Abolition of the policy

Abolition of the policy
[edit] World War II

Between the Great Depression starting in 1929 and the end of World War II in 1945, global conditions kept immigration to very low levels.[17] At the start of the war, Prime Minister John Curtin (ALP) reinforced the message of the White Australia Policy by saying: "This country shall remain forever the home of the descendants of those people who came here in peace in order to establish in the South Seas an outpost of the British race."[18]

Following the 1942 Fall of Singapore, Australians feared invasion by Imperial Japan. Australian cities were bombed by the Japanese Airforce and Navy and Axis Naval Forces menaced Australian shipping, while the Royal Navy remained pre-occupied with the battles of the Atlantic and Mediterranean in the face of Nazi aggression in Europe. A Japanese invasion fleet headed for the Australian Territory of New Guinea was only halted by the intervention of the United States Navy in the Battle of the Coral Sea.[19] Australia received thousands of refugees from territories falling to advancing Japanese forces - notably thousands of Dutch who fled the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).[20] Australian Aborigines, Torres Strait Islanders, Papua New Guineans and Timorese served in the frontline of the defence of Australia, bringing Australia's racially discriminatory immigration and political rights policies into focus and wartime service gave many Indigenous Australians confidence in demanding their rights upon return to civilian life.[21]
[edit] Launch of post war multi-ethnic immigration
Dutch migrants arriving in Australia in 1954. Australia embarked upon a massive immigration program following World War II and gradually dismantled the preferential treatment afforded to British migrants.

Following the trauma of World War II, Australia's vulnerability during the Pacific War and its small population led to policies summarised by the slogan, "Populate or Perish", an ethnocentric slogan that in effect was an admonition to fill Australia with Europeans or else risk it be overrun by Asians.[22] During the war, many non-white refugees, including Malays, Indonesians, and Filipinos, arrived in Australia, but Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell controversially sought to have them all deported. In 1948, Iranian Bahá'ís seeking to immigrate to Australia were classified as "Asiatic" by the policy and were denied entry.[23] In 1949, Calwell's successor Harold Holt allowed the remaining 800 non-white refugees to apply for residency, and also allowed Japanese "war brides" to settle in Australia.[18] In the meantime, encouraging immigration from Europe, Australia admitted large numbers of immigrants from mostly Italy, Greece, and Yugoslavia, as well as its traditional source of the British Isles. Ambitious post-war development projects like the Snowy Mountains Scheme (1949-1972) required a large labour force that could only be sourced by diversifying Australia's migrant intake.
[edit] Relaxation of restrictions

Australian policy began to shift towards significantly increasing immigration. Legislative changes over the next few decades continuously opened up immigration in Australia.[17]

1947 The Chifley Labor Government relaxed the Immigration Restriction Act allowing non-Europeans the right to settle permanently in Australia for business reasons.
1950 Liberal external affairs minister Percy Spender instigates the Colombo Plan, under which students from Asian countries were admitted to study at Australian universities.
1957 Non-Europeans with 15 years' residence in Australia were allowed to become citizens.
1958 The Menzies Liberal Government's Revised Migration Act of 1958 abolished the dictation test and introduced a simpler system for entry.
1959 Australians were permitted to sponsor Asian spouses for citizenship.
1964 Conditions of entry for people of non-European stock were relaxed.

In 1966, the Holt Liberal Government introduced the Migration Act, 1966, which effectively dismantled the White Australia Policy and increased access to non-European migrants, including refugees fleeing the Vietnam War.[24] After a review of the European policy in March 1966, Immigration Minister Hubert Opperman announced applications for migration would be accepted from well-qualified people on the basis of their suitability as settlers, their ability to integrate readily and their possession of qualifications positively useful to Australia. At the same time, Harold Holt's government decided a number of "temporary resident" non-Europeans, who were not required to leave Australia, could become permanent residents and citizens after five years (the same as for Europeans).

As a result, annual non-European settler arrivals rose from 746 in 1966 to 2,696 in 1971, while annual part-European settler arrivals rose from 1,498 to 6,054.[18]
[edit] End of the White Australia Policy

The legal end of the White Australia policy is usually placed in the year 1973, when the Whitlam Labor government implemented a series of amendments preventing the enforcement of racial aspects of the immigration law. These amendments:[18]

Legislated that all migrants, regardless of origin, be eligible to obtain citizenship after three years of permanent residence.
Ratified all international agreements relating to immigration and race.
Issued policy to totally disregard race as a factor in selecting migrants.

The 1975 Racial Discrimination Act made the use of racial criteria for any official purpose illegal.

It was not until the Fraser Liberal government's review of immigration law in 1978 that all selection of prospective migrants based on country of origin was entirely removed from official policy. Currently, a large number of Australia's immigrants are from countries such as China and India, though the United Kingdom and New Zealand respectively remain the two largest single sources of immigrants.

In 1981 the Minister for Immigration announced a Special Humanitarian Assistance Program (SHP) for Iranians to seek refuge in Australia and by 1988 some 2500 Bahá'ís and many more others had arrived in Australia through either SHP or Refugee Programs.[23] The last selective immigration policy, offering relocation assistance to British nationals, was finally removed in 1982.[25]
[edit] Post White Australia Policy

Australia's contemporary immigration program has two components: a program for skilled and family migrants and a humanitarian program for refugees and asylum seekers.[26] By 2010, the post-war immigration program had received more than 6.5 million migrants from every continent. The population tripled in the six decades to around 21 million in 2010, comprising people originating from 200 countries.[27]
[edit] Legacy
[edit] Contemporary demographics

The 2001 Australian census results indicate that many Australians claim some European heritage: English 37%, Irish 11%, Italian 5%, German 4.3%, Scottish 3%, Greek 2%, Dutch 1.5%, Polish 0.9%. Australians of some non-European origin form a significant but still relatively small part of the population: Chinese 3.2%, Indian 0.9%, Lebanese 0.9%, Vietnamese 0.9%. About 2.2% identified themselves as Indigenous Australians. 39% of the population gave their ancestry as "Australian". The Australian census does not classify people according to race, only ethnic ancestry. (Note that subjects were permitted to select more than one answer for this census question.)[28]

15% of the population now speaks a language other than English at home.[29] The most commonly spoken languages are Italian, Greek, Cantonese and Arabic.
[edit] Political and social legacy

The story of Australia since the Second World War - and particularly since the final relegation of the white Australia Policy - has been one of ever-increasing ethnic and cultural diversity. Successive governments have sustained a large programmes of multiethnic immigration from all continents.

Discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity was legally sanctioned until 1975. Australia's new official policy on racial diversity is: "to build on our success as a culturally diverse, accepting and open society, united through a shared future".[30] The White Australia Policy continues to be mentioned in modern contexts, although it is generally only mentioned by politicians when denouncing their opposition. As Leader of the Opposition, John Howard, argued for restricting Asian immigration in 1988, as part of his One Australia policy, later admitting that his comments cost him his job at the time:
“ I'm not in favour of going back to a White Australia policy. I do believe that if it is – in the eyes of some in the community – that it's too great, it would be in our immediate-term interest and supporting of social cohesion if it (Asian immigration) were slowed down a little, so the capacity of the community to absorb it was greater.[31] ”

—John Howard speaking on ABC Radio PM, 1 August 1988

Howard later retracted and apologised for the remarks and was returned to the leadership of the Liberal Party in 1995. The Howard Government (1996-2007) in turn ran a large programme of non-discriminatory immigration and, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Asian countries became an increasingly important source of immigration over the decade from 1996 to 2006, with the proportion of migrants from Southern and Central Asian countries doubling from 7% to 14%. The proportion of immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa also increased. By 2005–06, China and India were the third and fourth largest sources of all migration (after New Zealand and the United Kingdom). in 2005–06, there were 180,000 permanent additions of migrants to Australia (72% more than the number in 1996–97). This figure included around 17000 through the humanitarian programme - of whom Iraqis and Sudanese accounted for the largest portions.[32] China became Australia's biggest source of migrants, for the first time in 2009, surpasing New Zealand and Britain.[33]

Despite the overall success and generally bipartisan support for Australia's multi-ethnic immigration programme, there remain voices of opposition to immigration within the Australian electorate. At its peak, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party received just 9% of the national vote at the 1998 Federal Election.[34]

Hanson was widely accused of trying to take Australia back to the days of the White Australia Policy, particularly through reference to Arthur Calwell, one of the policy's strongest supporters. In her maiden address to the Australian Parliament following the 1996 Election, Hanson said:
“ I and most Australians want our immigration policy radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism abolished. I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians. Between 1984 and 1995, 40 per cent of all migrants coming into this country were of Asian origin. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate.[35] ”

—Pauline Hanson in her maiden speech to parliament

Hanson's remarks generated wide interest in the media both nationally and internationally, but she herself did not retain her seat in Parliament at the 1998 Election or subsequent 2001 and 2004 Federal Elections. Hanson also failed to win election in the 2003 and 2011 New South Wales State Elections.[36] In May 2007, Pauline Hanson, with her new Pauline's United Australia Party, continued her call for a freeze on immigration, arguing that African migrants carried disease into Australia.[37]

Topics related to racism and immigration in Australia are still regularly connected by the media to the White Australia Policy. Some examples of issues and events where this connection has been made include: reconciliation with Aborigines; mandatory detention and the "Pacific Solution"; the 2005 Cronulla riots, and the 2009 attacks on Indians in Australia. Former opposition Labor party leader Mark Latham, in his book The Latham Diaries, described the ANZUS alliance as a legacy of the White Australia policy.

In 2007, the Howard Government proposed an Australian Citizenship Test intended "to get that balance between diversity and integration correct in future, particularly as we now draw people from so many different countries and so many different cultures". The draft proposal contained a pamphlet introducing Australian history, Culture and Democracy. Migrants were to be required to correctly answer at least 12 out of 20 questions on such topics in a citizenship quiz. Migrants would also be required to demonstrate an adequate level of understanding of the English language.[38] The Rudd Government reviewed and then implemented the proposal in 2009.[39]

Australian government policy from earlier years has been claimed[who?] to be the original impetus for the apartheid system in South Africa.[40]
[edit] See also