Birth of a Nation

• English colonisation of Terra Australis

• Government ‘white supremacy’

• 1901 Federation: Australia becomes a nation

• Among the first Acts of Parliament: White Australia Policy

• Mass deportation of Chinese immigrants

White Australia Policy• Late 19th century trade unions

campaigned against foreign labour• After Federation (1901), Edmond

Barton Australia’s first PM: • “The doctrine of the equality of

man was never intended to apply to the equality of the Englishman and the Chinaman”

• Early drafts of Immigration Restriction Act 1901 → adoption of dictation test (ANY European language)

• 1919 Paris Peace Conference, PM Hughes. Japan equality clause

‘Populate or Perish’

• Post WWII mass immigration 1% p.a increase

• ‘White Australia’ expanded to encompass all Europeans

• Assisted migration £10 Poms then £20 Poms until 1974

1975 and the implications for today

• Racial Discrimination Act 1975, made it illegal to use racial criteria to discriminate

• End of radically motivated policy• Vietnamese refugees, Chinese and Indian

migrants started arriving after change of policy• Today UK, NZ, China, Italy, Vietnam, India are

the largest migrant groups• Australia is one of the most culturally diverse

countries in the world.

So who is defined as ‘Australian’?

Some statistics on Australia today• Estimated population 22,719,539 • 2006 census Australians were asked to describe their

ancestry: Indigenous Australians 2.5% (2006) ‘Australian’ 37.37% English 31.65% Irish 9.08% Scottish 7.56% Chinese 3.37% Indian 1.18%

• Most migrants come to Australia on an approved program such as ‘skills migration’ or ‘family reunion’

• 2004-05: 123,424  people migrated (17,736 African)

Illegal Immigration• Unauthorised immigration arrivals tend to be the most controversial• Both major parties have campaigned on the fear of ‘boatpeople’ • 2009, 2849 people arrived by boat to Australia• But in 2009 there were an estimated 50,000 people in Australia

illegally overstaying their visas

Government response to unauthorised arrivals

• Mandatory detention established 1992 • 1994 extended to indefinite mandatory detention• 1998 HREOC Australia breaching HR

obligations under UN convention (particularly CROC) 2005 release of families with children into community detention

• 2001 Pacific Solution (response to TAMPA)• Offshore processing- no right to legal assistance

or judicial review• 2008 ‘Pacific Solution’ formally ended• Malaysian deal

‘Fuck off, we’re full!’

• A question of integration? Why the WPA was introduced..

• ‘Aussie’ way of life, nationalism

• Indian students in Australia

• Cronulla riots• ‘Not in my backyard’,

detention centres• Social networks • Skills shortage• One Nation