The threatened dream - Australia's zero immigration policy - Cover Story

Australia's policy of migration diversity has become a political hot potato

Zero immigration - the call of Pauline Hanson's One Nation party - is threatening the dreams of thousands of potential settlers to Australia, a country that once opened its arms wide to people seeking a new way of life.

The threat took shape with Hanson's message that "We are in danger of being swamped by Asians", delivered in her maiden speech to Australia's Federal Parliament two years ago. Since then it has escalated to the point where the party she leads won a quarter of the votes in a recent state election and threatens the strongholds of the existing parties.

Australia has been proud of its population diversity over the last 25 years since it changed its restrictive immigration policy (the White Australia policy) to one that is non-discriminatory. The country now draws on people from 150 countries as settlers.

Subject to a yearly quota, the policy allows anyone from any country to apply to migrate regardless of their ethnic origin, sex, colour or religion. Whether or not an applicant is accepted as a settler depends on a points score that takes into account English language ability, skills and family links and support.

Today about one in four Australians was born overseas. About five per cent of them were born in Asian countries, 6.2 per cent in the United Kingdom, 6.8 per cent elsewhere in Europe and 1.2 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa.

Since the Second World War a total of 5.6 million people have migrated to Australia. Under prevailing policies migration is projected to help increase Australia's population from the present 18.5 million to 23 million in 50 years time.

The government has responded to the One Nation Party with a major national campaign to sell its immigration policy. The Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, Philip Ruddock, has travelled the nation making it clear there is "no place for racism in Australia". The question, he says, is "not how do we stop migration, but how do we manage it to gain the best outcomes for Australia."

Opposition to Pauline Hanson's policies has been loud and vocal, and community support for migration diversity has come strongly from diverse and influential sources. A joint statement by the employer, labour, religious and social welfare groups spelt it out: "We Australians should be proud of the way in which migrants have transformed, strengthened, and enriched our nation economically, socially and culturally."

The One Nation party draws on the growing resentment of some Australians who see newcomers taking "their" jobs in a contracting workforce in an economy increasingly affected by the Asian down-turn, taking "their" places at the overcrowded universities and defrauding the government benefits system.

Environmental groups and the political parties that represent them are also calling for reduced immigration. They want Australia to determine its "carrying capacity" - just how many people the country can continue to sustain without further polluting its land, beaches, rivers and waterways and endangering its rare plants, birds and animals.

In response to some of these criticisms the government has begun to tighten up the conditions under which migration applicants will be successful by allocating 50 per cent of places to skilled people, and by clamping down on those who overstay their visas, work illegally and exploit the appeal procedures to prolong their illegal residence or abuse the welfare system.

The chairman of the Federation of Ethnic Affairs Council of Australia, Randolph Alwis, is critical of the government's "pandering to extreme elements" in Australia. By accenting skills and English language ability, Australia is in effect applying indirect discrimination, he says, thereby excluding highly desirable migrants. Some of Australia's business leaders of today arrived in Australia without a word of English, he points out.

"There are a lot of cases of highly skilled people, who because of systemic prejudices, are unable to get jobs straight away. They are going through a lot of hardships because, under government policies, they get no social benefits for two years," he says.

"Other countries are paying a lot of attention to our immigration policy," he warns. "People who have a choice, who have the skill and knowledge will choose to go to other countries that don't have these restrictions."

COPYRIGHT 1998 UNESCO
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group