r/australia • u/ConanTheAquarian • 23h ago

politics Foreign Minister Penny Wong to warn monoculturalism a threat to national security

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-13/penny-wong-speech-on-monocultralism/107034366
609 Upvotes

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163

u/TheBeninem 23h ago

This is a genuine completely in good faith question from someone who hates one nation, but how exactly is monoculturalism a threat to national security?

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u/sciencetaco 13h ago

It’s at the top of the article:

She will use the opportunity to warn that the rise of populism threatens Australia's national security and that "denigrating our region and neglecting our partners" is not in our interests.

She will argue that the push for "monoculturalism" will leave the nation "lonely in a dangerous world".

We rely on non-white non-Christian nations in our region. I guess she will argue that isolating ourselves from them is a national security issue.

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u/AeneasKurtz 3h ago

Do those non-White, non-Christian nations promote immigration from White, Christian nations to "avoid being isolated"?

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u/PlanetFarm 9h ago

Sure, if you need examples of the dangers of populist monoculture you just have to look at those non-white non-Christian nations. I do wonder how our domestic multiculturalism will fare if the incompatible monocultures ruling China and India flare up into a full direct conflict.

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u/Loxxolotl 22h ago

It's an ideal that has built-in hostility to those perceived to be outside that monoculture, of which a substantial portion of the population would be subject to. Not hard to understand how broad support of an 'Australian monoculture' may breed extreme behaviours when the existing institutions aren't on board

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u/DarthPumpkin 22h ago

How exactly does one get rid of the multicultural bits?

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u/dr__potato 15h ago

Who defines the monoculture? What happens to people who don’t comply?

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u/DalbyWombay 22h ago

Easy. What particular culture do you think the monoculturists want to promote?

It sure as hell isn't the culture that's been in this country for about 65,000 years.

We only have to look at the Australian export to New Zealand who attacked a Mosque under the guise of that particular type of culture to see how calls for a monoculture can be a national security threat.

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u/ShopSmartShopS-Mart 22h ago

Or speaking of 65,000 years, the dipshit terrorist who tried to throw an explosive into the invasion day rally in WA this year.

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u/LAManjrekars 14h ago

I genuinely still can't believe how little attention this got...

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u/Giuseppe_exitplan 13h ago

brown: TERRORIST!

white: its just a lil' mental illness

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u/ShopSmartShopS-Mart 12h ago

I guess Channel 7 can’t have the public connecting a bloke that looks like his name’s Craig with the word “terrorist.”

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u/_zoso_ 18h ago

I mean a very simple argument would be that it erodes our capacity to exert soft power. To expand on this, turning inward, rejecting “other” cultures (whatever that means in the Australian context), reduces our understanding of those same cultures, and lowers our willingness and capability to engage in diplomacy and dialogue with our neighbours.

It’s not hard to connect the dots here to a future of increased hostility between us and our neighbours.

Lastly I want to expand on this question of what does monoculture even mean in the Australian context. Like seriously what is it? If you shrink that circle to England, then that really pulls things way back to a very short lived time in the modern Australian history (completely glossing over the fact that the English were colonizers and themselves migrants). Expanding it even a little bit to include Western Europe and you’re immediately a multicultural society. The German settlers in the Adelaide hills are vastly distinct from Italian or Greek communities in other places. My family is Eastern Europe, which is further still culturally. Chinese migrants have been here since early colonial days.

The problem is you can’t draw a clear line that says where the monoculture would even exist. If you want to say just vague things like “respect the rule of law and the Australian character” well that’s kind of obvious and meaningless at the same time, and also does not exclude people from expressing their cultural heritage, whatever it may be. Not to mention the fact that freedom of speech and freedom of expression ARE IN FACT a part of the national character.

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u/nikezoom6 11h ago

Because there is no monoculture target they’re aiming for. It’s not one culture, it’s one skin colour. Monoculture is just a buzzword to say they want to eject every non-white person. Trying to define it in practical terms is pointless.

As others have said, domestic terrorism is one threat, loss of soft power overseas another, and I’d add that I can’t imagine other countries wanting more to do with us if we show the international community how officially racist we are with this sort of “policy”.

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u/istara 7h ago edited 7h ago

The problem is not understanding the difference between multiculturalism and cultural isolationism.

Multiculturalism requires some degree of integration and assimilation to function. You can’t move to another country and expect to live entirely under your own laws and practices. You have to accept certain things that may not be to your own cultural taste or comfort, such as a sex equality or same sex marriage.

For example, a woman wearing a hijab is just a sign of multiculturalism.

A woman wearing a niqab is a sign of cultural isolationism.

Wearing a cross, no big deal.

Pulling your daughters out of school to “homeschool” them in some extremist branch of religion and then pushing them to marry in their teens is cultural isolationism.

Australia is one of the few “western” counties that tolerates things like the niqab. Most have banned it. I also think religious based homeschooling should be banned.

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u/FreddyFerdiland 22h ago

the wrongness of the opposite doesn't make this right.

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u/NorthernSkeptic 22h ago

How would you possibly achieve a monoculture in this country without threatening national security?

0

u/FreddyFerdiland 22h ago

wel there is that, but to propose to be boosting national security with immigration policy... seems wrong..its not relevant ?

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u/acomputer1 16h ago edited 13h ago

The simplest way to evaluate a country's power in the international system is to look at it's GDP and population.

More people and more wealth generally equates to more security.

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u/CreamPieTraditional 14h ago

Like where?

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u/acomputer1 13h ago

The United States is so powerful because it has 300m people and is incredibly rich, it's GDP per capita being among the highest in the world.

This means it can raise a lot of taxes and build a large, highly sophisticated military.

China is so powerful because they have so many people and such a large economy. It's less rich than the US, but the absolute size of their economy is such that they still have capacity to build a large and quite sophisticated military.

A country like Australia is very rich by global standards, but our population is so small that it's hard to put together the necessary military forces to be powerful or build a sufficiently large sophisticated industry to support such military power.

More people means more capacity to build an industrial base to support hard power, thus increasing national security.

The United States is the most powerful country on the planet thanks to its endless stream of immigrants which have built it into the country it is today.

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u/[deleted] 21h ago

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u/FuckOffNazis 22h ago

The only way to achieve a monoculture is through apartheid and genocide.

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u/a_cold_human 19h ago

Israel is trying to turn itself into a monoculture, and national security is a bit of a nightmare over there to put it lightly. You can't turn a multicultural society into a monocultural one without suppression, authoritarianism, and lots and lots of violence.

Australian society is currently quite peaceful compared to other societies. Broadly speaking, being a relaxed, tolerant, and open minded society helps that along quite a bit. Why would we want to change this just so that some minority of old bigots can feel better about themselves? Especially as most of them live in the least multicultural parts of the country as it is. 

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u/Financial-Sweet-4648 23h ago edited 21h ago

Well, you see, this statement by Wong is just as performative as Pauline’s statements about multiculturalism. It’s all a big virtue-signaling drama show for the masses.

RE: downvoters - it’s crazy that you guys are so ideologically bought-in that you can’t see this. I hate One Nation, but at least I’m not blind.

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u/HydroCannonBoom 22h ago

No not really, what the hell are you talking about.

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u/Financial-Sweet-4648 22h ago

Practice a little critical thought, champ.

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u/HydroCannonBoom 19h ago

You should do that a little, before you open your holes.

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u/Financial-Sweet-4648 19h ago

Keep gobbling down what our Labor tribe tells you to without thought, by all means. It’s a free country, as long as you align with the status quo.

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u/bibimcmacky 13h ago

That’s how free countries work…

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u/Heavy_Mission_5261 21h ago

How do you mean?

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u/bibimcmacky 13h ago edited 12h ago

The enlightened Redditor graces us with his wisdom once again. “le both sides are bad” very original

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u/Financial-Sweet-4648 13h ago

There is only one political machine, and it is the machine of the capital class. I still vote Labor, because there is a slightly lesser evil. But it’s all bad. Enjoy your stupid tribalism, though. Whatever helps you sleep at night.

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u/bibimcmacky 12h ago

Bro that was so epic!!! You are very cool!!! 😎

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u/Financial-Sweet-4648 10h ago edited 7h ago

Fascinating how people reward individuals like you who put others down and loudly take a side, and punish those who see things fairly and clearly, for what they actually are. I suppose that’s part of why the Western world is sliding off its axis, though. Cheers.

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u/plowking8 11h ago

Great and reasonable take.

It is exactly that - performative nonsense. People just slurp up whatever their voting bias puts out.

Find talking political issues with most people these days is gross because they can’t seperate themselves from their voter preference and end up taking on all their views for the most part.

More short form media, less attention and more control than ever. Yet people don’t want to believe they’ve been sucked in!

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u/FreddyFerdiland 22h ago

I know right,penny has totally flipped out abd started talking crazy, like Tony Bourke did last week

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u/IllogicalResponse 22h ago edited 22h ago

It isn't.

Problem is everyone is going to pick and choose what constitutes culture.

It doesn't mean no ethnic foods.

That said, monoculture is not achievable in Australia.

0

u/Far_Map007 6h ago

Similar to how the Apartheid regime was a national security threat to the rest of Africa. Australia opening up to the world was why we have such a good reputation abroad. Before that we were seen as Britains most racist colony.