NZ-born teens feel worst about living in Australia - survey

Cronulla beach, scene of racially motivated riots in 2005. Photo / Getty Images

SYDNEY - Young people in Australia born in New Zealand are least likely to feel good about living in Australia, a survey of teenagers from minority backgrounds has found.

The survey of 339 young people aged between 14 and 17, living in western and southwestern Sydney, has found most of them feel good about Australia and the suburbs they live in.

Just 5.6 per cent say they rarely or never feel good about living in Australia, according to research undertaken by the University of Western Sydney (UWS) and the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS).

Teenagers born in England, Lebanon, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and parts of Africa were most likely to feel positive about Australia, with 100 per cent saying they felt good about living here.

But only 18.5 per cent of those born in New Zealand say they feel good about living in Australia.

The survey, undertaken for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, also found young people from minority backgrounds were unsure about their identity as Australians.

Just one third of participants described themselves as Australian, even though two-thirds of those surveyed were born in Australia.

The vast majority of those surveyed (301) said they had not been affected by the 2005 Cronulla riots in any way.

Those who had been affected reported they had become more afraid of going to certain places in Sydney, including Cronulla beach.

Dozens of people were injured in December 2005 when a series of racially motivated riots broke out in Cronulla beach and spread over several nights to other Sydney suburbs.

The authors of the study said the results showed the stereotypical view of western Sydney as a place of trouble for young people did not hold true for many.

"This research provides strong evidence that Australia's multicultural society is working and that young people of a minority immigrant and religious background have positive hopes and aspirations about their future in Australia," Professor Jock Collins from UTS said.

- AAP sm