We must stop this flawed policy of dividing people up into ethnic minorities and embrace the vision of One People, One Destiny. Multiculturalism promotes an ideal of segregation not integration or engagement. It robs people of a common shared destiny as Australians. It robs me of my identity as an Australian.

We can appreciate and acknowledge our respective heritage and beliefs as long as it does not conflict with the values of our liberal democracy. I always believed that being Australian is not a race but an attitude. It is about having and believing in a set of shared values. It is a civic rather than an ethnic conception of nationhood.

I was born in Sri Lanka and my story, like most migrant stories, is a tale of access to opportunity. My family escaped the ravages of war to seek a better life in Australia. The fact that I was born in Sri Lanka makes me, in many people's eyes, a Sri Lankan. But I am an Australian. Period. And proud of it. I do not believe in hyphenated nationalities. Why do I need to defend my Australianness in my own country? In Europe, where I am based, all my friends consider me as an Aussie. Never once did they ask: "So where are you really from?" In fact they've anointed me Australia's de facto ambassador to Europe.

Let me use an example. I have a friend who was adopted, and she says that "her mother and the woman who gave birth to her are two different people". It is similar for me: the country that I was born in and my motherland are two different countries. Australia is my motherland. A good mate of mine once said: "Mate, you are more Aussie than Kath and Kim."

We all have a heritage – I have a Saiva Tamil Hindu one – but it does not conflict with my identity as an Australian. Whether your ancestry is from the British Isles or from the Dreamtime we should appreciate that. But our nationality is Australian. This is what unity in diversity means. We all came to this country in different canoes but we are all in the same boat now.