Citizens ‘are losing the idea of what it means to be an Australian’

Former Labor candidate Sam Crosby says there is a level of “Australian-ness” which “binds us” in the nation and is “worth much more than the silly culture war fights we have over the anthem or the flag”.

“I fear we're losing a commonly shared idea of what this country means … Australians are increasingly sorting ourselves into little bubbles,” he said.

“We should remember we were arguably the first nation on the planet to really commit to the idea that no one citizen is superior to another”.

“That a rich kid is no better that a poor kid … that a kid from the city is no better than a kid from the bush”.

He said there is an “Australian-ness that binds us (which) is worth more than class, or culture or colour”.

Mr Crosby also said, " it's time to revisit an idea that Tony Abbott proposed as prime minister, 'The Green Army'".

He said a "mechanism" which could take “take school leavers and send them into a different parts of Australia to work on the likes of land management, waterway clearing (and) hazard reduction" could be beneficial.

Image: Getty

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