www.ignou-ac.

in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

N
1
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in1

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS GUIDE (2014-2015)

E.P.S.-8
Government and Politics in Australia
Disclaimer/Special Note: These are just the sample of the Answers/Solutions to some of the Questions given in
the Assignments. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by Private Teacher/Tutors/Auhtors for the help
and Guidance of the student to get an idea of how he/she can answer the Questions of the Assignments. We do
not claim 100% Accuracy of these sample Answers as these are based on the knowledge and cabability of Private
Teacher/Tutor. Sample answers may be seen as the Guide/Help Book for the reference to prepare the answers of
the Question given in the assignment. As these solutions and answers are prepared by the private teacher/tutor so
the chances of error or mistake cannot be denied. Any Omission or Error is highly regretted though every care
has been taken while preparing these Sample Answers/Solutions. Please consult your own Teacher/Tutor before
you prepare a Particular Answer & for uptodate and exact information, data and solution. Student should must
read and refer the official study material provided by the university.

Answer all questions in each category. Try to write the answers in your own words
Answer in about 600 words each.

Q. 1. Discuss the nature of multiculturalism in Australia.

Ans. Multicultural is a term that describes the cultural and linguistic diversity of Australian society.
Cultural and linguistic diversity is a feature of life for the first Australians, well before European settlement.
It remains a feature of modern Australian life, and it continues to give us distinct social, cultural and economic advantages. The People of Australia, is a landmark policy that demonstrates the Australian
Governments unwavering commitment to a multicultural Australia. Australias multicultural policy acknowledges that government services and programmes must be responsive to the needs of our culturally and
linguistically diverse communities. It commits to an access and equity framework to ensure that the onus is
on government to provide equitable services to Australians from all backgrounds. Australias multicultural
character gives us a competitive edge in an increasingly globalized world. Multiculturalism is about all
Australians. Contact between people of different cultures in Australia has been characterized by tolerance
and engagement, but have also occasionally resulted in conflict and rifts.
Multiculturalism is a doctrine which means the co-existence of diverse cultures peacefully in a state or
country. Unesco defined multiculturalism as management of ethnic and cultural diversity through policies,
which promote ethnic and cultural minority groups. In short multiculturalism is a process of handling
different ethnic and cultural groups together and make them co-exist in a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere
in a country. In a multicultural society, different ethnic and cultural is given equal footing in the country but
the constitution of the country, its political structure and the democratic essence of the state is considered as
supreme. In such a society human values are put in front of any specific ethnic or cultural group. Giving her
views on multiculturalism, Aung San Sue Kyi says: It is precisely because of the cultural diversity of the
world that it is necessary for different nations and people to agree on those basic human values which will
act as a unifying factor.
Discussing the concept of multiculturalism in the Australian context we must keep one thing in mind is
that Australia was built on the basis of immigrants from different parts of the globe, multiculturalism is an

2
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in2

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

integral part of its identity. Like any other democratic state, where cultural and ethnic diversity exists,
policies are formulated and efforts are made that the cases of conflict between these diverse groups are at the
least level and the state uphold all those human values like gender equality, individual rights and social
equality etc. The management of a state with diverse ethnic and cultural group differs from one country to
another, e.g. Canada, Australia both are multicultural states but the policies and methods to manage the
different groups that exists in their respective countries differ.
We will discuss the concept of multiculturalism in the Australian context.
Q. 2. Explain the factors responsible for the emergence of Australian nationalism.
Ans. The bases of the growth of Australian Nationalism are its location, increase in its Australian born
population, their growth and rapid economic development and a culture based on developing Australian
values.
All these factors have contributed in developing a sense of identity, which has given birth to Nationalism.
Land
Situated in the Southern Hemisphere, between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, the Commonwealth
of Australia, as it is officially known, has an area of 7,682,300 sq. km. It spans 3,134 km from North to
South and 3,782 km from East to West, with three quarters of the country consisting of plains. It is an island
continent, open from all sides.

The nearest neighbours of Australia are Papua New Guinea and Indonesia in the North, Polynesian
Pacific islands in the East, and New Zealand in the South-East. It is much closer to Asia than Europe.
Although the vast majority of its people originated from British stock, the distance from England has
contributed to the feeling of isolation from the Motherland. Initially, Great Britain was referred to as the
Old Country and the Land of Other People. The population considered Australia their own country and
the land of the people who lived here. This feeling of Australia is for Australians has been persistent for
quite some time.
People

On January 26, 1788, when the British started the colonization of Australia, the main population was
concentrated in a settlement in Sydney, known as Port Jackson. Till 1830, most of its population consisted
of convicts, ex-convicts, their relatives and families. In 1890, a population census concluded that more than
2/3rd of the population was Australia born and that 20 per cent of the Australian population was of Irish
origin, which became a basis for the growth of Nationalism.
Australia is now a multi-ethnic country, but the number of people from British origin is so vast that it is
still appears to be a White country. Till the end of World WarII, there were only a handful of the aboriginals
and Chinese, who constituted the non-white population of Australia. This was due to the promulgation of a
policy of White Australia.
In 1966, this policy was relaxed and then abolished in 1973, when all restrictions were lifted. Since
then, all non-white people have been getting opportunities to migrate to Australia and settle there.
Economy

The Australians experienced spectacular economic growth in the second half of the 19th century as a
result of expansion in pastoral and mining industries. The Gold Rush of the 1850s also aided in stimulating
the economy and also increased the number of people migrating from Europe. It was further assisted by
infusion of capital investment from Britain and an active Official participation in the development of

3
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in3

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

infrastructure, large and small scale manufacturing industries and rapid urbanization. As the number of
entrepreneurs increased, the number of the working class also increased due to an increase in employment
opportunities, which further led to an increase in the level of standard of living along with a determination
to maintain the same standard of living.
The tempo of economic development has not slowed down. Ever since the end of the World WarI
(1914-1918), their fundamental development policy has ensured that they have emerged from a predominantly
agrarian nation into an industrialized and mining nation. Their development policy has been the opening up
of Immigration, widening of capital investment opportunities, emphasis on industrialization and improvement
of living conditions and this has resulted in Australia becoming one of the preeminent nations of the world.
The nascent manufacturing sector was shielded with heavy tariffs for outsiders, resulting in local growth
opportunities for the manufacturing units, which provided huge employment opportunities for the immigrants,
primarily from Europe, who had come to Australia to escape the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Culture
The origins of Australian culture can be traced back to the mid-19th century. This period is important
because it was during these times that a demand for self-rule arose. The nuances of Language and the accent
also changed to the typical Australian accent rather than the British accent and there was a surge in the
availability of folk literature which expressed the Australian spirit, which formed the basis of Ballads, folk
songs, stories etc.

This treasure trove was then discovered by the authors and other eminent scholars in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, the same people who looked towards Britain for inspiration. They realized that these
treasures they had discovered spoke about the Australian spirit; they discovered idioms, phrases, stories and
various other forms of self-expression of being Australian. These discoveries also led them to finding their
Inner Self, something which was missing till they were relying on the British for all things inspirational.
The discovery of the Inner Self led to a surge of the indigenous culture and the very same folks who
considered themselves British began to identify themselves with Australia and calling themselves Australian.
The Self-Rule movement and then the move to a Commonwealth Federation aided this growth of
indigenous culture and gave birth to modern authors. It also let to the founding of the Sydney Bulletin,
which soon became the place to go to for all things Nationalist.
People soon began to write verses and stories, with a definite nationalistic trait and this further gave rise
to Australia centric art, literature, and other means of expressions which further boosted the feeling of
National Identity. Australian Landscape, their hardworking nature, hopes, sentiments etc. became the themes
for creative literature and arts. The 1890s saw a plethora of writers emerge, most notable being Henry
Lawson and Joseph Furphy. Their writings propounded anti-British feelings and provoked people to vie for
free politics in Australia.
With as short a history as that of Australia, they have not inherited any festivals of the land, symbols,
heroes or any monuments. To make up for this, during the early years, they would end up romanticizing the
dead bush-rangers; they have developed festivals which celebrate the culture which has resulted in the
Australia we see now.
Australia is also one of the top sporting nations of the world. They played their first cricket match
against England, called the Ashes, in 1876, and defeated the rivals. The 1900 Olympics saw F.C. Lane
become the World champion in Swimming. All these events have further resulted in the consolidation of
Nationalism.

4
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in4

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

Answer in about 300 words each.

Q. 3. Examine the significance of human resource development in Australian economy.
Ans. The second largest party of Australia is Liberal party but again it is very difficult to put it in a specific
category. But there is an accepted conventional view according to which Liberal party can be divided into progressive
and conservatives. This dual classification becomes difficult example in one case the members of Liberal party
may have a progressive outlook but on the other they may think in a conservative way. The progressive ideas may
include issues like civil rights, censorship, federalism. At the time of its inception in 1910 Liberal party was a
mixture of many parties. There have been three ideologies all throughout the history of liberal party.
1. The party functions on anti-labour coalitions.
2. The party pursues a parliamentary office in non-labour parties.
3. The purpose of leadership is continuously emphasized by the party.
The ideologies of liberal party were never explicitly explained. The Labour party has been always after
debating upon the official written ideology has modified its objectives and ideologies since 1908 on the contrary
Liberal party rarely provides any official statement and they do not even discuss or debate about their objectives
in public. There have been only two platforms since the time Menzies has formed this modern Liberal party one
in 1946 and the other in 1974 where there are aims and objectives can be found in an official statement. The
ideology that is declared by the Liberal party lacks detailing of objectives but is full of principles and fundamental
philosophies. After so many elements and phenomenon the ideologies found to be:

1. The belief of the liberals is their responsibility towards the people. This should be through
parliamentary system where elected representatives are free to act as per their convictions.
2. The support of liberal ideology goes with competitive market economy with individual initiative
and private enterprise.
2. Liberal Party There is lesser congruence between ideology and policy practices when it comes to
Liberal party if we compare it with Labour party. There are two reasons for it.
(i) There is a clear demarcation of authority in the party where ideology and platform is the responsibility
of the party while the policy and practice looked after by the parliamentary party.
(i) There is mainly concern for the intra party issues and the parliamentary party is guided by the electoral
consideration this results in a contradiction of what liberal party says is its ideology with what the Liberal
Parliamentary party does in terms of practice.
Q. 4. Explain the role of indigenous women role in the Australian economy.

Ans. The Australian government is fully aware of the plight of aborigines and the disadvantages suffered by them. The government is fully committed to look into their problems and include them in the
mainstream society by making provisions for them so that they move beyond welfare dependency of the
governmental agencies. Improvement is on the cards in areas of health, housing, education, employment
and economic development.
Indigenous Employment: Various changes have been introduced in the Indigenous Community
Development Employment Project (CDEP) scheme which would enable the participants to access all additional
benefits which were earlier open for those receiving employment benefits. To make the native people more
self-sufficient, the government is actively promoting small businesses. It has also created Small Business
Support Fund. All these activities are contributing to get more and more native women into jobs especially
in private sectors.

5
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in5

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

Indigenous Education: The indigenous women do not get same freedom as other women in areas of
choosing their education. To overcome this barrier, the government has increased funding in this area. Many
associations like Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Programmes; The Indigenous Education Direct
Assistance Program; Higher Education Support Programmes are working in the direction to support indigenous
Australian women to improve upon their literacy levels.
Indigenous Health: This area in particular is the one in which the government is taking special initiative
for the aboriginal population.

Arrangements are being made for expansion of comprehensive primary health care services and
accordingly raising funds in accordance with the need of the aborigine population.

Funds will be put in areas where health needs and the capacity to utilize funds have been identified.

Arrangements will be made based on the existing range of services in coordination with the community
sector, health professional and both state and central government.

Women, Defence and International Issues: Australias role in upliftment of women international
arena is commendable. It has played an important role in securing a statute for Internation Criminal Court
and is making significant contribution on issues related to women in the world through its funds from
Australian Aid Programme. In the defence forces also, the government is actively involved in addressing
issues related to women.

Defence: The government in Australia is working actively in promoting careers for women in Australian
Defence Forces (ADF).
In 1997, government adopted 20 recommendations from Women in ADF report which dealt with
womens career in defence forces. Areas taken up in the report concerned equality, job competency, work
and family responsibility and performance of women in ADF.
In April 1999, ADF came up with a revised policy which dealt with issues of discrimination, sexual
offences, harassment and other unacceptable behaviour. The revised policy states that every-one has the
right to work in a safe environment free from harassment and other discrimination and promotes equality.
The Defence Community Organization work in areas of social work, education and family oriented
programs and support to ADF employees and their families. Under this programme many child care centres
are operational and spouse employment program is in force over and above providing special needs as the
family of defence personnel requires. Other than these, Family Support Funding Programme give grants to
the needy families of defence personnel.
In order to make the working condition flexible, provision of part time leave without pay was introduced
in February 1999 for permanent members of ADF.
Women are eligible to apply for employment in around 85% of all employment categories in the ADF.
Q. 5. Discuss the dynamics of Australia-ASEAN relations.

Ans. Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established in 1967 with an aim to promote economic development and stability in the South-East Asia. In the beginning it had only five member
and during subsequent years, five more countries joined in taking the membership to present day 10. These
are Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Australia, alongwith Japan, EU, USA, Canada and New Zealand are its dialogue partners. Foreign
Ministers of all the ASEAN countries meet annually and the summit meeting is held every three years. The

6
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in6

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

concept of dialogue partners was introduced in ASEAN summit meeting in 1976. The idea behind it was to
involve countries that are not members but gain benefit by promotion of external trade and investments in
the region. These dialogue partners contribute their share in promoting economic growth of the ASEAN
countries.
Australia took initiative on its own and established the ASEANAustralia Economic Cooperation
programme to enhance business relations with these countries. It also extended financial assistance to
ASEAN for developing infrastructure and other developmental activities. A joint business council was set
up in 1980.
Business
The business relations between Australia and ASEAN grew on fast pace. According to a data, the export
figure became three fold within a decade from 1988 to 1998 and reached $7.5 billion mark. ASEAN have a
special place in Australias export markets and trade relations between ASEAN and Australia are improving
with time. In 1995, six ASEAN countries were among the list of top 10 trading partners of Australia and
provide 2nd largest export market. Also, there is considerable increase in export from ASEAN countries
from Australia. The value of bilateral trade in the year 1995 amounts to 6.6 billion. Investments have also
increased from both sides.
Agenda for Cooperation

Australia and ASEAN have a common thought process that is the development of the Mekong Basin.
Australia has given aid for construction of the Lao Thai friendship bridge over Mekong which has enabled
Laos to connect with South-East Asia through highway. But the development of Mekong is possible only
with multilateral cooperation.
Australia is involved in many areas of growth in the region with an aim to promote regional economic
development and cultural cooperation. An association is developing between Northern territory in Australia
and ASEAN countries which is called BIMP-EAGA (Brunei-IndonesiaMalaysia and Philippines-East
ASEAN Growth Area). Several MOUs have been signed by Australia and ASEAN countries like Phillippines
Brunei, Indonesia for growth and development in the country in particular and region as a whole. A MU has
been signed between Australia and Malaysia especially for setting up of growth areas at Labuan.
In nutshell, the relationship between Australia and ASEAN countries is very strong. Even there are
official statements given from Australian side that emphasized the importance of strong relationship between
Australia and ASEAN.
Peace-keeping

Australia has played a very constructive role in area of peace-keeping in the South-East Asia. After the
Vietnamese forced made an exit from Cambodia, the ASEAN countries were in the process of establishing
peace in the region. The process of peace establishment was difficult to find as Cambodias factional
leaders were not in mood of any kind of compromise. At this point Australia stepped in to settle the issue so
that peace prevails in the region. It stated that for establishing peace in the region it is necessary that China
stop giving assistance to Khmer Rouge. It also suggested creation of Supreme National Council and also
called for UN intervention in the bringing about consensus among the conflicting groups in Cambodia.
Australias efforts in resolving the Cambodian crisis was commendable. It sent military communications
personnel under the UNAMIC and took up the task of removing the mines. It helped UN Transition
Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) with both men and material. The contribution of Australia towards peace

7
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in7

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

keeping in Cambodia was complimented by both United Nations and well as the ASEAN countries. Australia
has been giving financial aid to resolve the economic crisis in the ASEAN region.
Q. 6. Explain the dynamics of India-Australia relations.
Ans. The relations between India and Australia is like a see saw pattern, with periods of high degree
friendship and otherwise period with tensions and problems. These changes were seen due to domestic political
changes of Australia. The relations improved after Labour party headed Australian government and during the
Conservatives government it deteriorated.
The Situation immediately after Indias Independence
During Indias independence in Australia Labour party was in power with Prime Minister J.B.Chifley
who opposed the colonialism and imperialism as he had liberal and Asian outlook. Within the Commonwealth
independent India was considered as favourable in respect of security and defense by Australia. According
to the Indian Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru We have many problems in common, especially in the
Pacific and South Eastern Region of Asia and we have to cooperate to find solutions. Australia was invited
for Asian Relations Conference held in New Delhi in 1947 and later to participate in the Asian Relations
Conference in Indonesia in 1947.
Liberal Conservative Rule:1949-72
The Liberal Conservative party ruled Australia for 23 years which was in favour of Asia and Australia.
When Indo-Australian relations were going through a rough patch globally Cold War was at its peak. There
was a whole world of difference of views between Indian Prime Minister and that of Australian. India
followed non-alignment based on independent approach in foreign policy. In 1952, Australia became a part
of ANZUS based on doctrine of forward defense which was a US commitment to defend Australia and New
Zealand. Australia wanted an assurance from US to defend Australia and New Zealand from threats and the
first resurgent was from Japan, than communist expansion of China and North Korea. Australian thought
that they have a threat from communist Chinese penetration into their country and it might threaten their
strong bond with Europe. Australia was a member of SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization). There
in Australia US bases developed close association with other western alliances even Pakistan as Pakistan
was a member of SEATO. On Korean issue both India and Australia had different stands, Australia criticized
China for their aggression but India did not. The most difficult part was the Kashmir issue that made IndiaAustralia relations bitter. India did not appreciate the involvement of Australia as a mediator on Kashmir
issue and involvement with United Nations forces sent to Kashmir. Similarly in the Suez crisis Australia
supported Anglo-French action, but India was against it. The other was Hungarian crisis where Indias stand
was criticized by Australia. Then in 1962 during Sino-Indian conflict for the first time Australia supported
India, and the US also did the same for a short period. The threat from China was common to both India and
Australia. Australia even supported India with material along with moral support on this issue. Australia
also participated in Indian Defense System in 1963. But then establishment of Western bases in the Indian
Ocean became a hurdle in strengthening bond between India and Australia. Australia along with the US
became neutral during 1965 Indo-Pak war. It neither supported Pakistan on this issue. During her first term
of being Prime Minister in 1968 Mrs. Gandhi visited Australia for the first time for divergence of Vietnam.
This time Australia supported US and its attack on Vietnam and India was against it. Australia criticized
India for Soviet investment in Czechoslovakia. Relations improved only after Menzies retirement to a
certain extent.

N
8

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in8

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

Labour Government under Whitlam 1972-75

Whitlam Australian Prime Minister who stood for better relations with India adopted an independent
stand in foreign policies. Both the countries were willing to have a peaceful Southeast Asia and condemned
racial discrimination and affirmed cooperation with United Nations. During 1970s Australia signed Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty and later International Atomic Energy Agreement (IAEA) none of which India
signed but by then Australia was cot so critical about India specially in1974 India took peaceful Nuclear
explosion at Pokhran. Whitlam government took a different stand from other western countries and condemned
apartheid it also joined committee of decolonization and recognized Peoples Republic of China. Many
things changed between Australia and India during this time and Australia recognized Indias efforts in
maintaining peace and stability in the Indian Ocean region.
The Fraser Period 1975-83 and Return to Conservative Rule
This was the period when Australian perspective about Indian Ocean region changed. There was also an
improvement in the facilities specially the US base Diego Grrarcia. There was also a concern about Soviet
threat in the Indian Pacific Oceans where it was considered as Indias own security. India was upset with the
Frasers comment made by Chinese premier and when he proposed a united Japan, China, Australia, US
combination in the ocean. The efforts made by India include a visit to Australia and signing a trade agreement
in 1976. In 1977, when Mr.A.B. Vajpayee was minister of External Affairs efforts were made to improve
relations with Australia in the Commonwealth regional meet. India welcomed Frasers condemnation of
apartheid and in 1979 his visit to India was a step further in Indo-Australian relations improvement. He
appreciated non-alignment and a committed democracy of India. There was also a need for peace over India
Ocean and to sort out differences between Australia and India. There were issue where India and Australia
had difference of opinion such as Indo-China problem, Chinas Vietnam attack or the Afghan issue.

Labour Government under Hawke

With the return of Labour party in power was seen the effort for improving Indo-Australian ties. In the
Commonwealth meeting in 1983 the two Prime Ministers Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Hawke had a fruit full
meeting where Australia supported Indian Ocean Zone both even than had their point of differences. In
1983, the Jackson Committee of Labour party recommended India for greater attention as one part of labour
party was always against US base and wanted to take apart the US base from Australia and the Ocean. This
group preferred self-reliance over dependency on the ANZUS. Though all was not agreed by the Labour
party. Non-aligned movement was attended by Hawke and the visit of Rajiv Gandhi to Australia in 1986
was a further progress in the relations. The joint Australia-India business council was set up along with an
agreement on science and technology. The SAARC also welcomed Australia though it is not a member. Bob
Hawkes visit to India in 1989 was the landmark in the bilateral relations, where he introduced India an Asia
Pacific partner in geophysics and in trade. Both the countries agreed on many issues and emphasized on
coordinating efforts, specially dismantling projectionist barriers of developed countries and making it a fair
play for the developing countries. Later in 1989 Australias foreign minister visited India and definite steps
were taken for better relations.
The Howard Regime

The India-Australia relations did not deteriorate knowing the fact that this was a Conservative government.
This could be the result of various global changes such as end of Cold War, or collapse of Soviet Union.
During this period only India saw reforms like liberalization and globalization in the economy. There was a
report on India-Australia relationship in the Australian Senates Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and

9
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in9

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

Trade. This left an impact on the decision makes of Australia. The efforts were to enhance bilateral relations
in trade and investments. In both the countries India-Australia Council and Australia-India Council were
set-up. These two councils contributed significantly spreading awareness in both the countries.
Write short note on the about 100 words each.
Q. 7. Internationalisation of education in Australia.
Ans. According to Knight and Wit, Internationalization of higher education is the process of integrating
an international/intercultural dimension into the teaching, research and service functions of the institution.
Conclusions drawn by this definition are put hereunder:

It is the process to widen the scope of the education system to get along with the global challenges.

It is the response to globalization and not globalization itself.

Internationalization is an awareness of intercultural as well as international factors.

Internationalization is not an end in itself.

Thus, it provides us a broad structure to look at the process of internationalization and avoiding the
narrow outlook focused on fewer activities like academic mobility, global education, area studies and enrolling
international student.
One must be careful as to not mix inter- nationalization with political or economic rationale. One basic
fact that needs to be understood is international and intercultural factors are interlinked.

Why Internationalization?

Let us understand the reason for various government and private institutions are trying to get into the
area of international education. To understand this one needs to go into depth of different notions. In a
study, Knight and Wit came up with four different thought processes i.e., academic, social/cultural political
and economic rationale. These rationales can be depicted as motivation to club international dimension into
higher education.
While analyzing these rationales one needs to understand the diversity of the stakeholder involved in
higher education. These stakeholders are the government sector, private sector and the educational sector.
In the education sector there are three subgroupsthe institution, academics and its various departments and
finally the students. There is difference in emphasis given to these sub-groups by different countries. But
these rationales are ever evolving and reflect development in the world.
Internationalization in Retrospect

In the beginning it was the social/cultural rationales that played an important role in the field of
internationalization policies. But as the time passed by, and due to the growth of nations, political rationale
gained more and more importance.
Post-world war II when America emerged as a dominant nation, a new dimension was given to the
political rationale. It stressed on to understand the diverse cultural thinking so as to widen its influence.
This thought process of America was clear from its actions likeallocation of funds from budgets of state
and defence departments to develop area studies; foreign language training and study abroad. President
Bush said that these kinds of exchanges on international level would lead to removal of obstacle in the
process of spreading peace in the world.
Thus, international education was treated as a tool for peace making in American politics but it is a
narrow view of internationalization and is against recognition of national identities.

10
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in10

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

The concept of internationalization has brought the global environment on more equal term due to
which higher education and society can come out of the dependency factor of nations that took benefit from
the process of internationalization.
After the end of Cold War, economic rationale gained importance over political rationale. It became the
driving force behind the concept of international- ization in many countries and was expressed in many
ways like:

The concept of internationalization is required for modern labour force.

Joint projects in research and development to compete with new technology.

Higher education to be marketed in international market and make education as an export item.

The economic rationales leave an impact on the local economics as well. For example, in business
education, international business became a main subject in the business schools probably in anticipation
that there is need for international labour force. But the fact, that even in a global economy there is large
number of local labour is involved, is forgotten.
The political and economic rationale are primarily external factors that push higher education institutions
to become international.
This does not imply that the educational institutions do not have any desire to become international. A
radical change in the academic environment has been noticed in past five decades. Higher education has
become market-oriented, privatized and a source to earn money. The business minded educational institutions
have an internal desire to become international. The academic rationale with a urge of search of knowledge
have become modernized. Today, there is more emphasis on professional education in new areas like
environmental studies, information technology etc. require an international dimension. This requirement is
not from outside but the faculty of the institutes and students demand it. This demand from the institutions
internal groups would become a driving force for internationalization which would be equally important as
the external factors.

During the Post WW era, there were significant changes in the foreign policies of many developed
nations. This was in response to the end of colonialism, which had resulted in the emergence of many
independent developing nations, growth in the international trade and relations between various nations and
the rush to support growing nations development in various fields as a gesture of goodwill.
As a result, in 1951, the Colombo plan was introduced, of which Australia was a key partner. This was
Australias first foray in the direction of internationalization, with the Government sponsoring international
students for studies in Australian educational institutions. This led to a significant increase in the number of
students headed to the Australian shores for higher studies. Although their entry was controlled by the
immigration policies, which subject to changes from time to time.
The mid-1980s saw a major shift with the release of two reports, one from the committee to review
Australian Overseas Aid Programme, known as the Jackson Report and the second one from the committee
of Review of Private Overseas Student Policy, known as the Goldring Report. In 1985, on the recommendations of the Jackson Report, the Government announced a slew of measures which allowed overseas
students, other than the subsidized students, to enter Australia for studies. Although, they were required to
meet the entry criteria as was laid out in the immigrations policy and also pay for the total cost of the course
they were enrolling into. This was followed by the policy on Export of Education Services increasing the
intake of full fee paying students. The colleges and institutions that were a part of this had to satisfy that the
Australian students would not be displaced or suffer because of this intake.

11
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in11

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

In 1989, the Government decided to that from 1990 onwards, no student would be granted any subsidies
for education, and the federal funding to colleges and institutions would be based on the number of domestic
students enrolled. This put various colleges with subsidized students in a quandary as they would have to
enroll the same number of students who would be paying the full fee on their own to maintain the same level
of funding from the government.
The new policies laid emphasis on inter-nationalization of education, which was seen as an increasingly
important part of Australias international relations, addressing the cultural, economic and interpersonal
dimensions of international relations. The new policy focused on the Asia Pacific region and widened the
scope by including research, student exchange programs, faculty exchange programs and various forms of
collaborations.
In 1992, a ministerial statement was issued, which was followed b a statement from the National Board
of Education and Training, which led to the ride of a new thought process about internationalization of
education. It was radically different than the previous policies which focused on trade only. It brought
forward a radical approach, resulting in explosion of knowledge, and international and intercultural relations,
which resulted in a significant increase in the number of full fee paying overseas students enrolling in
Australian educational institutions.
Q. 8. Peace movements and human rights in Australia.

Ans. The orientation of peace movement came from the general aspiration of the people for peace,
tranquility, stability. But the development of nuclear weapon added to the peace movement which is just a
human reaction to the process of developing weapons of mass destruction and against militarism. The peace
movement can also become popular social movement as it arises from the concern for the society for peace.
The peace movement is an antique phenomenon. But in modern period its origin traced with war and peace
agreements signed by European states in the 19th century. Peace movements became more prominent during
and after war specially the world war-II when world peace council was formed with leadership of prominent
figures like Bertrand Russell and George Bernard Shaw. Gradually, peace studies became a part of academic
field and journals being published and research is going on. With the nuclear weapon technology the world
has started apprehending a terrible nuclear war. So now the aim is disarmament and save earth from the
nuclear holocaust. Peace in Australia is very significant. People opposed all the wars. Even when Australia
joined World War-I with England the people of Australia were against it. The reason people object to war is
because war stops allocation of social reforms and vitality of the nation. Strong peace movements worked
for Australia and now it has become a part of national movement. Peace activities are being demanded by
strong section of nationalists. Australia has reached a consensus about the necessity of peace.
Peace is something that every individual has a right for. Human rights are for individual and collectively
for the whole society. Every human being demands for the realization of diverse values for individual and
collective well being. But in reality human rights originate from some kind of frustration or reducing those
basic universal rights. Australias white community is mostly migrated from different countries in Europe
and while settling down in Australia they were not concerned about the indigenous rights and their privileges.
Till recently these indigenous community did not have any rights. Some rights are sanctioned to these
aboriginals with a lot of resistance from the white community. But the overall human rights for the Australians
are still not impressive. Australia lacks basic democratic rights as they are seen in other democratic countries
even for the white community.

12
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in12