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Vietnamese Family Reunion in Australia 1983 – 2007 Bianca Lowe

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Vietnamese Family Reunion in Australia 1983 – 2007 Bianca Lowe Vietnamese Family Reunion in Australia 1983 – 2007 Bianca Lowe Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2016 Graduate School of Historical and Philosophical Studies The University of Melbourne ABSTRACT This thesis explores the reunification of Vietnamese families in Australia through the family reunion program from 1983 to 2007. Focusing upon these key years in the program, and building upon substantial existing research into the settlement of Vietnamese refugees in Australia, this dissertation adds to the knowledge of Vietnamese-Australian migration by focusing on the hitherto neglected story of family reunion. It offers an account of the process and circumstances by which Vietnamese families attempted to reunite and establish new lives in Australia, following the Vietnam War. Drawing upon analysis of political debate and interviews with Vietnamese families, this thesis provides an overview of years that challenged traditional narratives of national identity and of the composition and character of the ‘family of the nation’. During this period, the Australian Government facilitated the entry of large numbers of Asian migrants, which represented a fundamental shift in the composition of the national community. Analysis of political commentary on Vietnamese family reunion reveals tensions between the desire to retain traditional conceptions of Australian national identity and the drive to present Australia as an adaptable and modern country. The early chapters of this thesis examine political debate in the Australian Parliament about the family reunion program. They note differing emphases across the Hawke-Keating Labor Government (1983-1996) and Howard Liberal-National Coalition Government (1996-2007), but also similarities that underline the growing adherence to economic rationalism and the effect this had on the broad design of the program. Subsequent chapters explore the impact of such political debate and decision making by providing insights gained through interviews conducted with Vietnamese people who came to Australia under the family reunion program, as well as community publications produced by Vietnamese organizations. These chapters note the impact of policy design and argue that family sponsorship, and the different conditions associated with either personally entering i Australia or facilitating the migration of family members from Vietnam, had a significant and often deleterious impact on family life and the ease with which individuals could settle into their new home. The imposition of quotas and withdrawal of certain welfare payments, in particular, are exposed in these interviews as having the potential to quite dramatically shape the roles performed in families, as well as family members’ social and economic participation in Australia more broadly. The final chapter explores the implications of the family reunion program for Vietnamese families that reunited in Australia within the context of multiculturalism. Between 1983 and 2007, Australian governments adopted multicultural policies as the framework for managing cultural diversity domestically, and also for imagining the ‘family of the nation’. This framework emphasized loyalties and allegiances to the Australian nation, which was often at odds with the experience of Vietnamese family reunion participants forced to rely on family members rather than the state. This reliance on family necessitated through sponsorship arrangements complicated the extent to which many Vietnamese-Australians were able to live in Australia as ‘multicultural citizens’. The family reunion program is revealed, in this respect, as having a potentially detrimental effect on the ability of many families to establish lives that involve meaningful interaction with non-Vietnamese families and individuals. Family reunion as experienced by many Vietnamese families, it is argued, disrupted the project of creating a truly multicultural nation. ii DECLARATION This is to certify that: 1. The thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD; 2. Due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used; and 3. The thesis is less than 100,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendixes. iii ACKNOWLEGEMENTS This thesis was made possible through the support and encouragement, time and effort of many people. I am very grateful to the people who offered their stories and experiences of interaction with the family reunion program. Without these stories, the depth and value of this thesis would not have been achievable. The following organisations that facilitated my meetings with interviewees were also crucial to the compilation of this thesis: St Vincent’s Institute of Education; Youth Substance Abuse Services; St Mary’s House of Welcome; and the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Welfare Association. This thesis has involved a long, slow journey with the support of several supervisors, who all added unique insights and advice. Thank you to Associate Professor Maila Stivens, Dr Kalissa Alexeyeff, Professor Antonia Finnane, and Professor Vera Mackie. The support of Associate Professor Sara Wills was essential to the completion of this thesis and I can’t possibly thank her enough. Thank you also to Dr Alex Dellios for her invaluable editing work and comments on the final drafts. Thank you to my family and friends who have remained supportive and recognised when to ask and when not to ask about the progress of my thesis. You have all been important to keeping this task in perspective and in providing encouragement and distraction when I really needed it. Finally, thank you to my daughter Violet and husband Colin. Violet’s early sentence of ‘when Mummy finishes her thesis we’ll have a celebration’ was inspiring and motivating, and Colin, I know completing this thesis would not have been possible without you. Thank you also to my unborn son, who provided a non-negotiable deadline for finally submitting this thesis. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... i DECLARATION ................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEGEMENTS .................................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 Bringing the stories together: key sources for this thesis ................................................ 3 Families on the periphery of the Australian nation: clarifying the argument ................... 7 The journey from here: thesis outline ........................................................................... 10 CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 13 Surveying the Field: Vietnamese Migration, Family Reunion and Migration Policy ........ 13 Understanding Vietnamese in Australia since 1975: the refugee experience ................. 13 Understanding Family Migration in Australia: Supplementing a Focus on Refugees and Workers....................................................................................................................... 27 Understanding Migration Policy and the Impact on Families ....................................... 33 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................ 38 Family Reunion under Labor, 1983-1996 ........................................................................ 38 The Hawke Government’s Embrace of Asia: Welcoming Vietnamese Families................ 39 Minister West: Supporting Vietnamese ‘Battlers’ in Australia ..................................... 43 Ministers Hurford and Young: From Humanitarian Principles to the Economic Viability of Migrants .................................................................................................................. 50 Minister Holding and Senator Ray: The Intersection between Economics and Family Reunion ....................................................................................................................... 55 Minister Gerard Hand: Protecting Australia from Unscrupulous Foreigners ................. 64 The Keating Government, 1991–1996: Defining Australian Citizens in the Republic ...... 68 v Senator Nick Bolkus: Citizenship and Authentic Migrants ........................................... 68 Conclusion: The Foundation for Immigration and Rationalism ........................................ 71 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................. 74 Family Reunion and the Coalition Government, 1996-2007 ............................................ 74 The Coalition Government: Reforming the Family Reunion Program ............................. 76 Philip Ruddock, Minister for Immigration 1996-2003 ................................................. 77 Welfare for the Deserving ........................................................................................... 78 Creating Accountable Sponsors ................................................................................... 83 Restricting Entry:
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