Dynamics of Multiculturalism in Australia
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Dynamics of Multiculturalism in Australia Birrell, Robert “The Dynamics of an ethnic movement which has since shaped Multiculturalism in Australia” in Lovell, David Government cultural and immigration policies. W. et al (eds), The Australian Political System While there has recently been a reaction against Melbourne, Longman, 1995. these policies, it has involved bitter and largely unresolved contestation. As this preliminary by Robert Birrell comment suggests once a Government advances down the multicultural pathway it may be It has been said that mistakes in the migration difficult to turn back. field are among the worst a Government can make because once made they magnify. The Origins of the Ethnic Australia offers a cautionary tale in this regard. Movement in Australia None of those making decisions on the size and make-up of the immigration intake in the 1950s As indicated, the Australian Government did and 1960s ever intended to lay the social base not deliberately set out to recruit large numbers for a vigorous ethnic movement, and certainly of 'ethnics'. Rather the influx of Italians, not one powerful enough to shape immigration Greeks, Yugoslavs and other non-Western policy itself (Birrell and Birrell, 1987: 47-51, European migrants in the 1950s and 1960s 67-69). Yet this is what happened, and the reflected its larger population building targets. consequences are still ramifying. The goal was to maximise migration from Western Europe, particularly Britain. But as It may help at the outset to remind readers of European economic conditions improved and the scale of Australia's recent population interest in migration from Western Europe building program. Over the five years mid-1985 waned, migration from Southern and Eastern to mid-1990 the overseas-born sector of the Europe was facilitated. This occurred via the population is estimated to have grown by processing of personal sponsorships from family 526,000 of whom 294,000, or 56% came from members in Australia. For these migrants, little Asia and the Middle East (ABS, 1990). This attention was paid to either skill or English reflects net migration rates of around 0.8% per language ability in evaluating their applications annum, far higher than Canada or the USA at (Birrell and Birrell, 1987: 70-71). They were the time. The effect of this has been to increase allowed entry up to the point they filled, or the proportion of the total population who were 'topped up', the annual migration target. Over foreign-born to 22.1% by mid-1989 (from the entire 1951 to 1971 period, migrants from 21.1% in mid-1985), which is again far higher Southern Europe made up 479,000 or 25% of than in the USA or Canada, or for that matter the total net migration intake (Price, nd: any West European nation. Moreover they are Appendix). concentrated in the adult age brackets and in particular locations. Of Australians aged 15 plus Most of these migrants came from rural in 1989 26.5% were foreign-born. But in 1986 backgrounds. Few could speak English and 40.1% of Perth's population aged 15 plus were hardly any possessed professional or trade skills foreign-born, and Australia's largest city, Sydney, recognised in Australia. As a result they were currently approaches this level. soon segmented occupationally, socially and residentially from the host population. Their The paper explores how the immigration work in low skilled manufacturing industries programs of earlier years laid the foundation of and in services like fruit and vegetable retailing Making Multicultural Australia Dynamics of Multiculturalism in Australia 1 came to be identified as 'migrant' work. By the saw its task as eradicating migrant disadvantage. end of the 1960s it was common to find It addressed this by providing extra funds for assembly line employment, as in Ford and schools with high concentrations of migrants General Motors plant, composed of near 100% and for remedial English language teaching. Its non-English speaking background (NESB) goal was to remedy class-based disabilities by migrants (Birrell and Birrell, 1987: 76). By this improving equality of opportunity, thereby time both the work and the migrants incorporating migrants into the mainstream. performing it were devalued by most native Australians. As a consequence few of the latter Nevertheless, by highlighting migrant were prepared to enter 'migrant' industries, disadvantage, and pointing to Australians' thereby cementing work and social divisions on alleged neglect of their welfare, the Whitlam ethnic lines. While it is true that class was a Government paved the way for ethnic factor here in that most NESB migrants shared communities to enter Australian politics as a disadvantageous position in the job market, legitimate interest groups, and to question past the full employment situation at the time assimilationist policies. On immigration policy, ensured relatively good wages for unskilled the Whitlam Government also put an end to workers. The really biting division was one of past British preferences. All discrimination on status, and the fact that those of NESB migrant the basis of race or ethnicity was removed, and background, who occupied low skilled positions greater emphasis was placed on family reunion. had by this time come to be known as 'ethnics'. This partly reflected the nationalist stance of the Ethnicity, in turn, had become a marker of Government and its desire to dispel any inferior ranking in the status order (Collins, remnants of dependency on Britain. 1988:207-211). The Ethnic Movement Takes Meanwhile throughout the 1950s and 1960s Shape official settlement policy was aggressively assimilationist, and hostile to ethnic community In the early phases of the movement both class construction (Jupp, 1965: 142-151). Yet such and status grievances were expressed, with the community building was an inevitable result of former often highlighted by concerned the situation just described. Australian Australian professionals. But as members of prejudice, the lack of capacity of most of the ethnic communities themselves took over the migrants in question to relate to Australians articulation of their concerns during the 1970s (due to language and cultural differences), and status issues came to predominate. In essence their isolation in 'migrant' industries, all they wanted to upgrade their standing as ensured this. Specialised religious, cultural (e.g. persons of ethnic origin. This is why they social clubs and language specific newspapers) embraced multiculturalism. It offered the and retail institutions evolved catering to an prospect of respect for their national or cultural ethnic clientele. origins. They wanted the Australian Government to declare that they had a valued For the most part the migrants involved lived in place in Australian society and to prove this by a social world of their own creation, remote providing financial support to ethnic from mainstream Australian institutions. communities seeking to maintain their However this began to change in the 1970s. languages and cultures. The multicultural The Whitlam Labor Government of 1972-75 movement was a form of group mobility 'discovered' and redefined migrants as part of whereby ethnic communities sought to use their the 'disadvantaged' of Australian society, and collective political muscle to win a societal made the rectification of this situation one of its revaluation of their standing. priorities. At this stage the issue of ethnic cultural maintenance was not on the serious It has been argued that the emphasis on status policy agenda. Rather the Whitlam Government issues, especially during the conservative Fraser Making Multicultural Australia Dynamics of Multiculturalism in Australia 2 Government years (1976-1983), reflected the the sense described above. The Jewish Fraser Government’s anxiety to detach the attachment to multiculturalism is better movement from the redistributive welfare explained by their intense ethnocentrism and framework developed during the Whitlam years thus anxiety to maintain their distinctiveness as (Castles et al., 1990: 66). It is true that the a people. But the Jewish experience is Fraser Government did not encourage ethnic exceptional. Most migrants coming from groups to mobilise around these issues. societies whose education and credentials were Conversely it gave fulsome support to ethnic valued (including the Dutch and Germans) did communities status claims - implying that their not enter 'migrant' work and have not disadvantage was simply a matter of host society encountered serious prejudice on account of prejudice. To this end it provided funds for their national origins. Few Australians regard ethnic languages and cultures, including ethnic them as 'ethnics', and even fewer of the TV and radio, as well as ethnic specific welfare migrants themselves would wish to be tagged as services. We cannot conclude from this, such. They have integrated rapidly, with the best however, that the ethnic communities were index being very high levels of out-marriage (to hoodwinked. native-born Australians), in the first and second generation. Rather, the Fraser Government's interests coincided with the status concerns of most This is not to deny a welfare dimension within ethnic leaders. The Government wanted to the ethnic movement. As indicated, its first attract political support from ethnic manifestations during the Whitlam period were communities, but to do so had to offer in the welfare field. But it is notable that leaders something of value. The ethnic leaders included of the ethnic welfare groups were voicing their some first generation migrants successful in status concerns well before the Whitlam era and business, but in addition, by the late 1970s have continued to so since. For example, Mr many from the second generation who had Walter Lippmann, who entered the debate via achieved professional qualifications in Australia. his leadership role in the Jewish welfare Their numbers increased rapidly during the movement told the 1970 Australian Citizenship 1970s reflecting the premium their Convention that Australian 'homogeneity ceased communities placed on higher education.