FREE ESSAY ON AUSTRALIAN - IMMIGRATION LAW

AUSTRALIAN - IMMIGRATION LAW

Australia is similar to America in many ways. They are both industrialized nations, they
were both settled by the British, and they both have multi-ethnic societies. However, the
two countries have vastly different immigration laws. In America, we will let almost
anyone move here and work. An American immigrant can be from (almost) any country, race,
or religion. Australia on the other hand, has had a much stricter policy determining who
can move to their country. Australia's immigration law is ethnocentric in nature because
it excludes anyone who is not of Anglo-Saxon descent. The policy is in the best interest
for the British settlers, rather than in the best interest for humanity.
Australia was first discovered by Captain James Cook in 1770. He determined this land was
uninhibited and proclaimed it as belonging to the King (Jayaraman 2000:136). The British
began colonizing Australia in 1788 (Castles and Zappala 1999:273). At first, Australia
was used as a separate place for the British to put their convicts while they were
serving their time (Jayaraman 2000:137). Following this, many more British settlers began
moving to Australia. By 1901 Australia "became a self-governing entity through Federation
and the adoption of a Constitution" (Castles and Zappala 1999:273). 
When the British began to make Australia their own, they determined the Aborigines,
Australia's indigenous people, needed to be exterminated. Before the British landed the
aboriginal population was estimated to be 200,000 to 500,000 people. It was depleted to
20,000 by 1900 (Jayaraman 2000:136). The aborigines were murdered or moved to
reservations. They were not considered citizens and had no type of political power
whatsoever (Jayaraman 2000:137). Australian society was divided into "indigenous and
non-indigenous" (Old Contempt…2001:175). The British thought the best way to deal
with the aboriginal people was to steal their children and assimilate them in a white,
Christian environment. In December 1901, the "Immigration Restriction Act" was formed and
stayed until 1959 (Jayaraman 2000:139). Thus the "White Australia Policy" was started.
Formally, the goal of the policy "was to base national identity on British heritage and
to deal with diversity though assimilation" (Castles and Zappala 1999:274).
Australia is a country composed almost entirely of immigrants. Australia has always tried
to attract people to move to their country, but had strict guidelines under the "White
Australia Policy" in order to do so (Chapman and Iredale 1993:359). This policy stated
that anyone not of white-European heritage would not be beneficial to the nation as a
whole and would therefore not be accepted as an immigrant to the nation. It was also
known as the "restrictive immigration policy under the commonwealth immigration
restriction act of 1901" (Jupp 1995:207). If a person was a white European, they then had
to pass a qualification test. Sometimes this was a literacy test, sometimes a skills
test. They wanted to see if their immigrant's overseas qualifications would meet the
standards of Australia's workers (Chapman and Iredale 1993:359). According to A.C.
Palfreeman "only those whom the officer intended to exclude were given the test and the
'European language' chosen was one which the immigrant could not possibly know." After
the abolishment of the "Immigration Restriction Act" the language test was done away with
(Jayaraman 2000:139).
Australia needs skilled immigrants to perform specialized labor (Chapman and Iredale
1993:361). "Populate or perish" has been the motto for the country whose current
population is still merely 17 million (Australia…1994). After 1945, a massive
immigration plan was launched to build the nation. For a long time the majority of the
immigrants were white European, until the end of the "White Australia Policy" and a large
amount of Asian immigrants entered the country (Castles and Zappala 1999:274). Britian
provided the largest number of immigrants early in the century, "though it's share is
down from 44.3% in 1962-1963 to 12% in 1992-1993. At this time, 43% of the migrants were
from Asian countries (Australia…1994). "Australia has placed the highest priority
on immigration since 1945 and experienced the greatest proportional population as a
result" (Ongley and Pearson 1995:766).
"White Australia" as a policy and an idea failed in many ways. Potential immigrants lost
interest in moving to Australia, it alienated the mostly Asian states, and it made
Australians world view of Britain's theories "unfashionable" and in no good interest of
Australia (Jupp 1995:209). 
The immigration law now has new standards and a "multi-cultural" policy. Australia is
much more lenient about who may immigrate to the country. In 1967 the amendment of their
constitution gave aborigines citizenship and the right to vote. Also, in 1992 the
aborigines were granted land rights which had previously been taken away (Jayaraman
2000:142). The Australian government has changed too. It went from being labor ruled to a
Federal Liberal government in March 1996. The liberal party is parallel with the British
conservatives and the American Republicans (Johnson 1997). However, Australia is still
under the control of the British republic. There is a proposition to change the
constitution and make Australia an independent nation (Jayaraman 2000:144).
After the change of government the immigration law became stricter. The number of
immigrants taken in was decreased and the fees and waiting period to become a citizen
increased. Although Australia has come a long way in their policies from the settlement
days, there is still a lot of reconciling to do with the Aborigines (Castles and Zappala
1999:285). In the past, Australia has caused many hardships for it's indigenous people
and non-white immigrants. Importantly though is the fact that "Australians at various
times have shown the capacity to learn from past mistakes and rectify them" (Jayaraman
2000:145). As long as the ethnocentric attitude does not come back and they keep the
mind-set of a multi-cultural society, Australia's ethnic relations will improve.
Bibliography
References
"Australia-Emigration and Immigration-Government Policy." Economist. 11 June 1994:
34.
Castles, Stephen and Gianni Zappala. "Citizenship and Immigration in Australia." 
Georgetown Immigration Law Journal. 1999:273-316. 
Chapman, Bruce J. and Robyn R. Iredale. "Immigrant Qualifications: Recognition and 
Relative Wage Outcomes." International Migration Review. Summer 1993:359-387.
Jayaraman, Raja. "Inclusion and Exclusion: An Analysis of the Australian Immigration 
History and Ethnic Relations." Journal of Popular Culture. Summer 2000:135-155.
Johnson, Carol. "Visiting the Margins: Revenge, Transgression or Incorporation- An 
Australian Engagement with Theories of Identity." Theory and Event. 1997. Vol 1, Issue
3.
Jupp, James. "From 'White Australia' to 'Part of Asia:' Recent Shifts in Australian 
Immigration Policy Towards the Region." International Migration Review. Spring 1995:
207-228.
"Old Contempt and New Solitude: Race Relations and Australian Ethnology." Oceania. 
Mar. 2001:169-262.
Ongley, Patrick and David Pearson. "Post 1945 International Migration: New Zealand, 
Australia, and Canada Compared." International Migration Review. Autumn 1995:765-793.