Needless to say, there are a small percentage of crazy people around that would always create a bad impression of a nation. Recently there were the 2 radical Racist Australian men who wanted to throw a french woman off a bus because she sang a french song. There are crazy people in every country, town, so lets not shape our opinions based on their actions. Australians are peace-loving and kind people.
So why do people not change for the better once they move to Australia? Well, why don't drug users stop using drugs, or criminals stop spoiling society? Nobody is perfect and like I said, we all have reasons for the way we behave. I do believe that people are inherently selfish. I know for one, Asian culture is driven by materialism in a huge way. Some see the light, realising that your Mercedes and big house won't make you happy, but others chase after money at any cost. In fact the Chinese government is teaching their people exactly this, and this was just last year. 'Go out in the world, and earn money, no matter what'. Mindsets like this are hard to break.
I know that the majority of Immigrants, including myself love the Australian lifestyle. People are really nice and I would be so happy if this can attitude can be conserved. People are responsible for their own attitudes, and whatever small actions we take, does make a difference. Don't ever let people tell you 'Oh what difference do you make?'
On the flipped; Australians need to step up in terms of productivity. It's a known fact, especially amongst Immigrants that Australians don't work hard. Of course I have to generalise for this topic sake, but I know there are many exceptions. The world is becoming more globalised by the day. The fact that labour is being out sourced to India by Australian companies to increase their profits is simply wrong. They still charge us in Dollars... I believe this should never have been allowed and it's rudely unfair to the Australian public. But back to my point; We need to compete with the world. Yes we have mining that made things easier, but it won't last forever. Australian is indeed a lucky country. Just be aware that people like myself and other Immigrants are willing to work twice as hard as some Australians, and we don't even need to boast about it. We will just do it because we need to build up our lives here. It's a tuff senario. I have done my best to slow down and become more Australian, but inherently, I'm used to working hard, so I don't mind it. People from China and India will work twice as hard as anyone else regardless of the consequences to others. We have to be aware of this.
Lets adopt the manners of the house that we enter, have respect and be tolerant to our differences.