Immigration and border protection policies in Australia

Résumé du document

Immigration and border protection policies are very problematic issues as far as the Australian nation is concerned. Australia has always adopted strict immigration restrictions especially concerning non European migrants. Although one of the first laws passed by the new Parliament was the Immigration Restriction Act in 1901, the Australian nation is known to have the largest number of young migrants in the world. This paradox was underlined by Mares that stated "If we are not Aborigines, then we are migrants or their recent descendants." This contradiction is essential to analyze the Australian nation as a whole and its evolution since Federation. The topic under consideration here is if the Australian nation has changed its policies with regard to immigration issues. It can also be argued that ?the more things have changed, the more they've stayed the same'.

Extraits

[...] This principle was embodied in the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901, which institutionalised racism in Australia. This policy was somewhat softened in 1958, with the Migration Act, which abolished the dictation test that had been imposed in the Immigration restriction Act 1901.[3] Even though the White Australia policy was mainly accepted by politicians and the public, it criticised outside Australia and by the late 1950s and early 1960s internal criticism began to appear.”[4] It went through important changes in 1966, including the possibility for highly qualified Asian people to enter Australia; and in 1973, it was finally dismantled by the Whitlam labour government. [...]

[...] As Hage argues, concentration-camp-like images it fosters make ethnic caging appear closer to ethnic cleansing than to anything remotely linked to multicultural appreciation and tolerance”.[19] We should therefore wonder why there is such a huge gap between Australia's claimed ideology and actual practices, focusing on Australian nation and identity. In this critical part on the Australian nation, I would like to focus on two characteristic trends which show the fragility of the nation and explain the reason of its attitude towards immigrants. First, the Australian nation has always claimed a strong national identity. [...]

[...] Therefore there is no contradiction between Australia's multiculturalism and the border protection policy: multicultural national will, like all national wills, tolerates national otherness, but only insofar as this national otherness is in no danger of constituting a counter-will.”[31] This analysis is interesting as it shows that Australia's nation is still being built. However, I still believe that the Australian nation is not truly multicultural. As a brief conclusion, I would like to sum up my point of view. It is true that the Australian nation has undergone some changes, and as far as immigration policy is concerned the changes are undeniable. [...]

[...] Bibliography Curthoys, Ann, The future of Australian multiculturalism, ed. Ghassan Hage and Rowanne Couch, Sydney Hage, Ghassan, White nation: fantasies of white supremacy in a multicultural society, Annandale, NSW: Pluto Mares, Peter, Borderline, Australia's treatment of refugees and asylum- seekers, UNSW Press Mc Master, Don, Asylum-seekers, Australia's response to refugees, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South Ward, Russel, The Australian legend, Oxford University Press, Melbourne Mares, Peter, Borderline, Australia's treatment of refugees and asylum- seekers, UNSW Press Dr Rooney, lecture 21 Dr Rooney, lecture 21 Mc Master, Don, Asylum-seekers, Australia's response to refugees, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South p.47 Mc Master, Don, Asylum-seekers, Australia's response to refugees, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South Curthoys, Ann, The future of Australian multiculturalism, ed. [...]

[...] Ghassan Hage and Rowanne Couch, Sydney p.285 Curthoys, Ann, The future of Australian multiculturalism, ed. Ghassan Hage and Rowanne Couch, Sydney p.285 Mc Master, Don, Asylum-seekers, Australia's response to refugees, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South p Dr Rooney, lecture 21 Mares, Peter, Borderline, Australia's treatment of refugees and asylum- seekers, UNSW Press p.65 Mares, Peter, Borderline, Australia's treatment of refugees and asylum- seekers, UNSW Press p.28 Mares, Peter, Borderline, Australia's treatment of refugees and asylum- seekers, UNSW Press p.2 Curthoys, Ann, The future of Australian multiculturalism, ed. [...]