The White Australia's Immigration Policy

There is an analogy of Australia either ‘turning the tap on or off’, which means either responding to or ignoring potential immigrant influxes. There were very powerful ‘pushes’ of migrants from Afghanistan, Africa and Iraq but they are very rarely answered, or ‘turned on’. The other side, however, involves small ‘pushes’ coming from advanced, predominantly white nations such as Scandinavia. These are met with large scale effort and funding to attract these potential immigrants, as they were apparently more prosperous and beneficial to the Australian society. Britain was always the large ‘reservoir’ from which Australia sourced its population. However not all desirable immigrants could afford to come, so instead of selecting non-Europeans

The new anti-colonial Asia was very critical of any policies based on racism. The White Australia Policy and its offshoots were causing resentment between the nations, and international controversies erupted over Australias handling of cases such as an attempt to deport 14 Malay seamen after the war. Australia had allowed a vast increase in its coloured population during the war, with forced migration of Asians fleeing the Japanese invasion and the following occupation. The migrants were given a sanctuary, but there was an understanding that they would return back home when the war ended. Many of the migrants had married, or found life in Australia and later refused to accept their obligation to leave. The Labor Government in 1947 attempted to deport these seamen, all of whom had married Australians, a majority also had families. The Government insisted its position was predictated on the terms that the stays were temporary, pending the termination of the war. As soon as the decision was made public, the general population reupted in the press, and attacked the White Australia Policy and its moral

Annie O’Keefe, a widow who was rescued along with her eight children in Indonesia during the war. She was also expected to leave and return home after the war. She remained in the country as a war refugee and a temporary entrant, but after several years she attempted to get married and was denied, as she was a prohibited migrant. She appealed this decision to the High Court and was granted immunity. The Minister for Immigration, Mr Arthur Calwell, could no longer deport her. In the post-war period, more than 15,000 people of mixed descent were allowed into Australia on ‘compassionate grounds, and close family relations’. Action was taken by the Australian Government against this, but the bills that had been drawn up to deport war refugees such as Ms O’Keefe were not implemented as the government had been voted out and replaced by Robert Menzies and his Liberal