Leaflet 3: Active Citizens

This leaflet should help citizens to think about what it means to be an active citizen.

  • What are the responsibilities of an Australian citizen?
  • Do young people have the same responsibilities as adult citizens?
  • Who are some noted citizens in Australia's past, apart from politicians?
  • What should we look for in a 'Citizen of the Year'?
  • What should we look for in a 'Young Citizen of the Year'?

Resources You Can Use

Books

Discovering Democracy Primary and Secondary Units: these books contain units on citizenship and public life. There is also a CD-ROM and a vVideo.

Internet sites

About Citizenship, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
http://www.immi.gov.au/
This site has a lot of information. Downloading and printing are slow, so select carefully what you need. On this site also, the Australian Citizenship Council has an Issues Paper to mark the 50th anniversary of Australian citizenship. This Issues Paper explains the history of Australian citizenship and asks for comments on changing Australian citizenship. The paper is long, so you will need to choose sections for printing.

National Australia Day Council
http://www.telstra.com.au/nadc/awards/local.htm
The National Australia Day Council runs the Citizen of the Year awards.

The Good Citizen: Australian Democracy & Citizenship
http://www.abc.net.au/ola/citizen/
This site has a lot of information on rights and duties of citizens. Includes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.