Andrew Markus

Labour and Immigration 1946-9: The Displaced Persons Program

In a previous article the formulation of immigration policy under the wartime Labor government was examined.1 This article looks at the im plementation of policy in the period 1946-9 and is particularly concerned with the reasons for the shift from the planned concentration on British migration, the circumstances under which the shift was achieved, and the reasons for the acceptance of large numbers of European immigrants, par ticularly by the mainstream of the labour movement. I

Attitudes to immigration and cultural diversity in Australia

This article considers Australian attitudes to immigration and cultural diversity. It argues that Australia and Canada are the most receptive to immigration among western nations. The average of 25 surveys conducted in Australia in the period 1999–2010 finds 52% in support of the current immigration level or in support of an increased intake, 43% in support of reduction, and 5% uncertain. While there can be no definitive measure of the level of strong opposition to cultural diversity, on the basis of a number of surveys conducted over the last 30 years, there are indications that the level is close to 10% of the population, with higher levels within specific demographics. Areas of high immigrant concentration present a complex picture. They are characterised by high levels of identification with Australia, but also lower levels of trust and sense of safety, lower levels of participation and heightened experience of discrimination.

Postwar Immigration and Assimilation: A Reconceptualisation

The postwar immigration programme in Australia was a bold and visionary nation-building exercise, one that promised rapid assimilation of ‘aliens’. Some historians note deficiencies in the metanarrative of postwar immigration, but then fail to explain the contradictions which have become apparent. This article attempts to resolve those contradictions, by arguing that a distinction needs to be made between the rhetoric employed in selling the benefits of immigration to the Australian public and the implementation of policy. Assimilation policy was poorly conceived, ill-defined and without financial or human resources for meaningful implementation. Government concern was with public opinion—and with overseas recruitment of workers and labour control in Australia.

(The) 1967 (referendum) and all that: Narrative and myth, aborigines and Australia∗

This article seeks to explain why the 1967 referendum with reference to Aborisines was and is regarded as important. We contend that its significance did not so much lie in the constitutional changes as in the narrative deployed by its sponsors, who attributed to the referendum a rich symbolic meaning, especially that of citizenship. We further argue that it has been mythologised recently for similar political purposes, and suggest such strategies reflect the relative weakness of Aborigines in the Australian polity.

Are diverse societies less cohesive? Testing contact and mediated contact theories

Previous research has demonstrated that there is a negative relationship between ethnic diversity in a local community and social cohesion. Often the way social cohesion is assessed, though, varies across studies and only some aspects of the construct are included (e.g., trust). The current research explores the relationship between diversity and social cohesion across a number of indicators of social cohesion including neighbourhood social capital, safety, belonging, generalized trust, and volunteering. Furthermore, social psychological theories concerning the role of positive contact and its impact on feelings of threat are investigated. Using a sample of 1070 third generation ‘majority’ Australians and structural equation modelling (SEM), findings suggest ethnic diversity is related to positive intergroup contact, and that contact showed beneficial impacts for some indicators of social cohesion both directly and indirectly through reducing perceived threat. When interethnic contact and perceived threat are included in the model there is no direct negative effect between diversity and social cohesion. The theoretical implications of these findings are outlined including the importance of facilitating opportunities for positive contact in diverse communities.

Australian public opinion on asylum

Abstract Australia has a policy of deterring attempts by asylum seekers to reach the country by boat. In 2001 and again in 2013 a policy of offshore processing was implemented and since 2013 the government has determined that no asylum seeker reaching Australia by boat will be eligible for resettlement in Australia. In addition, current policy provides for the turning back of boats at sea when it is safe to do so, to maintain the integrity of the country’s borders. This article considers Australian public attitudes to asylum policy. It finds that while there is majority support for the right to seek asylum, in response to questions on boat arrivals strong negative views outnumber the strong positive by more than two to one. The findings also show that the young, females, tertiary educated, financially better off and those born in the United Kingdom are more likely oppose turning refugee boats back.

Australia’s Immigrants: Identity and Citizenship

Australia has a long record of inclusive citizenship and continues to maintain generous access to citizenship, although not for the increasing number of workers on long-stay visas. Recent data indicates that an estimated 75–80% of eligible residents are naturalised, with a current annual rate of naturalisation above 130,000. The analysis in this chapter is based in large part on the annual Scanlon Foundation surveys of social cohesion. The surveys indicate that Australia is seen as a good country in which to settle, with high levels of belonging, life satisfaction and parallel high take-up of citizenship. But identity in the post-modern world is multi-faceted, with the majority who identify “as an Australian” also seeing themselves as world citizens, linked to their country of birth, and “just…an individual.”

Multiculturalism in historical context

Jatinder Mann’s comparative study seeks further understanding of Canadian and Australian identity from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s, in the context of the declining power of the ‘domina...

Contemporary Australian Attitudes to Immigration

Given the significance of immigration for the development of Australia, there has been surprisingly little systematic public opinion research into attitudes to immigration and cultural diversity until recent years.

Review of Colin Tatz et al. Worlds Apart: The Re-Migration of South African Jews

Andrew Markus of Monash University reviews Worlds Apart: The Re-Migration of South African Jews b y Colin Tatz, Peter Arnold and Gillian Heller (Dural, New South Wales: Rosenberg Publishing; 2007, pp. 360. Price AU