In the last year, public sentiment and government policy regarding our country’s treatment of asylum seekers have undergone perceptible shifts. The public grilling and critical media attention that Amanda Vanstone received from her appearance before the Senate committee on detention policy, the exposure of the wrongful detainment of Cornelia Rau and Vivian Alvarez Solon, and John Howard’s capitulation to much of what Petro Giorgiou and his rebellious colleagues fought for, all represent real change since Tampa and the 2001 election.
But the debate about refugee migration in Australia has a much longer history. Placing these recent shifts in a historic context gives cause for optimism. That history shows us that the gains that have been made in the current debate have occurred under extremely difficult circumstances. And, it shows us that with strong political leadership, Australians have in the past shown tremendous compassion to those seeking asylum in our country.
Our story begins at the close of World War II, from which Australia emerged facing two perceived challenges. First, it saw itself as a vulnerable, thinly populated, Western outpost needing to defend itself in a probable World War III. Second, Prime Minister Ben Chifley planned to start a large-scale, post-war building program, but Australia had full employment and a labour shortage. A bigger population provided a resolution to both problems. With birth rates already booming, Chifley—with Arthur Calwell as Australia’s first Minister for Immigration by his side—announced a mass migration program. As Opposition leader, Robert Menzies endorsed the proposal. Within a generation, Australia was a different place.
The mass migration program gave birth to the multicultural Australia of which most are now so proud. This was not, however, what was intended.
Initially, the migrants were to be British. But it became quickly apparent that British migration wasn’t going to fix Australia’s policy problems. For one thing, there just weren’t enough of them.
Further, to resolve its labour shortage, Australia needed particular kinds of migrants. The scale of the projects planned, such as the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, required a workforce that was mobile and ready to engage in physical labour. Many of the early British arrivals did not meet these criteria. Full employment meant a discerning workforce, and too many Brits settled in cities when labour shortages were most severe in the bush. British migrants often came with families, when Australia needed working men.
So while the British remained a priority,