Where the bloody hell are we? : multicultural manners in a world of hyperdiversity

Many Australians, used to seeing images of ethnic violence in other parts of the world, were shell-shocked by the Cronulla riots, and in the following weeks public and private debates canvassed the causes of the conflict - youth, drunkenness, masculinity, mobile phones, disadvantage, alienation and, of course, perceived cultural conflict. In contrast to the Hazzard Report's criticism of the media, a poll of 45,000 readers conducted by the Sydney Morning Herald (2005b), listed the main sources of blame as racism, stupidity, poor parenting/schooling, tribalism, xenophobia and alcohol. A common theme has been the failure of multiculturalism. As we shall see in this book, these events represent lines of fracture that test the limits of multiculturalism and nationalism in Australia.