Learn pledge to be better Aussies

RECENT test results show that most high school kids don’t understand our national values, how government works, or what it takes to be a good citizen.

That’s one of the reasons I believe kids should learn about our citizenship pledge in school. It’s the same pledge new Australians recite when they become citizens.

The pledge is simple, but in five short lines it elegantly describes the rights we all have and the responsibilities we owe each other. It goes like this:

From this time forward,

I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and

whose laws I will uphold and obey.

Paul Keating introduced this pledge in 1994, so instead of swearing an oath to a distant royal family in England, we make a commitment to each other – our fellow Australian citizens. What could be more beautiful than that? And boy have we lived up to it in the past year.

The healthy have sacrificed their freedom to protect the vulnerable. Essential workers risked their health to keep vital services running. People went out of their way to help their elderly neighbours. Perhaps most amazingly, Australians stayed home from the beach and the pub to keep each other safe. We have seen just how much Australians are prepared to sacrifice for one another.

I love this country. I’m proud of the way we pulled together. It’s made me even more optimistic about our future, and more confident than ever that Australia’s best days lie ahead.

There’s a famous line about Australia: that we’re a “lucky country”.

On one level, that’s clearly true. It’s impossible to live on this beautiful land, or to enjoy our living standards, and not admit that we’re a lucky people indeed.

As migrants to this country, my parents taught us to be grateful every day for the incredible opportunities Australia afforded our family.

But luck on its own is not enough. As the saying goes, the harder we work, the luckier we’ll get. More than anything, this past year reminded us that our luck is made by the commitment of the Australian people to one another and our nation.

It’s made by the maturity and sacrifice of our citizens. It’s made by good citizenship.

We know what can happen when people lose these common bonds.

That’s how you get suspicion and extremism. It’s how you get conspiracy theories. At worst, it’s how you get the terrible scenes we recently witnessed at the United States Capitol.

The truth is, whatever we might feel in the heat of anger or disagreement, we really are all in this life together. When crisis arrives, like it did last year, we can only get through when we look out for each other.

As leaders, we should make an Australia Day resolution to be worthy of the sacrifices Australians have made in the last year. We should listen more, disagree better, and inject a bit more respect and decency into public debate.

We don’t have to pretend Australia is perfect. We should take pride in our history, but we need to take responsibility for the historic wrongs too. Part of loving your country is being clear-eyed about what needs to change. That includes making sure that in this lucky, prosperous country, no one is left behind.

Real leadership isn’t about making false promises, it’s about charting a calm, steady path forward.

Our kids should absolutely learn about good citizenship in school, but perhaps the best example they can have are leaders that show them how democracy at its best should work.

IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO LIVE ON THIS BEAUTIFUL LAND, OR TO ENJOY OUR LIVING STANDARDS, AND NOT ADMIT THAT WE’RE A LUCKY PEOPLE INDEED.