Overview of Migration to Australia

Government Migration Policy

• The policy of the government of the day is a major factor in determining who can settle in Australia• What influences a government’s

policy?• Is it legitimate to use policy as a

tool to break history into periods?

5 Key Phases of Australian Migration Policy

1. White Australia Policy (1880-1973)

2. Assimilation Policy (1946-1960s)

3. Integration Policy (1960s-early 1970s)

4. Multiculturalism Policy (late 1980s-present)

5. Reactions to Multiculturalism (late 1990s-present)

1838 Immigrants flee religious persecution

1831 Assisted migration from UK begins 1888 Chinese

Immigration Restricted in all States

1860 Anti-Chinese riots at Lambing Flat

1800 1825 1850 1875 1900

Timeline of Australia’s Immigration Story – C19th

1788 Ongoing Aboriginal resistance to European Colonisation

1775

1788 Colonisation party lands in NSW

1867 Transportation of convicts ends

1900 1925 1950 1975 2000 2025

White Australia

Assimilation

Integration

Multiculturalism

Reaction to Multi.

Timeline of Australia’s Immigration Story - C20th

1945 Populate or perish

Timeline of Australia’s Immigration Story - C20th

1900 1925 1950 1975 2000 2025

White Australia

Assimilation

Integration

Multiculturalism

Reaction to Multi.

1901 Immigration Restriction Act & Dictation Test introduced

1947 Limited admittance of non-Europeans

1947 Displaced persons scheme

1952 Refugees and Japanese war brides accepted

1916 Registration of aliens

1973 End of White Australia Policy

1975 Racial Discrimination Act

1977 Australia as a Multicultural Society

1997 Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party

2001 MV Tampa

2005 Cronulla Riots

2007 Citizenship Test Introduced

1995 Racial Hated Act

1986 HREOC Act

1975 SBS established

1978 Review of Post-Arrival Programs and Services to Migrants (Galbally report)

White Australia Policy (1880-1973)• Origins in anti-Chinese activism on the goldfields in mid-1800s and use of

Pacific Islander labour in Qld.• An Act ‘to place certain restrictions on immigration and to provide for the

removal from the Commonwealth of prohibited immigrants’.• Also restricted migration of criminals, disabled, mentally ill, those likely to

be a welfare burden, and ‘those of loathsome character’.• Recent historians such as Alison Bashford and Henry Reynolds connect it to

the Eugenics Movement.• Enforced with a dictation test that could be given in any European

language.• In the first half of the 20th Century, the White Australia Policy was in full

force and widely popular.• In 1919 PM Billy Hughes hailed it as ‘the greatest thing we have achieved’.

Assimilation Policy (1946-1960s)

• Immigration Department established in 1945.• After WW2 ‘Populate or Perish’ became a key slogan• New arrivals of diverse European origins (‘New Australians’ or ‘reffos’)

required as quickly as possible to:• learn English• adopt Australian cultural practices• become indistinguishable from the Australian-born.

• The Good Neighbour Movement provided support at a neighbourhood level help to new arrivals adopt the Australian lifestyle.

Integration Policy (1960s-early 1970s)• At the 1959 Citizenship Convention the notion of integration was first

introduced. • Reflected an awareness that the first generation of immigrants was

unlikely to assimilate completely and their adaptation would be more effective if their cultural needs were recognised.• Began to recognise that:• bilingualism was an advantage • "older" Australians could learn from new migrants as well as teach them• migrants should be recognised for their contribution to the development of

the Australian economy.

Multiculturalism Policy (late 1980s-present)• First introduced at a federal level with state and territory governments have

subsequently developing their own multicultural policy.• Key policy shift for Whitlam and then Fraser governments who were facing

increased migration from Asia.• Core ideas:

• Individuals and communities should maintain their cultural/ethnic/religious identify• Australian society more broadly should be tolerant and welcoming of diversity• Barriers to full participation in society on the basis of ethnicity/religion/culture

should be removed• Needs of migrants should be met by programs and services available to the whole

community and special services.

Reactions to Multiculturalism (late 1990s-present)

• Multiculturalism has been a contested policy and concept since its introduction in Australia in the 1970s.• Late-1990s debate focused strongly on Asian migration and

integration.• One Nation Party• Cabramatta as a hotbed of Vietnamese gang crime

• 2000s debate shifted to concern about Islamic terrorism and the challenges of ensuring social cohesion.• Cronulla Riots• Boat People, Queue Jumpers, Border Protection