Australian Immigration Policy Research Paper

WWII had a big impact on the social changes in Australia before and after the war. One of the reasons it had such an impact on Australia was due to the immigration policy, which was made to increase Australia’s population. The immigration policy is a policy on legal migrants. Legal migrants who come to Australia under the migration act are non – Australians who come to the country for work or other reasons without permission or people who overstay their visas. This enforces that those who come in the country without permission may be subject to mandatory immigration detention and may be deported from the country at any time, unless been given permission to stay in Australia. This policy has contributed to the multicultural society of Australia today. To this day, there in an estimated 50 000 people who have overstayed their visas, most of these people come from British nations. Those touching base by boat or different means without official classification as refugees are no longer granted permission outcast status on landing. For example, those from an Asian background are becoming a more familiar part of Australia’s society today. Overseas migrant entries have assumed a vital part in changing the face of Australia. The current variety of migrants born in Australia include areas such as The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam, China, Greece, Germany, Philippines and India. Since the change in immigration policy in the late 1960s to one of non-discrimination on race or ethnic background, there has been a significant change in the overseas sources of migrants, with settlers arriving from more diverse regions of the world. To this day, Australia’s overseas born population consists of people who practise over 140 recognized ethnic groups, people who fluently speak over 90 different languages and people who believe in over 80 different religions. This expanding ethnic and social diversity has changed the way Australians view both themselves and other societies of the world. It has

So what does “multiculturalism” mean? In simple terms multiculturalism is the coexistence, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures in a singular geographic or democratic jurisdiction. Multiculturalism has been a huge part of this study as Australia as a nation is diversified into a various cultural aspects. The concept of multiculturalism has become a widely accepted and embraced fact around the world as more and more countries have adopted to the global policies of acceptance which not only helps the nation economically but also contributes towards the growth of various cultural boundaries and also helps develop knowledge about wide spread variety of customs and culture groups around the world. Ultimately the essence of multiculturalism in any society is to eradicate the feeling of an outsider and accept ethnic and racial groups as their our and build the concept of unity in

Australia “The Lucky Country”; a stepping stone to a better life. The words of social critic Donald Horne stated in 1964 have been used to describe Australia’s wonderful culture, history and lifestyle. For many 20th century migrants this is what they only knew about the country creating an outburst of migrants arriving into Australia with the desire to seek a better life, escape poverty, war or persecution. They brought along with them a mix bag of emotions; fear and worry, happiness and joy alongside the expectations of the typical Australian life hoping to find acceptance, belonging, freedom and a promising future. However, due to the impact of many polices and historical events that have taken place in the past, the migrant experience has

Asian migration wave has had a significant impact on the Australian Political Policies as Asian it is a significant issue because it helped to make Australia richer and more culturally diverse today. It has also helped to change Political Policies to benefit other migrants positively. The slides hat follow allow you to observe present discussions and will also include an insight into the Asian Migration Wave, Impacts relating to Australia’s political policies as well as whether these impacts were continuous or changed.

Whitlam’s ‘Multiculturalism’ policy of 1972 was committed to non racial discrimination in regards to immigration selection. This policy enabled immigrants from diverse cultures to migrate and practice their religions in Australia. Australia saw migrants and refugees come from South East Asian countries, who previously, under the “white Australia Policy” were not allowed migrant status. This change in policy allowed for the evolution of Buddhism (from Vietnamese countries) and the Muslim culture from Indonesia

Australia in terms of immigration, has had a poor history of dealing with people travelling into the country, shown in the beginning of hand picking the majority of Australia 's population. However as the decades have rolled on, whether it be forced or by choice, Australia has become looser and more free in access and treatment within the country and importantly, less discriminatory. In order to see these improvements, the start must be shown, in which is generally summarised by the White Australia Policy.

It was in 1945 following the end of WWII that thee Chifley Labour Government established the Department of Immigration with Arthur Calwell at its head. The department used the slogan ‘Populate or Perish’ to promote the idea of increase Australia’s population to the people. The surrounding events such as the recent war and vulnerability to border security breech by the Japanese on top of the small population, convinced the then prime minister Ben Chifley and the Australian public that immigration was vital to the nation’s survival.

Immigration has always been a controversial topic in Australian society; who the government should and should not let into the country. Over the years Australia’s immigration policy has evolved and changed with the changing of attitudes and beliefs in society. The current immigration policy for Australia is a lot less discriminatory than past policies like the “White Australia policy” and the “Populate or Perish policy”. After federation in 1901 the Australian government created the Immigration Restriction Act.

A “White Australia” policy was introduced in the early 1900’s, significantly influencing views of immigration. The common belief of society was that only people from Europe, and preferably Britain and Ireland, were considered to be ‘good enough’ for immigration to Australia. People from all other nations, particularly Asian countries, were forced to undergo the incredibly difficult challenges to move permanently to Australia. If in

During the 19th century, five main phases have characterized immigration in Australia. The Gold Rush period in 1851, led immigrants from Europe and East Asia to migrate to Australia in search of gold finds (Spinks, 2010). The second phase of immigration occurred in 1871, when Egypt expanded its passage of the Suez Canal and migrants from Northern Africa and the Middle East were able to gain access to Australia’s southern seaports (Boulus, Dowding, and Pietsch, 2013). In 1901, however, the new Commonwealth of Australia established the Immigration Restriction Act, or the ‘White Australia policy,’ which banned immigrants from entering Australia. Moreover, the policy prohibited those existing ‘non-whites’ from obtaining citizenship and gaining

To combat this the australian federal government (AFG) moved to enact immigration laws that would restrict the movement of non english migrants into australia. The “Pacific Islander Labourers Act” clearly outlined the conditions needed for migrants to stay in australia as having ties and or australian heritage e.g. marriage with a white citizen or settlement in Australia for more than 20 years. If these conditions were not met the government would have grounds to deport the individual. Another act, the “immigration restriction act” gave the government power in deciding who could enter the country. Under the new act the government could use their discretion much more and deny entry to the country based on perceived criminality, injury or illness.

Australia is a settler nation which is now made up of many ethnic groups who share similar cultural traditions, common language, shared history and a shared identity (ABS, 2016). These groups contribute to what is referred to multiculturalism. Australia has a higher proportion of people born overseas than the US, Canada and the UK, with 49% of Australia’s population (or a parent) being born overseas (Census of Population and Housing, 2016). Compared to other Western nations, Australia has one of the most diverse immigration populations (Collins, 2013, p. 145). The meaning of multiculturalism in Australia has changed significantly over time. Today, Australia is a culturally and ethnically diverse country and therefore is a multicultural society. In terms of public policy, multiculturalism can be defined as policies and practices implemented by the Australian government that aim to manage cultural diversity to benefit the whole of society (Department of Social Services, 2014). Although Australia is a multicultural society, there are criticisms of public policy surrounding multiculturalism.

Multiculturalism has become the most debated topic in recent years. It influences economic and political decisions of the country. Many developed countries as like Canada welcome multiculturalism through various policies but for individuals it is a moral concern which they adopt through culture, religion, environment and political behavior of the country. Culture various from countries to countries and it is impossible to reform a new culture because it is in human norms. “People often believe things but they do not know why they believe it – emotional reaction” (Haidt, 2012).

A country built on immigration, Canada has long had a reputation of being culturally and ethnically diverse. While multiculturalism is meant to be built on equality and appreciation of different cultures, its concept has gained both support and opposition. On one hand, it allows for more assortment and the voices of minorities have a higher chance to be heard. On the other hand, loss of unity and conflicts may occur due to contrasting worldviews of the citizens. All in all, multiculturalism is a controversial policy that has both advantages and disadvantages, but has proven to be a successful strategy in Canada.

Australia has always been a multicultural country, the first immigrants that came to Australia were the British in 1788. During this phase of European settlement various policies were created to address cultural diversity. One of the most infamous policies was that of assimilation that forced Australian Aboriginal people and migrants to give up their own culture and heritage and assimilate to colonial Australian culture. Eventually this policy was revised to Multiculturalism. That as a policy in Australia refers to handling the ramifications of diversity, bearing in mind that all Australians have the right to a cultural identity, all citizens must be able to express their cultural inheritance. Whether Multiculturalism is advantageous for Australia or not is a very controversial topic. There is a side that argues that multiculturalism could threaten the lifestyle of many Australians. On the other hand, research demonstrates that from an Australian perspective it has been mostly advantageous. This essay will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of multiculturalism in Australia, with regard to economical, historical and social perspectives.