Presentation on Australia custom,cuisine,manner,business,lifestyle,shared values,arts & entertainment By Muhammad Umar Shehzad, Cell:+92-301-7004315, e-mail:[email protected]

Australia– Customs

Cuisine

Business

Manner

Lifestyle

Shared Values

Arts & Entertainment

Author/Composer

Muhammad Umar ShehzadFaisalabad(Punjab)-Pakistan

Cell:+92-301-7004315e-mail: [email protected]

Overview

Australia is a stable, culturally diverse and democratic society with one of the strongest performing economies in the world. With an estimated population of more than 22.5 million, Australia is the only nation to govern an entire continent. It is the earth’s biggest island and sixth-largest country in the world in land area, about the size of mainland United States and one and a half times the size of Europe.Australia is home to one of the world’s oldest living cultures. Aboriginal peoples arrived at least 50,000 years, and Torres Strait Islander people 10,000 years, before European settlement.

Capital: CanberraSurface area: 7,692,024 sq. kmPopulation: 22.5 million (2011)Main language: EnglishCurrency: Australian dollar (AUD)National day: 26 JanuaryTime Difference: PST+5 HoursInternational students: 426,748 (2011)International Calling Code: 61Literacy Rate: 99%Overseas visitors: 5,875,000 (2011)Political System : Parliamentary

Australia-Lifestyle

• Australia is a product of a unique blend of established traditions and new influences. The country’s original inhabitants, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, are the custodians of one of the world’s oldest continuing cultural traditions. They have been living in Australia for at least 40 000 years and possibly up to 60 000 years.

• The rest of Australia’s people are migrants or descendants of migrants who have arrived in Australia from about 200 countries since Great Britain established the first European settlement at Sydney Cove in 1788.

• Today Australia has a population of nearly 23 million people. At 2009, about 25.6 per cent of the estimated resident population comprised those born overseas. Australian Bureau of Statistics projections from the 2006 census of the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people suggest and Indigenous population of 575,552 people at 30 June 2011.

• Migrants have enriched almost every aspect of Australian life, from business to the arts, from cooking to comedy and from science to sport. They, in turn, have adapted to Australia’s tolerant, informal and broadly egalitarian society.

Shared Values

• The defining feature of today’s Australia is not only the cultural diversity of its people, but the extent to which they are united by an overriding and unifying commitment to Australia.

• Within the framework of Australia’s laws, all Australians have the right to express their culture and beliefs and to participate freely in Australia’s national life.

• At the same time, everyone is expected to uphold the principles and shared values that support Australia’s way of life. These include:

• respect for equal worth, dignity and freedom of the individual• freedom of speech and association• freedom of religion and a secular government• support for parliamentary democracy and the rule of law• equality under the law• equality of men and women• equality of opportunity• peacefulness• a spirit of egalitarianism that embraces tolerance, mutual respect, and compassion for

those in need. Australia also holds firmly to the belief that no one should be disadvantaged on the basis of their country of birth, cultural heritage, language, gender or religious belief.

An egalitarian society

• In most practical ways, Australia is an egalitarian society. This does not mean that everyone is the same or that everybody has equal wealth or property.

• But it does mean that there are no formal or entrenched class distinctions in Australian society, as there are in some other countries. It also means that with hard work and commitment, people without high-level connections or influential patrons can realise their ambitions.

• The unemployment rate is relatively low (in December 2007 it was 4.3 per cent) and the gross per capita income is around $39 000. All people are equal under the law in Australia and all Australians have the right to be respected and treated in a fair manner.

Australian Cuisine

• Australia has one of the most diverse cuisines in the world, thanks to Asian and European migrant influences, a dining public that is happy to try innovative dishes and access to a plentiful supply of fresh and high–quality produce.

• Australians enjoy a huge range of food in restaurants and homes, reflecting the country’s cultural diversity. Southern Europe has combined with Asia and the Pacific for new flavours and tastes. Italian, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Greek, Thai, Malay, French and Vietnamese restaurants are common, particularly in the capital cities. Middle Eastern flavours are also rapidly emerging, with Moroccan and Lebanese flavours being used with local ingredients in mainstream cooking with notable success.

Australian Cuisine

• Traditional Australian bush tucker is also becoming more common, particularly in northern Australian restaurants, where kangaroo, buffalo, crocodile and emu can often be found on menus.

• Historically, there has never been a cuisine typically regarded as Australian. Instead, Australian fare has evolved with the distinct layers of flavours that each new culture has added. Homesick expatriate Australians sometimes hanker for Australian food such as lamingtons (a sponge cake square dipped in chocolate and coconut), pavlovas (a meringue dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova) and vegemite (a commercially produced spread made from yeast products).

• The Australian wine sector is recognised internationally as producing a full range of high-quality wine styles and varietals to match any dish, from full-bodied reds and deep fruity whites to sparkling, dessert and fortified wines.

Australian Cuisine

Coffee Culture in Australia

• Australia has a distinct coffee culture and is often cited as being one of the most developed and vibrant in the world. The development of the coffee industry has grown not from coffee chains but through independent cafés born out of early Greek and Italian immigration since the early 20th century.

Fish & Seafood

• Australia's 11 million square kilometre fishing zone is the third largest in the world and allows for bountiful access to seafood which significantly influences Australian cuisine. Clean ocean environments around Australia produce high quality seafoods for domestic consumption and export. Lobster, prawn, tuna, salmon, and abalone are the main ocean species harvested commercially, while aquaculture produces more than 60 species for consumption including edible oysters, salmon, southern bluefin tuna, mussel, prawn, barramundi, yellowtail kingfish, and freshwater finifish.

Business Hours

• Business hours are most commonly 9:00 until 17:30, Monday to Friday, with a small variation either side. Places in the north of Australia sometimes open and close a little earlier. If trying to contact a business in another part of Australia, remember about time differences.

• Government offices often close at 17:00, or even 16:30. Shops may stay open later, particularly on Thursday and Friday evenings, and most will be open on Saturdays, and some on Sundays. 

The larger the town, the more likely shops are to indulge in extended trading hours. Corner shops will usually stay open until about 20:00, and some even later. Supermarkets in the big cities are often open 24 hours a day, and even in smaller towns they are likely to remain open until about 22:00 on weekdays. 

Work Hours for Employees

• The National Employment Standards (NES) provide that the maximum weekly hours which a full-time employee can be required to work is 38, plus reasonable additional hours. An employer and an award/agreement-free employee also may agree in writing to averaging hours of work over a maximum period of 26 weeks. Modern awards and enterprise agreements may also include terms regarding averaging hours of work over a specified period.

Family Life in Australia

• Families have long been viewed as the core social unit that maintains people's welfare. Over recent decades there have been extensive changes in the way that families are structured and function. Research and policy interest has shifted from maintaining the so-called ideal or traditional family form (a married couple and their children) to improving the quality of relationships between family members, irrespective of form. Some of this change is also reflective of changing demographics - as the population ages and fertility rates have declined over the long term, there are more couple only and lone person households, regardless of social trends. Other changes in family composition represent choices made by family members, including that of achieving better functioning family structures. For many members of the community, new and emerging forms of family structure represent progress in increasing the care, safety and support available to vulnerable Australians. Yet, for those members of the community who hold traditional values, the decline of traditional family structures may be viewed as regress.

• In 2006-07, couple families with no children were the most common type of family (40%), followed by couple families with dependent children (37%). This was the reverse of the situation in 1997 where couple families with dependent children were the most common (40%), followed by couple families with no children (35%). The increase in the proportion of couples living without children partly reflects the ageing of the population as baby boomers move into the 'empty nester' phase of their lives.

Family Life in Australia

GREETINGSIn Australia there are manydifferent ways of greeting people

Men usually shake hands when greeting other men and sometimes when greeting females

In work or social situations women may also shake hands to greet each other

Understanding Australian Customs

Understanding Australian CustomsFormal Greetings are:

“How do you do?”

“Good Morning”

“Good Afternoon” Young people usually greet other people

with “Hello” or “Hi” Sometimes it is nice to use someone’s name

when greeting them: e.g. “Hi, John”

Understanding Australian CustomsSOCIAL INVITATIONS Social Invitations can be received informally

(telephone) or formally (written note). It is good to reply quickly and honestly to

invitations RSVP means “Please Reply” by the date that is

stated It is polite to ring to let your friend/colleague

know if you are going to be late/delayed

When going out for lunch/dinner or to the

movies/theatre with friends usually you will pay for yourself

If your friend offers to “shout” this means they will pay for you. If you are not sure, make sure to ask!

Understanding Australian Customs

Understanding Australian Customs“BRING A PLATE” While in Australia you may be invited to a barbeque (BBQ) and you

may be asked to “Bring a Plate” This means bring a plate of food not an empty plate! You may like to take along some chips and dip or you may like to

take a plate of food from your home country

Understanding Australian CustomsBYO – Bring Your Own If you are told that a party is BYO this means that you are

expected to bring your own drinks – either soft drink or alcohol.

Some restaurants are also BYO. At these

restaurants it is acceptable to bring your own

alcohol – usually beer or wine. Soft drinks will be available to purchase.

Understanding Australian CustomsCONVERSATIONS

Don’t be worried if you are not fluent in English. Conversations are a great way to practise your spoken English.

If you are having a conversation and an English speaker is speaking too fast, ask them to speak slowly – this will not be seen as rude!

Sometimes it is rude to ask certain questions. For example it is not polite to ask people their age (especially an older person).

It is also not polite to ask men and women how much money they earn.

If you would like to know the cost of something, ask the question in a general way. Instead of saying “How much did your jeans cost?” you could say “What is the average price of a pair of jeans?”

Understanding Australian CustomsBARGAINING

In Australia you can’t bargain for food items.

Goods are sold according to the price they are marked.

In some street and weekend

markets you may be able

to bargain.

Australian Manners

Please when requesting anything Thank you when you receive anything Excuse me or sorry if you need to get

past anyone or bump into anyone No spitting please No pushing Please No picking noses or putting your

finger up your nose in public or class

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Australian Culture

• Most culture is based on history, traditions and belief systems (religion etc) therefore is different in every county (not right or wrong just different)

• Because of its unique history Australia has a unique culture which appreciates people being up front and very open in their communication styles

• Generally Australians are open, friendly and helpful and from a vast array of many different countries (multicultural)

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Australian Culture

• Australian culture represents a combination of all the customs and traditions of the cultures across worldwide who had resided here. These were European and aboriginal culture legacy which had greatly inhibited the Australian culture and at present the current Australian culture represents that fusion only.

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Lifestyle & Culture of Australians

• European settlers brought together many food and lifestyle traditions, and also the Australia nowadays is a mixture of these influences, in addition to current American influences. Australian holidays often are affected by this fusion.

• Classical music and opera are extremely popular. Australia’s popular music traditions are heavily relying on American rock. Bands like AC/DC, Men-at-Work and INXS have experienced international success.

• The Film industry has expanded recently, with films for example “The Matrix” and “Star Wars” filmed in Melbourne and Sydney.

Use of Abbreviations Diminutives

• IF YOU'D LOST YOUR mobes in Melbs at a barbie on a Sunday arvo you couldn't be anything but Australian. In fact, Australians use abbreviations and diminutives more than other English-speakers.

• Abbreviations and diminutives

The most common words they've identified so far were barbie (barbecue), arvo (afternoon), footy (football), sunnies (sunglasses), rego (registration), servo (service station), brekkie (breakfast), cuppa (cup of tea) and sanga (sandwich).  But people also came up with a lot of abbreviations for brand names, like Maccas, Woollies, Blunnies (Blundstone boots), Subie (Subaru) and Suzy (Suzuki). 

Australian Culture & Customs

• Do yourself a favour and give yourself an Australian name

• Why: Most of Australians cannot pronounce your names and feel embarrassed when they can’t

• Australians would prefer to call you by name than ‘Hey you’

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Arts and entertainment in Australia

• Arts and entertainment in Australia has had a very long and successful innings and still continues to be internationally popular for generating quality entertainment. Being one of the remotest and the most far-flung continent on the earth's surface, Australia has a distinct culture, which is aptly reflected in the arts and entertainment in Australia. This is one of the chief reasons, which has contributed to the success of the Australian arts and entertainment industry. The distinct feature of Australian arts and entertainment has helped establish this industry as one of the leading contributors in the field of Australian export and also build a profit-earning relation with the US, Europe and UK.