threat of invasion and it was at this site where Australian forces first repelled the southward Japanese military onslaught. Australians focus on sporting achievements ahead of other cultural, scientific, medical, or other achievements, and highlight the sun, beaches and vastness of the country, an environment adopted and embraced by Australians despite conducting practices that have often damaged the ecology and natural environment. On the other hand, Australians continually respond in a nationalistic way to natural disasters, for example the Queensland ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March 2025 where hundreds of emergency volunteers provided assistance and support to those affected during and after the event.

Despite federation, Australian continues to act in concert with the UK, continues to fly a flag with the Union Jack festooned in the top left corner, and, while the 1986 removal of the right to appeal to the Privy Council was anticipated to be one of the final ties to the UK, the constitution still retains the “reserve powers” of the governor-general, who still has the power to dismiss ministers or dissolve parliament, is still commander-in-chief of Australia’s Defence Forces, and parliamentarians are still required to swear oaths to the king of the UK, not even to the king of Australia. This represents hypocrisy as far as sovereignty goes, with a constitution that demands allegiance to another country.

This immaturity is, unfortunately, secondary when compared to the other more deep-seated erosions of Australia’s sovereignty that began with the signing of the ANZUS Treaty, followed by the US gradually establishing a strong economic, financial and media/entertainment foothold in Australia, leading to the Americanisation of Australian society. Australia’s sovereignty was further eroded, some say lost altogether, with the signing of the AUKUS arrangement in 2021, which places Australia at the will of US strategy in the Indo-Pacific region. The Albanese Government has since further embedded US personnel into the ADF and intelligence services, allowed designation of Australian critical minerals producers as US domestic suppliers, and the ramping up of US weapons manufacturing in Australia, all of which further derogate from Australian sovereignty. All this is in addition to the existing US facilities at Pine Gap, established in 1970, and the Force Posture Agreement 2014, that allows unimpeded access to Australian airfields and seaports by US combat aircraft, bombers and US naval vessels, including US nuclear submarines at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia.

If we ask how Australia’s nationalism relates to contemporary democracy, we learn that much of the recent political science scholarship is of the view that democracy in the Western world is either dying or “backsliding”. In Australia, only 25% trust political parties and 75% believe politicians enter politics to serve their own interests. In terms of representation, despite their number, the ethnic composition of the Commonwealth parliament does not reflect the presence of multicultural people, with only about 10% of members from European and Asian ancestry. Ultimately, boundaries are, and remain, imagined, and are even less relevant with technological advancements breaking down borders and languages, including the instantaneous access to sound and vision from around the world, creating a global neighbourhood. And how does the concept of nationalism fit into this environment? Technology, together with immigration, may have consigned nationalism to history.

Although young as a federation, Australia’s recent colonial history reveals a lack of nationalism, restricted to periods as wards of the British Empire. Sport, a lack of respect for public and political institutions and cultural history, form the typical civic nationalist, with the only common thread through the years being racism. Without a war of independence, nor the wit to agree to a divorce from the empire with the formation of a republic, Australia’s “nationalism” is limp-wristed, confused, and left to the quagmire of political populism to describe and defend itself. Being typically asleep at the wheel, Australia’s political leaders will no doubt be squirming to know how to react to the new US regime, but there is every opportunity that the quick dealer, with eyes already on Canada and Greenland, may lay claim to Australia’s so-called sovereignty via the UK.