Australia's Immigration Policy

Along with the American presence, Australia’s treatment of aliens also had the potential to cause considerable divisions. When war broke out, many foreigners, mostly Germans, and other ‘dangerous persons were made to prove their identity and placed under strict rules which they had to adhere to in order to live in Australia. However it was not the government, but the

The two main reasons to the passing of the Immigration Restriction Act was because of racism and economic fears. The Immigration Restriction Act was also commonly known as the ‘White Australian Policy’. There is evidence of racism all throughout this time; most being towards the Chinese and Aboriginal cultures. One reason that the immigration act was passed was because many Australians were jealous or worried about the hard work that foreigner workforces were doing. The white Australians were threatened by the fact that they could lose their jobs. A second reason for the passing of the act was because they wanted to maintain ‘racial purity’. The third reason is because of the wellbeing of Australia, white Australians used this as an excuse.

Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore should be treated accordingly. Equality and social justice are additional factors that contribute to the response of Australian society in welcoming refugees throughout history. The vietnamese refugees of the 1970’s were welcomed by society in an attempt to shift away from the ‘White Australia Policy’. Charities and church organisations such as the Australian Red Cross also provided assistance with clothing, housing and other required adjustments for example education. These positive elements created fairness and equal opportunities for the refugees. However, some individuals remained loyal to the White Australia policy and were racist and discriminatory towards the easily identifiable refugees. Even members of the Catholic church persisted to be intolerant of refugees. Nevertheless, in present day, the Church is significantly more accepting of refugees by supporting charities, increasing awareness, working alongside refugees and providing aid to asylum seekers. Within the general society, some groups and individuals are still unfortunately racially prejudiced because of their lack of knowledge. However, a large percentage of the population are accepting of refugees; often indulging in foreign cuisines and continually strengthening or creating international relationships. The fair treatment and equality for all human beings has a notable impact on both the Church's and Australia’s perspective regarding

Immigration has had the most dramatic effect on the current religious landscape of Australia, leading to an increase in some groups and the decline of others. The origins of the decline of the first doctrines that came to Australia can be traced back to the to the relaxation of the White Australia Policy. This in turn led to an increased population of Immigrants in Australia from countries other than Britain, Italy, Ireland and European countries in general.

For many years Asian Migrants were restricted from entering Australia and found it difficult to migrate due to discriminatory political policies. The main policies were the ‘dictation test’, the policy of ‘Assimilation’ and the ‘White Australia’ policy. The main Asian Migration wave occurred in 1976 after the Vietnam War forced many people to leave there homes and come here to Australia. These Asian Migrants arrived in Australia by boat which was usually very over crowded. The cause of

“Nobody knew what was awaiting us in Australia.” This statement by an interviewed person by Jerzy Zubrzycki, named Lydia, suggests Australia was simply not well known in the DP camps of Europe. Thus Australian officials advertised Australia as a “…country of salvation and new beginnings, and an escape route from the wartime devastation and postwar Communist perils of Europe.” This subversion directly appeals to DPs, however with “new beginnings”, there were many differences between Australia and Europe that were often unexpected by migrants. Chub presents this stark contrast between reality and the highly publicised version of Australia, including “…the trees and birds [which] were different…even the frogs croaked differently to those in Ukraine…” These representations suggest Australia was a homeland that was also pastoral and nostalgic in a European sense. On the other hand, these representations suggest attention was more towards representing Australia as a desirable resettlement destination, rather than successfully integrating immigrants into the Australian community. The features of the Australian immigration policy, and other factors including distance made it an unattractive resettlement destination. For these reasons, Australian officials may have felt the need to ‘sell’ Australia.

After all wars, there are always large numbers of homeless refugees. Australia has always been seen as a good place to house such refugees, due to it’s size. Socially there has been much unrest in the Australian public to this. The Australian public have seen Asian migrants and refugees as a threat to their jobs, as they work harder for less pay. Post-Vietnam War was no exception, with 70000 Indo-Chinese refugees arriving in Australia since the late 1970’s. Politically the acceptance of war time refugees into Australia, has put the Australian government in a good image with other countries, this acceptance of refugees and migrants has strengthened Australia’s trade ties with other countries introducing large amounts of Capital Revenue.

The immigration policy of Australia has been in a constant state of flux ever since Federation in 1901, when the first legislative piece, the Immigration Restriction Act, was introduced. The Immigration Restriction Act has become infamous in Australian history and throughout the world, more nefariously as the ‘White Australia Policy’. The White Australia Policy was Australia’s seemingly indestructible way of ensuring a White Australia. However, the immigration of European refugees after World War II, which aimed to defend the nation from Japanese invasion, challenged this policy. From 1901, Australia held a strong belief that coloured people, specifically Asians, were inferior and detrimental to the Australian way of life, and did all in it’s

As a result of the war, 2 million Indochinese citizens became refugees, fleeing from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam for political, religious and economic reasons, due to the rise of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Nearly 140,000 of them were Vietnamese, who fled their country in the years after 1975, 55 000 of them came as refugees between 1975 and 1982, while 95 000 came through family reunion (an initiative set up by the government to keep families together). The White Australia Policy and the fear of Asian communism, with their discriminatory impacts had been abolished and Australia began to accept Asian migrants and political refugees after realising their vital link to Australia, the enormous trade opportunities and the declining links to Britain. By 1985, Asian–born Australians made up 2% of the population, which by 2005 had increased to nearly 7%. In 1977, multiculturalism became a firm government policy, giving funding and licences to foreign language radio stations and starting language schools for the new immigrants. By the 1980s, newspapers in Australia were being printed in over 100 different languages. The 2011 Census indicated that 185,000 people born in Vietnam were residents in Australia and 219,000 people spoke Vietnamese at home. Australia has also adopted many traditional Asian customs, including celebrating Chinese

Today Australia is known as a multicultural country who allows people from all over the world to migrate to Australia. People are definitely not allowed to our country only because of what religion or language they speak, and definitely not based on skin color. Well this was not the case 45 years ago. 45 years ago was when the government stopped the non European immigration policy, which better known as the White Australia Policy. It started in 1901 and ended in 1975. The policy lasted for 75 years. The White Australia policy was not a single government directive, but a series of acts with a common goal, to achieve and maintain a white, British national character. When the policy ended it was a very big turning point in the country because

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.

In the essay, we have discussed a Vietnamese family, how they suffered, in their own country, escaping through Cambodia and Thailand, finally, finding a refuge in Australia. Nguyen’s book is the premise for the essay; there are sourced references supporting the statements used. The first years, after abandoning the White Australia policy, during the time of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser is looked at briefly. Blainey’s debate is shown as an anti-racist idea, which most Australians did not agree with. The book is well-written by a woman who was not born or was too young to know most of the information, that means that the book was written by gleaning knowledge, from her parents and relatives. Nguyen has chronologically time lined the book excellently.

Australia has arguably the most restrictive immigration control in the world and has very tough policies in place for asylum seekers who arrive by boat. Under Australia 's system of mandatory detention, all non-citizens who are in Australia without a valid visa must be detained, including children. In 2012, offshore processing of asylum seekers commenced and detention centres in Nauru and Manus Island (Papua New Guinea) were established. This new system enforced policies that transferred asylum seekers who arrive by boat without a valid visa to a third country. Once the processing of asylum seekers was completed, those found to be genuine refugees will be resettled in Papua New Guinea or Cambodia, not Australia. The Abbott Government stated that no immigrant who arrives in Australia by boat will be grated a visa, no matter the legitimacy of their claim. In April 2016, the Manus Island detention centre was closed after the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea found it to be illegal. Current immigration Peter Dutton has made it clear that asylum seekers on Manus Island are the responsibility of Papua New Guinea and would not come to Australia. As well as the hundreds of immigrants in offshore detention centres, there are hundreds more in community detention in Australia. There are currently over 26,800 visa applications from those who are awaiting the outcome of their refugee application whilst living on a bridging visa in Australia.

Highly skilled people from Asia also found it very difficult to access permission to migrate into Australia. That all changed after the Vietnam War. Before 1975, there were less then two thousand Vietnamese people born in Australia, although that changed dramatically over the next ten years. In 1976, after the ‘boat people’ began arriving in Australia, the Liberal government led by Malcolm Fraser had realised that Australia agreed to the Indo Chinese refugees because of the role Australia had played in the war.

Throughout history, human beings have moved from one place to another. This movement was necessitated by natural and man-made calamities. These could have been war, draught, flooding, and even diseases. However, modern day immigration is mainly driven by economic, freedom, and safety needs. However, different parts of Canada have attracted varying numbers of immigrants due to economic, language, and existing populations of immigrants from the same countries. Nonetheless, the immigration trends to Canada keep changing due to government policies on security and humanitarian needs of the applicants. Among different provinces, Alberta continues to be a favored destination for immigrants from other countries.