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Constructed Realities

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Constructed Realities Linköping University | Department of Social and Welfare Studies (ISV) Master’s Thesis (30 ECTS) | MA in Ethnic and Migration Studies (EMS) ISRN: LiU-ISV/EMS-A--19/07--SE Constructed Realities Framing an inclusive, multicultural Australia’s exclusion of people seeking asylum Holly McCarthy Supervisor: Peo Hansen Abstract Since 2001, Australia’s increasingly securitised and exclusionary asylum policy has been legitimated through a damaging discourse surrounding people who seek asylum. This discourse, reinforced by successive Australian Prime Ministers, has been instrumental in shaping policies which have a devastating human impact. While political elites across the West are distancing themselves from a discourse of inclusive multiculturalism, Australia continues to celebrate its multicultural success despite the ongoing tension between a rhetoric of inclusion and one justifying exclusion. Since discourse is both productive and reflective of the social world, shaping discourse can be understood as a means to shape reality. This thesis explores how discourse is constructed and reproduced through framing; a discursive practice that influences how certain issues are understood. The texts analysed are those in which Australian Prime Ministers and senior political figures defend policies of exclusion against people who seek asylum by boat as part of a broader policy vision for a Safe, Secure & Free Australia. In order to contrast the frames, narratives and discourses associated with exclusion, communications promoting the policy vision of an inclusive Multicultural Australia have also been analysed. The frames identified in the material reproduce particular narratives which help to maintain the hegemonic position of discourses which present Australia as a humanitarian, welcoming and inclusive multicultural society and situate people who seek asylum by boat as illegal, seeking an unfair advantage, and as a threat to national security. By identifying frames that consistently appear in the messaging of Australian political elites, we can understand how certain narratives have come to be accepted as truth. Key terms: multiculturalism; asylum policy; inclusion; exclusion; immigration; discourse analysis; framing; asylum seekers; Australian politics; Contact: [email protected] Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... iv Acronyms ......................................................................................................................... v 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Aims & Questions ................................................................................... 2 2. A System ‘Designed to Break’ People ........................................................................ 3 2.1 Policies of Exclusion ........................................................................................... 4 2.2 Australia’s Immigration Intake ........................................................................... 5 2.3 Countries of Origin ............................................................................................. 6 2.4 Why People Come by Boat ................................................................................. 6 2.5 Australia’s Obsession with Boat Arrivals ........................................................... 7 3. Background................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Global Context ........................................................................................................ 8 3.2 Historical Context ................................................................................................... 9 3.2.1 Excluding Indigenous Australians ................................................................... 9 3.2.2 Immigration Restriction & White Australia ................................................... 10 3.2.3 Mass Immigration & Australian Multiculturalism ......................................... 12 3.2.4 The Year 2001 ................................................................................................ 16 3.3 Labor, The Coalition & the Revolving Door of Australian Prime Ministers ....... 17 4. Theory & Methodology .............................................................................................. 19 4.1 Discourse .............................................................................................................. 19 4.2 Critical Discourse Analysis .................................................................................. 19 4.3 Framing ................................................................................................................. 20 4.3.1 Theory ............................................................................................................ 20 4.3.2 Framing Effects & Public Opinion ................................................................ 22 4.3.3 Framing & the Media ..................................................................................... 23 4.3.4 Framing & Policy ........................................................................................... 24 ii Constructed Realities Holly McCarthy 4.3.5 Framing in the Australian Political Context................................................... 26 4.4 Study Contribution ................................................................................................ 27 4.5 Empirical Material ................................................................................................ 28 4.6 Method .................................................................................................................. 29 4.7 The Paradox of Language ..................................................................................... 29 5. Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 30 5.1 Identified frames ................................................................................................... 31 The Howard Government ........................................................................................ 32 The [1st] Rudd Government .................................................................................... 36 The Gillard Government ......................................................................................... 38 The [2nd] Rudd Government.................................................................................... 42 The Abbott Government ......................................................................................... 44 The Turnbull Government ...................................................................................... 48 The Morrison Government ...................................................................................... 51 5.1.1 From Frames to Narratives ............................................................................ 53 5.2 Narratives .............................................................................................................. 54 5.2.1 Truths ............................................................................................................. 54 5.2.2 Dependencies ................................................................................................. 57 5.2.3 Transformations ............................................................................................. 60 5.2.4 Invisible Narratives ........................................................................................ 61 6. Discussion & Conclusion ........................................................................................... 62 6.1 A Fork in the Road................................................................................................ 62 6.2 Looking Forward .................................................................................................. 69 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 70 7.1 Appendices............................................................................................................ 77 iii Constructed Realities Holly McCarthy Artwork by Nasir, drawn in immigration detention, 2016. I dedicate this to my friends who have endured so much at the hands of our government. You came to us seeking safety, and we put you in a cage. This is for you. Acknowledgements I acknowledge the traditional custodians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, of the land which I am fortunate enough to call home. I acknowledge that Australia always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land, and recognise the parallels between the lived experiences of those who seek asylum and our First Nations people. To my supervisor Peo Hansen, thank you for advising me to focus on the contradictions and for encouraging me to follow my heart as much as my head. Your guidance has been invaluable. To Stefan Jonsson, thank you for your support throughout the programme and for inspiring us to challenge damaging discourses and structures, even whilst existing inside of them. To my family, thank you for raising me to ask questions and to believe we can be better. To Lucas, thank you for your unwavering support. You probably felt as though you were writing this thesis yourself
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