Hands off Timorese Oil - Brisbane May Day 2017 parade - image 2

Anti-Australian sentiment (also known as Australophobia or Anti-Australianism) refers to animosity, criticism, or prejudice towards

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, its

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, or

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

in general. Anti-Australian sentiment can arise from various factors including differences in

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

, events outlined in the

History of Australia The history of Australia is the history of the land and peoples which comprise the Commonwealth of Australia. The modern nation came into existence on 1 January 1901 as a federation of former British colonies. The human history of Australia, ...

, its domestic or foreign policies or its involvement in various conflicts such as

World War 1 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisin ...

. The

antonym In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''even'' entails that it is not ''odd''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members i ...

for an Australophobe is an Australophile, which refers to the appreciation, love, or admiration for Australia.

History

One of the earliest references to the specific phrase "Anti-Australian sentiment" occurred in 1983 in relation to anti-independence groups in

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. The term "anti-Australian" also predates it by decades in that by 1949, people in parts of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

were said to have "anti-Australian feeling" over how Australia applied its White Australia policy.

East Timor

Anti-Australian sentiment grew within

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, during the period of the

Timor Gap Treaty The Timor Gap Treaty was formally known as the ''Treaty between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the zone of cooperation in an area between the Indonesian province of East Timor and Northern Australia''. It was a bilateral treaty betwe ...

which was signed during the

Indonesian occupation of East Timor The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese Timor, Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal led to the decolonisation of ...

. the sentiment was further intensified by the political and economic issues between

and

, particularly over oil and gas resources within the

Timor Sea The Timor Sea (, , or ) is a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Tr ...

, which sparked major protests.

Singapore

In 1948, there were anti-Australian sentiments in then- colonial Singapore by their citizens due to the treatment of one of their countrywomen.

Indonesia

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

has been alleged to have a rise in "anti-Australian sentiment" because of suggestions of Australia interfering in its internal affairs. A 2003 study on Indonesian aspirants for a diplomatic position reported that 95% of them had anti-Australian sentiment. The

post-Suharto era The Post-Suharto era () is the contemporary history in Indonesia, which began with fall of Suharto, the resignation of authoritarian President of Indonesia, president Suharto on 21 May 1998. Since his resignation, the country has been in a peri ...

period also saw anti-Australian sentiment in Indonesia over

. In Indonesia, it is related to a generalised

anti-Western sentiment Anti-Western sentiment, also known as anti-Atlanticism or Westernophobia, refers to broad opposition, bias, or hostility towards the people, culture, or policies of the Western world. This sentiment is found worldwide. It often stems from ant ...

. The Australian intervention in

still made the Indonesian government upset and led to it taking revenge on Australia by undermining the Australian interest in the country. A 2012 public opinion poll conducted by the

Lowy Institute The Lowy Institute is an independent think tank founded in April 2003 by Frank Lowy to conduct original, policy-relevant research regarding international political, strategic and economic issues from an Australian perspective. It is based in ...

, an Australian foreign relations think tank, found that Indonesians rated their views towards Indonesia as 62 degrees, on a scale between 0 and 100 degrees ranging from "very unfavourable" to "very warm". This polling also found that just under a third of Indonesians saw Australia as a potential threat to their country.

2002 Bali bombings

The

2002 Bali bombings The 2002 Bali bombings were a series of terrorist attacks on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attacks killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people ...

, which killed 202 people, including 88

and injured at least a further 75 Australians, were in direct retaliation for Australia's role in the liberation of

Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

and United States' support of the war on terror.

Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta

On 9 September 2004, the Australian Embassy in Jakarta was bombed, killing 10 people and injuring 200 others. The perpetrators Jemaah Islamiyah, an organisation which has also claimed responsibility for multiple other attacks against Australians including the

, carried out the attack because of their hatred towards Australians living in Indonesia and the Australian government's deployment of troops in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. An Islamist web site, www.islamic-minbar.com, posted a statement by Jemaah Islamiyah saying:

Espionage allegations

In October 2013, Indonesians protested the

Australian Signals Directorate The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), formerly the Defence Signals Directorate, is a statutory agency of the Government of Australia responsible for signals intelligence, providing intelligence support to Australian military operations, con ...

's alleged 2009 attempt to monitor the phone calls of senior Indonesian officials, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhiyono and his wife Ani Yudhoyono, this included burnings of the

flag of Australia The national flag of Australia is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star) and a representation of the Crux, Southe ...

. Protests intensified as Australian Prime Minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...

refused to apologise, leading to further anti-Australia rhetoric. Indonesia froze ties with Australia as a result and recalled the Indonesian ambassador Nadjib Riphat Kesoema to Jakarta between November 2013 and May 2014.

Turkey

After the

Christchurch mosque shootings Two consecutive mass shootings took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. They were committed by a single perpetrator during Friday prayer, first at the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton, at 1:40p.m. and almost immediately afterwards ...

in 2019 (which were carried out by an Australian), Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

warned that if

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

ers with anti-

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and anti- Turkish views try to enter Turkey, they will be "sent back home in coffins like their grandfathers", referring to the Australian Landings on Gallipoli against Turkish Forces in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Many

and

New Zealanders New Zealanders are people associated with New Zealand, sharing a common History of New Zealand, history, Culture of New Zealand, culture, and language (New Zealand English). People of various ethnicities and national origins are citizens of Ne ...

were highly offended by these comments and accused Erdoğan of anti-Australianism. Australian

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...

and New Zealand

Jacinda Ardern Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was ...

described these comments as "appalling" and "highly insensitive".

References

{{Reflist 1983 neologisms

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Foreign relations of Australia