132 Appendix B

WHITE AUSTRALIA: A BRIEF NOTE1

‘White Australia’ is the unofficial term which has gained widecurrency to portray public attitudes to, and government policiesfor, Australia’s past policies of a racially restrictive immigration.These policies, originating in the mid nineteenth century, weredriven mainly by the desire of the early Australian colonialsettlers to maintain an exclusively white settlement. As early asthe 1820s some pastoralists had introduced cheap ‘coolie’ labourfrom India to assist in the development of the Australianpastoral industry. And by mid to late nineteenth century, therewere several groups of non-European workers, mostly asindentured contract labour such as the Chinese, Pacific Islanders(Kanakas) working in the sugar plantations of Queensland, andsmall groups of Japanese, Afghans and so-called ‘Malays’ fromthe Indonesian archipelago.

Large scale agitation against the introduction of non-European labour emerged most powerfully as a consequence ofthe Victorian gold rush of the 1850s. The mid nineteenthcentury economic boom caused an unprecedented rise in thenumber of Chinese entering Australia, and created considerableantagonism from some white settlers to this expansion of theChinese community. It was the increasing hostility toward theChinese which had an economic and racist basis that led to theintroduction of the first statutory Acts relating to restrictive

APPENDIX B

1 Edited version of Encyclopedia entry, see Jayasuriya 2005.

Appendix B 133

legislation in the colonies of Victoria (1855), South Australia(1858), and New South Wales (1861). This early legislation, largelydirected mainly at the Chinese, was complemented by othermeasures discriminating against Asians already resident inAustralia with regard to working conditions and wages. By thelate 1880s and throughout the 1890s, there was a ground swell ofanti-Asian attitudes among the emerging Australian working class.

While there was a growing concern among nearly allcolonial governments at the increasing Chinese presence, theopposition to non European labour was by no means universal.It was often contingent upon local economic imperatives, as, forinstance, in Queensland where it was argued that non whitelabour (mostly Kanaka) was necessary for the sugar industry, andalso to a lesser extent for pearling and bêche-de-mer fishing. Butthere is no doubt that it was anti Chinese sentiment, based bothon economic and racist grounds, that became the core of thepursuit of a ‘White Australia’. By the late 1890s a series ofcolonial laws were enacted to restrict Chinese immigration, andalso barring Chinese residents from specified occupations andaccess to citizenship status.

The opposition to anti Chinese immigration, however, waslargely framed in the nineteenth century language of doctrines ofracial superiority and social Darwinism. Accordingly, the Chinese,as a ‘race’, were considered ‘inferior’ because of their inheritedcharacteristics, their moral depravity, proneness to crime andcorruption. Moreover, they were likely to pollute the purity of anunmixed nation which was considered the indisputable conditionof unity and social cohesion. This broad ranging racist ideologyexisted alongside the ingrained hostility of Australian settlerstowards indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal people.

Underlying this racialism was the insistence on racial andcultural homogeneity as a defining element in shaping a sense ofAustralian identity. Importantly, this was to become a significantfactor in determining the kind of society a future Australian nationwould embrace The unity of Australia was nothing if it did notimply a united ‘race ‘ and accordingly Australian nationalism wasdriven by the need for racial and cultural homogeneity.

134 Appendix B

Not surprisingly, one of the first policy initiatives of the newlyestablished Federation of States was to enact the racial exclusionlegislation of 1901 – The Immigration Restriction Act (Cth) (I.R.Act) – with the specific purpose of safeguarding the ‘unmixednation’. In order to avoid overt suggestions of discriminationon grounds of ‘race’ or any direct reference to colour, the criteriafor exclusion were based on a dictation test (sometimes known asthe ‘Natal test’) relating to a European language (later amendedto ‘any prescribed language’). This Act was the main instrumentin producing the formal legislative basis for racial exclusion andserved to confirm a blanket opposition to all non Europeanimmigration. The main objective was to instil a sense of nationalidentity, linking ‘race’, nation and colour.

The logic and rationale of these discriminatory policies soonbecame the emblem of Australian national identity andremained a dominant influence on all other policies particularlyduring the first five decades after Federation. The uncertaintyand even fear arising from the dilemma of the nation’s historyas a white European nation, located among hordes of ‘aliens’on its doorstep—the peoples of the Asia-Pacific region—represented by the popular slogan, ‘yellow peril’ installed a deepsense of unease. The ‘invasion narrative’ instilled a feeling ofinsecurity and provided the main grounds for justifyingAustralia’s continued adherence to policies of racialdiscrimination and controlled immigration.

Furthermore, the sentiments of a ‘White Australia’ had aprofound influence in shaping the nature and form of externalaffairs and defence policies. These considerations were howeverdestined to markedly change the nature and character ofAustralian society in the post-WWII period, especially after therelaxation of migration entry requirements and the new wavesof migration post 1945. This served to transform Australia froma parochial monocultural society consisting mainly of Britishsettlers to a more cosmopolitan, poly-ethnic, multicultural society

The first cracks in the White Australia policy came with theMigration Act (1958) (Cth) which dropped the notorious dictationtest, the lynch pin of the 1901 legislation. By the 1970s therewas overall a noticeable change in public attitudes followed by

Appendix B 135

moves within the main political parties towards a weakening ofthe opposition to total exclusion of non-Europeans. The formalrescinding of the White Australia policy came with the electionof the reformist Whitlam Labor government in 1972, whichproceeded to implement a non-discriminatory policy ofimmigrant recruitment. Furthermore, all immigrants,regardless of origin were entitled to obtain citizenship after threeyears residence. These steps towards an end to raciallydiscriminatory immigration practices were further strengthenedwith the passage of the Racial Discrimination Act (1975) (Cth)and also the ratification of all international agreements relatingto race and immigration.

136 Appendix B

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS RELATED TO THE WHITE

AUSTRALIA POLICY: DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL

From Colonial Australia to Federation

1787 First British colony of New South Walesestablished by law.

1792 William Brereton calls for Chinese migrationto assist the British colonisation of Australia.

1800 First Indian convicts arrive in Australia

1804 Governor King plans Chinese migrationscheme

1812 Select Committee on Transportation reportsto the British Parliament.

1816 William Brown brings nine indenturedIndians to New South Wales

1817 The first free Asian settler Mak Sai Yingarrives in New South Wales, and receives aland grant from Governor Macquarie. Hebecomes a prominent Inn-keeper in theParamatta district.

Fort Dundas established on Melville Islandto explore trading possibilities with the EastIndies.

1833 The Mercury bound for Perth from Calcuttasinks with 70 indentured Indians aboard.

1838 Germans settle in South Australia andQueensland.

1847 First Introduction of Pacific Island labourers(Kanakas)

1853 First Chinese gold diggers land in Victoria

Appendix B 137

1855 First restrictive legislation to control andlimit Chinese passed in Victoria followed bySouth Australia in 1858, and New SouthWales 1861

1861 Anti-Chinese riots at Lambing Flat (Young).

1863 Pacific Islanders (Kanakas) brought toQueensland.

1871 Colony of South Australia negotiates withJapan to create a colony in the Northernterritory.

1877 Restrictions on Chinese access toQueensland goldfields.

1878 Anti-Chinese agitation in Sydney.

1880 Inter-colonial Conference agrees to uniformlaws on Chinese immigration.

1885 Queensland agrees to end Kanaka

recruitment.

1887 Chinese government enquiry into immigrantconditions.

All colonies increase poll tax on Chineseimmigrants to a massive 100 pounds

1888 Restrictions on Chinese immigration.

Phrase ‘White Australia’ policy first appearsin ‘Boomerang a Queensland magazine.

Chinese passengers on steamship Afghan

denied entry in Victoria and in Sydney.Premier Henry Parkes attempts to bar legalimmigrants and returning residents on theAfghan from landing

1893 Alfred Deakin publishes Temple and the Tomb

in India, and Irrigated India: An Australian view

138 Appendix B

of India and Ceylon, following visits to Indiaand Ceylon.

1896 Chinese Restriction Acts extended to cover all‘coloured races’.

1897 Western Australian immigration legislationadopts the Dictation Test, modelled on theSouth African Natal Immigration Restriction

Act 1897. The aim of this was to excludeentry of non-Europeans.

Federation to End of WW II

1900 Australia Constitution Act (Cwth) gives Federalgovernment legal control over immigrationand citizenship. Naturalized Australians stillBritish subjects.

1901 Immigration Restriction Act (IR Act) and Pacific

Island Labourers Act, first Acts of theCommonwealth Parliament; restrictsmigration to those of British and Europeandescent. Also excludes others such as thosesuffering from an infectious or contagiousdisease, anyone suffering from mental illnessor intellectual disability (any ‘idiot or insaneperson’).

IR Act (Cwth) administered using DictationTest

1903 Naturalization Act (Cwth).

1905 Legislative change sees the wives and children(under 18) no longer allowed to join theirnon-European husbands/fathers.

Dictation test altered to any prescribedlanguage.

1906 Kanakas repatriated to Pacific Islands.

Appendix B 139

1914 German and Austrian residents interned, asa result of fears of subversion.

1917 German place-names changed in SouthAustralia by law.

1919 Prime Minister W.M. Hughes upholds theWhite Australia Policy at the VersaillesConference, calling it ‘the greatest thing weever achieved’.

1920 Commonwealth assumes administrativeresponsibility for immigration; non-BritishWhite Australians distinguished from Whitealiens’.

1925 Empire Settlement Act (UK) to encourageassisted emigration from Britain.

Ferry Commission reports on alien workers(primarily Italians) in Queensland.

Immigration Act 0f 1925 empowersAustralia to exclude those unlikely to bereadily assimilable aimed at Southern Europeans

1928 Commonwealth of Australia introduces aquota system on immigrants from Southernand Eastern Europe.

1929 Assisted Passages Scheme terminated.

1930 Entry of all non-British Europeans banned,barring some exceptions.

1934 Dictation Test used in Immigration Restriction

Act applied to exclude Egon Kisch, Czechanti-Nazi socialist. Kisch passes the test butfails it in Gaelic.

Riots in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia,against Italian, Greek, Yugoslav and othernon-British immigrants.

140 Appendix B

1938 Prime Minister John Curtin agrees to takeJewish refugees fleeing from Germany afterterror of Kristallnacht.

Assisted Passages Scheme resumed.

At the Evian Conference, Australia agrees totake 15,000 Jewish refugees, but warintervenes and by late 1939 only half havearrived.

1939 More than 5000 Jewish refugees, also enemyaliens interned, including Italians, Germans,Japanese

1940 The Dunera arrives in Sydney, from England,carrying mainly Jewish ‘enemy aliens’.

1944 Calls for an end to the White AustraliaPolicy fuels public debate

Post-WW II (1945-)

1945 Department of Immigration established, withArthur Calwell as its first Minister.

Immigration Advisory Committee (IAC) (laterCouncil) established, consisting ofrepresentatives of leading employerorganizations, trade unions, universities, ex-servicemen’s associations and government.

Dr H.V. Evatt ensures strong DomesticJurisdiction to protect White AustraliaPolicy from the new United NationsCharters.

1946 Japanese who were interned in Australia(including Australian citizens)-’repatriated toJapan.

1946-49 Thousands of Asians who had sought refugein Australia during the War are forcibly

Appendix B 141

deported. Many married Australian womenand have Australian-born children

1946 Assisted Passages Scheme agreement withBritain.

1947 Displaced Persons Scheme, to accept refugeesdisplaced by World War II.

Arthur Calwell’s infamous ‘two Wongsdon’t make a White’ statement uttered inParliament.

R.G. Casey publishes An Australian in India

giving his reflections s Governor of Bengal.

1948 Nationality and Citizenship Act (Cwth) createsstatus of ‘Australian citizen’ instead of‘British subjects’.

Immigration Minister Arthur Calwellannounces all non-Europeans who tookrefuge in Australia during the war must leave.

1949 O’Keefe and Gamboa cases capture nationalattention and challenges the White AustraliaPolicy. Bills closing loopholes in legislationpassed in Parliament but never enacted. TheImmigration Act and Wartime Refugees Removal

Bill enables some Asian wives and refugeesaccess to Australia.

Adult Migrant Education Scheme (AMES)established.

People born in Australia of Australianparents become Australian citizens by birth.

1950 Good Neighbour Council (GNC)movement launched nationally; seen as astate sponsored initiative to ensureassimilation, social cohesion and culturalhomogeneity through Anglo-conformity.

142 Appendix B

Colombo Plan (C Plan) sponsored by SirPercy Spender, Australian Minister ofExternal Affairs launched atCommonwealth Conference held inColombo, Sri Lanka. C Plan allows studentsfrom Commonwealth countries and otherless developed countries to study inAustralia.

1951 Immigration agreements with theNetherlands and Italy.

Total arrivals in last 4 years included Maltese,Dutch, Italians, Jews, Greeks and Cypriots.Only 40% or migrants during this periodwere of British origin.

ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, and UnitedStates) Treaty signed seen as centrepiece ofnational security and diplomacy.

1952 Immigration agreements with WestGermany, Austria and Greece.

Immigration Minister Harold Holt allows800 non-European refugees to stay, andJapanese war brides to be admitted initiallyfor five years.

1953 British migrants become entitled to allAustralian social welfare benefits on arrival,but not available to non-British migrants.

1954 Australia joins SEATO(South-East AsianCollective Defence Treaty Organization)which includes NZ, Pakistan, Thailand, thePhillipines, France, UK, and USA.

1955 Arrival of the millionth post-war immigrant.

Australia participates at Non AlignedCountries of Third World nations held inBandung, Indonesia.

Appendix B 143

1956 First modifications of White Australia policywith admission of persons of mixed descentwho conform to certain requirements.

1957 Non Europeans permitted to apply forcitizenship after 15 years residence. But forEuropeans the waiting time was 5 years.

The author John O’Grady acclaimed fordepiction of himself as Italian migrantassimilating into Australian culture, inThey’re a Weird Mob

1958 Migration Act (Cwth) effective from 1 June1959, abolishes the discriminatory DictationTest and introduces an entry-permit systemfor controlling immigration. Also requiresthat applicants for entry were at least ‘75%European’ in appearance. Introduction of‘Highly Distinguished’ cateogory for non-European entry.

1959 Movement to change ‘White Australia’policy promoted by the Association forImmigration. Reform known as theImmigration Reform Group (IRG).

1960 Australian citizens permitted to sponsorAsian spouses for Citizenship.

1960 British subjects with Permanent Residence(PR) Status permitted to bring their non-European spouses and unmarried minorchildren into Australia.

Donald Horne as Editor of The Bulletin

removes its motto: ‘Australia for the WhiteMan’

1961 Various State Associations for ImmigrationReform established.

Melbourne students form Student Action to

144 Appendix B

protest against policy during 1961 generalelection.

Peter Heydon, Australian HighCommissioner to India, becomes Secretaryof the Department of Immigration.

Immigration Reform Group’s(IRG’s)’Immigration Control or Colour Bar?’published by Melbourne University Press.

Liberal Party removes phrase ‘WhiteAustralia’ from Party platform.

1962 Canada ends its racially discriminatoryimmigration policy.

1964 Assimilation Section of Department ofImmigration becomes the IntegrationSection; signifies change in settlement policyfrom Assimilationsim to Integration.

Part-Europeans, such as those of mixed race,e.g., Anglo-Indians, Anglo-Burmesepermitted entry.

Australian Labor Party removes WhiteAustralia from its platform and condemnsracial discrimination in immigration policy.

Nancy Prasad deportation case capturesnational attention with Abrogiial activistCharles Perkins leading demonstrations.

Australia deploys forces to support the newlyestablished Federation of Malaysia 1963when attacked by Sukarno, Indonesia in theKonfrantasi crisis

United States ends its racially discriminatoryimmigration policy.

1966 Immigration Minister Hubert Opperman inthe Holt Liberal government introduces

Appendix B 145

liberalization of White Australia policy.toallow entry qualified skilled non-Europeans,able to integrate readily and possess neededskills. Government reaffirms that ‘preservinga homogeneous population’ is the basicobjective of immigration policy.

Reduction of 15 year wait to 5 years for somenon-Europeans to gain citizenship

1967 Immigration agreement with Turkey.

1968 Czech and Slovak refugees arrive in Australia,following the Warsaw Pact invasion ofCzechoslovakia.

The Immigration Control Associationformed by Robert Clark to resist furtherliberalization of the White Australia Policy.

1969 Immigration Minister Bill Snedden affirmscontinuance of White Australia policy bydeclaring that ‘we must have a single culture’.

Citizenship Act amended to replace ‘Britishsubject’ with ‘Australian citizens’ whoenjoyed the status of British subjects.

Committee (later Council) on OverseasProfessional Qualifications (COPQ)

1969 Immigration agreement with Yugoslavia.

Post Abrogation of White Australia

1972 Gough Whitlam’s Labor government electedand rescinds ‘White Australia’ policy withbi-partisan endorsement; leads to a policy ofnon-discriminatory immigration.

Al Grassby appointed as Minister ofImmigration

146 Appendix B

Bonegilla Migrant Camp closed after 24years.

Immigration (Education) Act passed

Jan Allen case and charges of racialdiscrimination end the Assisted Passagescheme with Britain.

Immigration Advisory Council (IAC)enlarged to include those Australians ofmigrant origin.and four migrant settlers ofEuropean and Asian background ( Pietearaci,Jayasuriya, Calomeris and Bizjak) appointedto IAC.

Whitlam historic visit to China

1973 Amendments to Citizenship Act makes allmigrants become eligible for citizenship after3 years of permanent residence.

Immigration Minister Al Grassby launchesthe concept of cultural pluralism with apublication entitled Multi-Cultural Society for

the Future, and ‘Family of the Nation’statement.

Official declaration that Immigration policywill not take account of race, colour, ornationality.

Telephone Interpreter Service (TIS)established.

1974 Migrant Task Forces established in eachState.

Report of the Committee on CommunityRelations, of the IAC chaired by WalterLippman, outlines a philosophical rationalefor cultural pluralism; also recommendsremoval of category ‘aliens’.

Appendix B 147

Australian Ethnic Heritage Programlaunched by Minister Al Grassby.

Al Grassby loses seat in 1974 election. Hisdismantling of the last vestiges of the WhiteAustralia policy seen as a factor in his loss.

1975 Racial Discrimination Act (Cwth) makes itunlawful to discriminate on the grounds ofcolour, descent, national or ethnic origins.of race, colour, descent, national or ethnicorigins.

Migrant Workers Conference Declarationasserts cultural and language rights asfundamental rights.

Australian Population and ImmigrationCouncil (APIC) which replaces IAC releasesNational Inquiry into Population (TheBorne Report).

Australia acquiesces to Sukharto’sannexation of East Timor by Indonesia.

Department of Immigration abolished. NewDepartment of Labour and Immigrationcreated under Clyde Cameron.

1976 Department of Immigration named asDepartment of Immigration and EthnicAffairs (DIEA) under Minister MichaelMcKellar in the Fraser Government.

Fraser Government accepts first Vietnameserefugees who arrive by boat. This leads toadverse public comment about ‘boatpeople’for decades.

National Ethnic Broadcasting Advisory Council

established

1977 National Accreditation Authority for Translators

148 Appendix B

and Interpreters (NAATI) established.

Australian Ethnic Affairs Council (AEAC)publishes Australia as a Multicultural Society.

Broadcasting and T V Act leads to theestablishment of the Special BroadcastingService (SBS)

1978 Galbally Report on Migrant Programs andServices. Enunciates principles of migrantsettlement: maintenance of cultural identity,promotion of equality of opportunity, socialcohesion and self-help. Family Reunioncriteria are relaxed

NSW Report on Participation (TotaroReport). NSW government introduces theEthnic Affairs Commission (EAC), NSW.

Sociologist Jean Martin argues for a form ofpluralism which goes beyond tolerance ofcultural differences and defines ethnic groupsas interest groups.

National Front of Australia, an extremistright-wing racist organization, whichcampaigns for the re-introduction of ‘WhiteAustralia’.

New Zealand ends its racially discriminatoryimmigration policy.

1979 NUMAS (Numerical Multifactor AssessmentScheme) points system introduced formigrant selection by Fraser government

Landmark decision of the Fraser governmentto accept Chinese refugees after the UNInternational Refugee Conference.

Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs Actleads to the establishment of AIMA as astatutory body.

Appendix B 149

Federation of Ethnic Communities Council

(FECCA).

1980 Most GNCs disbanded following GalballyReport.

Multicultural Television Broadcastscommence.

1981 Assisted Passages Scheme ends after 50 yearsexcept for refugees.

AEAC (Australian Ethnic Affairs Council)replaced by Australian Council onPopulation and Ethnic Affairs (ACPEA).

1982 NUMAS points system replaced

Special Humanitarian Assistance Programallows Iranian Baha’is to seek refuge

1983 Remaining distinction between—’British’and “aliens’ removed, and Migration Actamended to replace ‘alien’ with ‘non citizen’.

Refugees from El Salvador, Sri Lanka, andLebanon accepted.

Hawke government releases Report of theCommittee appointed to Review of theAustralian Institute of Multicultural Affairs(CRAIMA Chair, Moss Cass).

Victorian government releases Access and

Equity Report.

1984 National Advisory and Co-ordinatingCommittee on Multicultural Education(NACCME) (Chair, Laksiri Jayasuriya)appointed by Minister of Education (SusanRyan).

National Population Council (NPC)established.

150 Appendix B

Historian Geoffrey Blainey suggests Australiais accepting too many Asian migrants andinitiates debate on immigration andmulticulturalism.

Amendments to Nationality and Citizenship

Act (Cwth) make distinction betweencitizens and non-citizens. Resdeincerequirement for residents reduced to twoyears.

First Ethiopian and Chilean refugeesaccepted under the Special Humanitarian

Program

1986 Report on the Review of Migrants andMulticultural Programs and Services: Don’t

Settle for Less. Chair, James Jupp)

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity

Commission (HREOC) Act passed.

1987 Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs(AIMA) replaced by government agency,Office of Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs(OMEA) located in Department of Premierand Cabinet.

National Policy on Languages following therelease of the Lo Bianco Report.

Merger of ABC and SBS abandoned.

1988 Stephen Fitzgerald Report on ImmigrationPolicy: Immigration a Commitment to Australia,is released. Report recommends 3 streams ofmigrants: family reunion, skilled, andhumanitarian; Report also criticizesmulticulturalism.

Bicentenary celebrations 200 years of ‘whitesettlement’ evokes Aboriginal people’speaceful demonstrations against ‘white

Appendix B 151

invasion’

Establishment of Australians Against (later‘Further’ added) Immigration by Robyn andRodney Spencer

John Howard, leader of the Liberal Partycriticizes multiculturalism and advocates areduction in the levels of Asian migration.Fuels public debate and Howard losesleadership of the Liberal Party

1989 Bureau of Immigration Research (BIR)established and located in Melbourne.

National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia.Report of National Multicultural AdvisoryCouncil (NMAC chaired by Sir James Gobboenumerates three principles of Australianmulticulturalism: cultural identity, socialjustice, and economic benefits.

Immigration Review Tribunal established.

Garnaut Report of Australian and the EastAsian Region

Following the Tiananmen Square repression,Bob Hawke grant Temporary Protection Visa(TPV) for Chinese students in Australia.

Jack Van Tongeren jailed in Perth for racistviolence

1991 HREOC Report on National Inquiry intoRacial Violence (NIRV) released.

Report of NPC: Population, Issues and

Australia’s Future released.

1992 Disability Discrimination Act passed, but thosecoming with the provisions of the MigrationAct (1958) are explicitly exempted.

152 Appendix B

Minister Garry Hand of the Laborgovernment introduces mandatory detentionfor asylum seekers, mainly ‘boat people’ fromCambodia. Port Hedland Detention Centreopened.

Migration Reform Bill introduced

1993 Permanent Resident (PR) status granted toTemporary Protection Visa (TPV) holders,mainly Chinese students.

Native Title Act rejects doctrine of TerraNullius.

Refugee Review Tribunal established toconsider Department of Immigrationrulings.

1994 The Australian Citizenship Act (1948) isamended, including a preamble whichreflects a more multicultural concept ofcitizenship.

1995 The Commonwealth Racial Hatred Act amendsthe Racial Discrimination Act (1975).

NMAC Report: Multicultural Australia: The

Next Steps Towards and Beyond 2000.

1996 Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) andBureau of Immigration, Multicultural andPopulation Research (BIMPR) abolished.

Independent Member Pauline Hanson’smaiden speech reignites anti-Asianimmigration debate.

Reduction of Migration Program

1997 Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party rejectspolicies on multiculturalism, Asianimmigration and Aboriginal land claims.

Appendix B 153

Report on Asylum Seekers by HREOCcriticizes detention of children and proposesgranting bridging visas

Temporary safe haven offered to refugeesfrom Kosovo fleeing from Yugoslaviaconflict.

HREOC Discussion Paper: Free to Believe?

Examines legal status of religion in Australia.

1998 Howard government rejects Article 18 ofHREOC endorsing the Declaration on theElimination of all Forms of Intolerance andDiscrimination based on Religious Belief.

New Points system favours skilled migrantswith Australian experience or qualification

1999 Border Protection Act (Cwth) permits boardingof vessels ferrying illegal immigrants

TPVs assigned to refugees provides secondclass refugee status by deniying access torights and services

Report of NMAC: New Agenda sets out fourprinciples of multiculturalism: civic duty,cultural respect, social equity and productive

diversity.

Howard endorses the ‘m’ word as Australian

Multiculturalism.

Howard as PM claims Australia as a Deputyof the USA is responsible for policing theAsian Region. Australia seen as a ‘client state’of USA.

Australia supports East Timor in gainingindependence from Indonesia and leadsPeace Keeping Mission

154 Appendix B

2000 Council for Multicultural Australia (CMA)appointed by the Howard governmentreplaces NMAC and focus’ on social,economic and cultural dividends ofdiversity’.

Increasing proportions of the refugeesadmitted to Australia are from Africannations; also from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Former refugee Shahraz Kayani selfimmolates in front of Parliament House, toprotest denial of migration to his daughter,who has a disability. The Migration Act(1958) remains exempt from the provisionsof the Disability Discrimination Act (1992).

2001 The Tampa incident. Standoff betweenCommonwealth government andNorwegian freighter, Tampa which rescuedAfghan asylum seekers heading for Australiain unseaworthy boat.

Border control legislation introduced toprotect Australian borders includes excise ofseveral islands (Christmas, Cocos andAshmore) from migration zone; other Cwthlegislation to exclude illegal immigrants andasylum seekers. These include:

Migration Legislation (Amendment Judicial

Review) Bill 2001

Border Protection Act 2001

Border Protection (Validations andEnforcement Powers) Act 2001;

Migration Amendment (Exclusion from Migration

Zone) Act No. 127, 2001

Migration Amendment (Exclusion fromMigration Zone)

Appendix B 155

Consequential Provision) Act No. 128, 2001

Agreement to establish detention centres onPacific islands such as Nauru to processasylum seekers off shore, dubbed the ‘PacificSolution’.

National Symposium Constituting a ‘People’:

The Legacy of White Australia held at theUniversity of Western Australia, sponsoredby the Government of WA, University ofWA, and the Academy of Social Sciences, tomark 100years of the passage of the IR Actof 1901

Controversy over allegations that asylumseekers sent on Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel(SIEV 4) off the north west coast threwchildren overboard

Grossly overloaded SIEV X sinks and leadsto drowning of 355 asylum seekers

50th Anniversary of the signing of theANZUS Treaty

Australia and East Timor agree to share ofoil and gas revenue from Timor sea.

Australia signs to ASEAN’s Treaty of Amityand Cooperation

2002 Continuing violence and protests atWoomera and other detention Centres.

Protests against mandatory detention ofchildren and policy relating to asylumseekers dubbed the ‘ Pacific Solution.’

Passing of Citizenship Amendment Bill 2001permits dual citizenship for Australian borncitizens living overseas

Bali Bombing. Over 200 Australians killed.

156 Appendix B

Abn Baker Bashir charged for his role inbombings

Pauline Hanson, leader of One Nation Party

convicted for fraud, but later released onappeal.

2003 Ratification of Timor Sea Treaty by Australia

2004 Boxing Day Asian Tsunami causes extensivehardship in several countries such asIndonesia and Sri Lanka. Australia grantsover A$ 1 billion in aid for tsunami relief.

2005 Cronulla Beach riots following frictionbetween Muslim and non MuslimAustralians after beach incidents relating towomen wearing bikinis

Australia attends inaugural East Asian

Summit sponsored by ASEAN

2006 Migration Amendment designatedUnauthorized Arrivals Bill to send all asylumseekers to Nauru withdrawn

Release of IsmaE-Listen Project of HREOCdeals with hostility against Arabs andMuslims

2007 Labor Party returns to government withKevin Rudd as Prime Minister who is notedfor being a fluent Mandarin speaker

Rudd government rejects ‘Pacific Solution’,declares Nauru no longer a DetentionCentre, and grants resettlement in Australiato all detainees.

Rudd government scraps uranium deal withIndia proposed by the Howard government

Introduction of Australian Citizenship Testfor prospective Australian residents aiming

Appendix B 157

to promote social cohesion

2008 Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) systemabolished. Hereafter all refugees guaranteedright to apply for PR (Permanent Resident)status.

Australia-India cricketing goodwill affectedby Harbhajan Singh incident. This followsan Australian player, Andrew Symonds, beencalled a ‘monkey’ by Singh who was foundguilty of racial abuse but later this decisionwas overturned.

Global Financial Crisis (GFC) reinforcessignificance Australia’s economic ties withAsia

2009 Indian media accuses Australia of racismfollowing several racist attacks on Indianstudents.

Arrest of Australian citizen, Stern Hu, headof Rio Tinto’s iron ore marketing

2010 SIEV 221 with between 76-90 asylum seekerscruises the strong seas with the loss of over50 persons