Am I Too Australian to Be Papua New Guinean?

 On cultural identity, privilege, belonging and living between two worlds.

I recently attended a Pacific networking event, and I walked away feeling something I hadn’t felt in a while.

Seen. Understood. Connected.

It wasn’t necessarily the networking itself that stayed with me. It was the conversations.

Conversations with people from across the Pacific, including Samoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea, who understood what it means to grow up, study, work and build a life in Australia while still holding a deep connection to where we come from.

And something came up that I think many Pacific Islanders living abroad can relate to.

Being told we’re “too white.”

That we’ve become “too Australian.”

Or that we’ve somehow forgotten our culture.

When your accent becomes your identity

I’m proudly Papua New Guinean.

But because I have an Australian accent, I’ve had people question who I am to speak about Papua New Guinea.

I’ve received comments suggesting that I’m not connected enough to my culture, simply because of the way I sound.

And what I find interesting is that these comments often come from people who don’t actually know me.

They don’t know my values.

They don’t know my family.

They don’t know the relationships I maintain with people back home in PNG.

They don’t know how I contribute to Papua New Guinean communities here in Australia or back home.

Yet somehow, an accent becomes enough for someone to make a judgement about my identity.

It makes me wonder.

When did being connected to your culture become something you had to prove to other people?

Two cultures can shape one person

I don’t consider myself any less Papua New Guinean because I’ve been shaped by Australia.

In fact, I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have been influenced by both.

My Papua New Guinean heritage has shaped my values, my connection to family, community and my understanding of where I come from.

Living in Australia has shaped my education, professional experiences, perspectives and the opportunities available to me.

Neither cancels out the other.

Both have contributed to the person I am today.

And I don’t believe we should have to choose between them.

Recognising privilege without feeling guilty about it

Something else that stayed with me from the networking event was the conversation around opportunity.

I recognise how privileged I am to have had access to education in Australia.

An education that opened doors.

Opportunities to work, build a career, develop professional networks, earn an income and gain experiences that might not have been as accessible to me otherwise.

And I’m very aware that not everyone back home in Papua New Guinea has access to those same opportunities.

But here’s how I see it.

Privilege isn’t something I need to apologise for. It’s something I can choose to do something meaningful with.

The education, knowledge, skills and networks I’ve gained don’t have to benefit only me.

They can also become tools to support others.

To share knowledge.

To create connections.

To advocate for opportunities.

To give back to the communities that are part of who I am.

And I think that’s an important conversation for Pacific people living in the diaspora.

What if, instead of questioning whether someone has become too Australian, we asked how their experiences could help strengthen our communities?

What if we saw those experiences as assets rather than evidence of cultural disconnection?

Raising the next generation between two worlds

Now that I’m raising two young boys, this conversation feels even more personal.

I want my children to know their Papua New Guinean heritage.

To understand their family, their culture, their history and the importance of staying connected to where they come from.

I want them to feel proud of that identity.

But I also want them to embrace the opportunities available to them growing up in Australia.

To explore, learn, question and create their own paths.

I don’t want them growing up feeling like they need to prove they belong to one culture more than another.

I want them to understand that their identity can hold both.

And that being proud of where you come from doesn’t mean limiting where you can go.

Finding community in shared experiences

This is one of the reasons I wanted to attend the Pacific networking event.

Connection.

Not just professional networking or exchanging business cards, but connecting with people who understand the complexities of living between cultures.

People who have experienced similar comments, expectations and assumptions.

People who are navigating what it means to honour their heritage while embracing the lives they’ve built in Australia.

It was refreshing to hear those perspectives.

And reassuring to know these conversations are happening.

Because sometimes, when you’re constantly being questioned about your identity, it’s easy to feel like you’re the only one experiencing it.

But you’re not.

Maybe we’re asking the wrong question

Instead of asking whether someone is “Pacific enough,” perhaps we should be asking different questions.

How are we maintaining meaningful connections to our communities?

How are we sharing the opportunities we’ve been given?

How are we supporting the next generation?

And how can we celebrate the different experiences Pacific people bring to the table?

Because our communities aren’t strengthened by questioning who belongs.

They’re strengthened when we recognise the value each person can contribute.

I am Papua New Guinean.

I have an Australian accent.

I’ve been shaped by both cultures.

And I don’t believe I need to choose.

Your accent doesn’t determine your identity. Your opportunities don’t erase your roots. And living away from home doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten where you come from.

I’d love to hear from other Pacific Islanders living away from their home countries.

Have you ever felt like you had to prove you were Pacific enough? And how do you maintain your connection to your culture while building a life somewhere else?

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