Australians strangers in their own land

Mon Aug 11 14:47:55 UTC 2008

Australians strangers in their own land
Strangers In Their Own Land

May 17, 2007
Immigration Watch Canada

This bulletin is a synopsis of many major points made in "All For
Australia" written in 1984 by Australian Geoffrey Blainey, Professor
Of History. The National Trust of Australia has classified Dr. Blainey
as an "Australian Living Treasure". His thoughtful and critical
observations (primarily social, but also economic and environmental)
on Australian immigration policies are particularly relevant for
Canada today.

All For Australia

A. Principles

* Every nation has the right to control immigration. Ironically, the
Third World countries which some Australians are afraid to "offend"
have no hesitation in using this right to retain their present ethnic
composition. (P.164)

For the sake of national unity, the typical nation practices
discrimination against migrants. Every nation in Asia limits the entry
of immigrants from other ethnic groups, especially those ethnic groups
that seem to be very different. "A family of Australians, of European
descent, would now have faint chance of emigrating, if it so wished,
to any Asian land." (P.52)

Sri Lanka "would not allow the typical Australian family to become
citizens". The former Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (now
Myanmar) requires an applicant for citizenship "to speak well one of
the Burmese languages". Japan requires any of the hundreds of
thousands of Koreans who live there "to be financially stable" and to
be "judged capable of contributing to Japanese society in order to
gain citizenship. Few (Koreans) have become citizens." Papua New
Guinea calls for "a knowledge of English and one local language,
demands a willingness to contribute to the nation's culture and
requires eight years' residence...before a resident can apply for
citizenship". Thailand demands that those applying for citizenship
should have a regular job, a knowledge of the Thai language, and five
consecutive years of residence. Thailand limits to 100 the number of
immigrants from any one country.... That is one reason why the
Indo-Chinese living in the refugee camps in Thailand have to look
elsewhere for a haven." (Pp.52-53)

In the space of half a year (circa 1984), about 40,000 illegal
migrants from Bangladesh have settled in Assam in India. The Indians,
fearful of heavy immigration, are now planning a long fence along the
border at an enormous cost." (P.54)

"Our immigration policy is increasingly based on an appeal to
international precepts that our neighbours sensibly refuse to
practice. We are surrendering much of our own independence to a
phantom opinion (that ethnic composition makes no difference) that
floats vaguely in the air and rarely exists on this earth. We should
think very carefully about the perils of converting Australia into a
giant multicultural laboratory for the assumed benefit of the peoples
of the world." (Pp.54-55)

* "The controversy about immigration is a controversy about about who
we are and where we are going." "Immigration is everyone's business:
it is one of the most important national issues. The idea that it is
too dangerous to be debated is a mockery of democracy. It is too
important not to debate." (P.164)

* "The present government believes an immigration policy should
primarily reflect the truth that all "races" are equal. On the
contrary, an immigration policy should not, any more than a trade or
tariff policy, be designed primarily to reflect that fact." (P.164)
(Note: Blainey's point is that the interests of the majority of
Australians come first, not some social experiment which will probably
damage those interests.)

* Australia, in normal conditions, should accept its share of genuine
refugees, irrespective of which continent they are fleeing from. At
present, Australia is taking far more than its share of refugees."
(P.165)

B. Asia

* "It is vital that Australia maintain sound relations with Asian
nations", but it is simplistic to think that admitting more Asians is
"a certain way of improving relations with Asia". A careless
Australian immigration policy "can too easily lead to social and
ethnic tensions within Australia, thus weakening relations with Asian
countries from which immigrants have come." (Pp.165-166)

* "There is little evidence to support the government's view that
increasing migration from particular Asian nations will improve our
trade with them." (P.166) In fact, Australia's dramatic increase in
trade with "China and Japan occurred in years when we admitted only a
handful of migrants from East Asia". (P.77)

* Immigration is not the most effective way of giving aid to the
nearer parts of Asia. A humanitarian policy should place emphasis on
educating engineers, geologists and agricultural scientists for Asia
and on supplying new technology and, in a famine, food. It is more
humanitarian to supply food for 10 million than to bring in a mere
one-hundredth of that number of Asian immigrants." (P.167)

* Our attitude to Asia has oscillated widely. Whereas half a century
ago, we saw ourselves as part of Europe, we now say that we are part
of Asia, a proposition that is true and false. Our danger today is
that we so emphasize the importance of Asia that we forget the
importance of Australia." Australia's immigration policy "now gives
the tiny Asian portion of the Australian population four out of every
ten migrant places". (P.167) Australia's Minister of Immigration,
Stewart West, has commented that "the increasing Asianization of
Australia" was inevitable". There is nothing inevitable about
Australia's future. It has a choice. (Pp.28-30)

* "Australia will have to find ways of impressing on Asia and the rest
of the world that much of its territory is arid. ...(and that it) "can
support few people". (Pp.167-168) (Note: As of 2007, Australia has
suffered from a drought for 7 years.)

C. Recipe For A Sound Policy

* "The ethnic composition of the population--and the particular
mixture of nationalities, language and cultures--is a matter of
importance to all nations. (P.168)

* "Any rapid alteration in the ethnic composition of the population
can lead to strong social tensions and the placing of strong pressure
on democratic institutions--unless that rapid alteration has the
support of a majority of Australians, especially in the districts most
altered by the new migration." (P.168)

* "Every nation relies on a sense of community. That sense of
belonging is delicate and can easily be upset by the too rapid entry
of peoples who unintentionally challenge the sense of cohesion."
(P.169)

* "One lesson of Australian history is that immigration should not be
encouraged in times of economic adversity. This (1984) is the first
depression in which immigration is not being discouraged, overall.
(P.169) "For those arriving from Asia since the start of 1983, the
unemployment rate is the remarkable 55 per cent. It is as if Australia
is importing unemployment, but not announcing what it is actually
doing." (P.74)

* "It is a fallacy to believe that Australia's present difficulty in
digesting or welcoming immigrants is a close parallel to that of the
1950's, and will be solved with equal ease. Thirty years ago, there
was almost full employment, the public overwhelmingly believed that
immigration was vital to Australia's future, and most immigrants came
from a cultural background that was similar. All these advantages have
ceased." (P.169)

* "The social effects of an unpopular immigration policy are probably
far more important than the economic effects. And the social effects
are felt mostly by the poor, the unemployed and the people who are
tied to the neighbourhood where they live. Whereas the prosperous
residents protect their neighbourhood from heavy traffic, factories
and high-rise flats by collective action, they are the first to object
when other neighbourhoods, faced with an influx from a different
culture, quietly protest." (Pp.169-170)

* "An immigration policy is unlikely to succeed if the entire
parliament supports it, but millions outside parliament do not support
it." (P.170) "In June 1984, only three out of every ten Australians
supported the present immigration policy." (P.44) "...our present
policy, in its divisiveness, makes greater numbers of Australians
feel...like strangers in their own land." (P.125)

D. Multiculturalism

* "The multicultural policy has, at times, tended to emphasize the
rights of ethnic minorities at the expense of the majority of
Australians, thus unnecessarily encouraging divisions and weakening
social cohesion. It has tended to be anti-British, and yet the people
from the United Kingdom and Ireland form the dominant class of pre-war
immigrants and the largest single group of post-war immigrants."
(P.170)

* "Recent governments emphasize the merits of a multicultural society
and ignore the dangers. And yet the evidence is clear that many
multicultural societies have failed and that the human cost of the
failure has been high. Many of our refugees actually come from
multicultural societies that are faltering or in disarray."
(Pp.170-171)

* "There are dangers in the increasing belief that toleration can
simply be imposed on people by a variety of new laws and by a
bureaucracy specializing in ethnic affairs, cultural relations and
human rights. Unfortunately, the laws and regulatory bodies,
introduced in the hope of promoting toleration, can be invoked to
attack freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and those principles on
which minority rights must, in the last resort, depend. A sensible
humane immigration policy is more likely than most of these new
agencies and laws--present or proposed--to maintain and foster racial
toleration." (P.171)

E. Immediate Reforms:

* The changes in the immigration ideology and policy that took place
under the Whitlam, Fraser and Hawke governments were attempts to cope
with new situations, but it is time to re-examine closely that change
in direction, because of the new economic climate and the experience
gained in the last decade." (Pp.171-172)

* "There is a strong case for reducing--perhaps halving--immigration
while unemployment is so high. (Australia was experiencing its most
severe depression in 50 years.--P.23) The reduction should not affect
genuine refugees, but should affect the increasing emphasis given to
family re-unions. (P.172)

* "There can now be little doubt that (Illegal immigrants) exceed
15,000 a year. (P.152). This matter "should be tackled vigorously. It
fosters the fear that we cannot control our own ports and airports and
even our own destiny." (P.171) Amnesty is "an official confession of
failure, a mockery of the concept of a planned immigration programme,
and an incentive for others to arrive, hoping to benefit from a
further amnesty." (P.151)

* "The immigration department should produce and present more
realistic statistics and forecasts. Confusing and deceiving statistics
should be no more acceptable in immigration than in the federal
budget." (P.171) Reports that UK interest in migration to Australia
had declined were untrue and were deceitfully used to justify high
immigration from other areas. (Pp.111-112) In spite of pretences that
they were deities impartially dispensing justice, immigration
ministers and their departments have deliberately withheld important
statistical and demographic information from Australians in order to
cloud what they were doing. (Pp.65-66)

http://eye-on-immigration.blogspot.com/2008/08/australians-strangers-in-their-own-land.html

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NOTE: "All For Australia" was published by Methuen Haynes. Its ISBN
number is 0 454 00828 7.
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