The changing face of Australia

By Jonathan Pearlman, The Straits Times, 3 Jul 2012

SYDNEY - Australia has become more Asian, less religious and the population is more spread out, according to a five-yearly snapshot which reveals the changing face of the nation.

The new census figures, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on June 21, show a dramatic cultural shift as migrants from Asia outnumbered those from Europe.

Since the last census five years ago, Mandarin has jumped from the fifth-most popular non-English language to the first. It is now followed by Italian, Arabic, Cantonese, Greek and Vietnamese.

Analysts say Australia is undergoing a 'social revolution' as its people become increasingly diverse and more prosperous.

'We are becoming more multicultural than ever,' said Dr Dianne Rudd, a population expert at the University of Adelaide. 'It has been on the cards for quite a while - there is a greater diversity of people coming in. It is not just Asia. It is Africa too.'

According to the census, almost a quarter of Australia's population of 22 million were born overseas, and 43 per cent have at least one overseas-born parent. While England and New Zealand are the largest source of foreigners across the country, India and China are fast catching up.

In Sydney, Chinese immigrants are poised to outnumber those from England. In Melbourne, Indians are emerging as the fastest-growing group. Australia now has 318,969 people who were born in China and 295,362 in India. The figures reflect, statistically, an element of Australian society evident on most streets: It is an increasingly multicultural and relatively prosperous country.

This diversity, as an editorial in The Age newspaper noted, has largely taken shape without disharmony. 'Only the most blinkered observer could deny that Australian society has absorbed migrants of many backgrounds without serious strain,' it wrote. 'The national snapshot shows that, so far, Australia has successfully managed increasing cultural diversity.'

The census is conducted on one day every five years. The statistics were collected on Aug 9 last year by 43,000 field staff who delivered more than 14 million questionnaires.

'One thing is clear: We are substantially, significantly different from what we were five years ago,' said Mr Andrew Henderson, executive director of the 2011 census.

'Historically, the majority of migration has come from Europe. However, there are increasingly more people born in Asia and other parts of the world now calling Australia home. This is fundamentally shifting the cultural mix of Australia.'

The figures show the significant social impact of the nation's China-fuelled mining boom, as the population has spread beyond Sydney (New South Wales) and Melbourne (Victoria) to the resource-rich states of Western Australia (WA) and Queensland.

WA's population has seen a 14 per cent increase since 2006 while Queensland's rose by 11 per cent. The remote WA mining region of East Pilbara, near some of the country's biggest iron ore deposits, had a staggering population increase of 83 per cent.

Treasurer Wayne Swan said the country was undergoing 'enormous changes' including a growing population and changes to the make-up of average households. 'The census highlights these changes that are underway,' he told Parliament.

While wages have risen, so has the cost of living.

Household income jumped to A$1,234 (S$1,600) a week, up A$207. But there was a big rise in rents, which rose A$94 to A$285 a week, and monthly mortgage payments, up A$500 to A$1,800.

Australia has become an increasingly non-religious society, with 22 per cent of people saying they have no religion, up from 19 per cent. Christianity remains the most common religion - with 61 per cent of the population being Christians.

The census, taken for over 100 years, reflects some societal changes. In the 1947 census, one question was 'Do you have a flush toilet?' while surveys in the 1800s asked if people were convicts.

The latest census was the first to count same- sex married couples rather than including them as de facto couples. Though same-sex marriages are not allowed under Australian law, 1,338 couples said they were in a same-sex marriage, performed under foreign law. Another 32,377 said they were in a same-sex de facto relationship.