Urban Studies, Vol. 44, No. 4, 699–721, April 2007 Constructing Racism in Sydney, Australia’s Largest EthniCity James Forrest and Kevin Dunn [Paper first received, March 2005; in final form, June 2006] Summary. Contemporary Australia is in a contradictory situation as a nation where multiculturalism co-exists with various forms of what are collectively called racisms. Based on a survey of Sydney residents, this study uses a social constructivist approach to investigate the nature and sociospatial context of racist attitudes in Sydney, Australia’s largest EthniCity. Results show a mix of compositional (aspatial) and contextual (spatial) associations with racisms. The former indicate a general but inconsistent relationship between socioeconomic status and tolerance, and also between cultural diversity and tolerance. The latter, however, reveal place- based cultures of tolerance and intolerance cutting across compositional relationships. A geography of racism in Sydney therefore adds a level of understanding which cannot be obtained from aspatial analysis alone. This helps to understand the complexity of local political cultures and can assist with the formulation of anti-racism interventions. Introduction Racism is an historical and complex societal of cultural pluralism prior to the 1960s with problem among settler societies such as two ‘charter groups’—English and French— Australia, Canada, Israel, the US and New and a more recent (post-1962 and 1967 Zealand. All are countries where immigration changes to immigration laws) multicultural has long been a significant factor in population approach to an increasingly diverse, post- growth and, importantly, where the wide range ‘White Canada’ ethnic mosaic (Bourque and of national origins of more recent immigration Duchastel, 1999). Canada went further than streams has resulted in increasingly ethnically the other immigrant-receiving countries men- diverse populations. Yet each country is differ- tioned here in enshrining multiculturalism ent. In the US, a dominant ethnic group phase legally and constitutionally during the 1980s of Americanism saw the emergence of a (Helmes-Hay and Curtis, 1998). In New ‘White nation’ until the mid 1960s (Kaufman, Zealand, the issue is largely one of bicultural- 2004) and a potential future divide between ism involving the indigenous Maori and ‘Blacks’ and ‘non-Blacks’ (Rose, 1997), but Pakeha (non-Maori, but usually seen as with the social position of Asians and Hispa- ‘White’ New Zealanders) with, as yet, little nics, admitted after changes to immigration regard for the growing cultural diversity of laws in 1965, not yet resolved (Kivisto, the country’s people since the ending of a 2002). In Canada, issues of a core culture and ‘White New Zealand’ immigration policy in ethnic minorities assumed a particular form 1986 (Hiebert et al., 2003). James Forrest is in the Department of Human Geography, Macquarie University, New South Wales, Sydney 2109, Australia. Fax: þ61 2 9850 6052. E-mail: [email protected]. Kevin Dunn is in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, New South Wales, Australia. Fax: þ61 2 9385 2067. E-mail: [email protected]. 0042-0980 Print=1360-063X Online=07=040699–23 # 2007 The Editors of Urban Studies DOI: 10.1080=00420980601185676 700 JAMES FORREST AND KEVIN DUNN Contemporary Australian society is often elsewhere, is also unsettled by its dynamism characterised as increasingly multicultural, but and development. It remains an unfinished still struggling to disengage from a legacy of project, with gaps in its coverage and limits to Anglo privilege and cultural dominance its reach in some sections and demographics. (Forrest and Dunn, 2006a). Exclusion of non- It is a feature of each of these major immi- Europeans, embodied in an Immigration grant receiving countries, however, that the Restriction Act, 1901, was one of the earliest major focus of dominant culture–minority pieces of legislation passed by the federal ethnic groups tensions is in the cities and parliament of the new Commonwealth of usually in the largest cities. In New Zealand, Australia. What became known as the White Auckland stands out as the most culturally Australia policy lasted until the early 1970s, diverse city in the country (Johnston et al., to be replaced by policies promoting multi- 2002, 2003). In Canada, the major immigrant- culturalism. Even so, the experience of receiving cities are Toronto, Montreal and post-World-War-2 non-English-speaking back- Vancouver (Simmons and Bourne, 2003). In ground immigrants, especially from eastern and the US, the focus on urban areas is more wide- southern Europe during the 1950s and 1960s— spread, but is an urban focus nonetheless as opposed to the English-speaking background (Johnston et al.,2004).InAustralia,amajor (British) immigrants who had absolutely domi- feature of the immigrant stream of the past 50 nated migration flows for 150 years prior to the years has been the degree to which it has 1950s—was frequently marked by discrimi- become concentrated in the major urban areas. nation and socioeconomic disadvantage Sydney’s population comprises some 43 per (Vasta and Castles, 1996, p. 4). Subsequently, cent of immigrants from a non-English- post-White-Australia immigrants from Asia, speaking background by ancestry and especially those who were Muslims, along Melbourne’s 41 per cent. Over the period with Indigenous Australians, came to be 1996–2001, some 39 per cent of new immigrant especially identified as key Others in the arrivals came to Sydney, with 22 per cent going national imaginary (Hamilton, 1990; to Melbourne and 15 per cent to Perth (Forrest Rajkowski, 1987; Rizvi, 1996, pp. 176–177). et al., 2003). Australia is thus in a contradictory situation Sydney is, therefore, Australia’s major where multiculturalism co-exists with various immigrant receiving city, especially in terms forms of what are collectively called racisms of the large number of Asian immigrants (Vasta and Castles, 1996, p. 5). The latter coming into Australia since the early 1970s include Anglo-Celtic cultural dominance, intol- (Forrest et al., 2003; Poulsen et al., 2004). erance of diversity, antagonism towards some Here, racial tensions are most apparent cultural groups and xenophobia. This contradic- (Forrest and Dunn, 2006a). Based on a tion may not be unique, but rather common survey of Sydney residents on attitudes to among settler societies and among all those various aspects of racism—part of a wider that have experienced substantial immigration study of racist attitudes in eastern Australia in the past four decades, such as countries in (Dunn et al., 2004)—this study uses a social western Europe. These nations have what are constructivist approach to investigate the sometimes called ‘unsettled multiculturalisms’ nature and sociospatial context of racist atti- (Hesse, 2000). The unsettledness relates to com- tudes in Sydney. Several questions are peting ideas about nation, including earlier more posed: is there a culture of racism in exclusive encapsulations of nationhood. These Sydney; if so, how is it constructed and posi- legacies persist, often in a minority context, per- tioned across key social factors such as ethni- formed in nostalgic and tragic ways but with city, class and age; is there any geography to exclusionary impacts (Dunn, 2005), or explod- that culture which might be used to tailor ing sensationally in ‘race riots’ such as around approaches to anti-racism initiatives? Sydney’s Cronulla Beach on 11 December, There is a long-established tradition of 2005. But multiculturalism in Australia, as examining variations in attitudes to cultural CONSTRUCTING RACISM IN SYDNEY 701 diversity across social groups, which has been Another class-based explanation points to explored most fully in contemporary times by effects of affluence, and specifically resource social psychologists (for example, see Pedersen competition, among the working class. There et al., 2000). However, scholarship on spatial is a perception, that, because of a paucity of variations to these attitudes has been social capital—education, qualifications or decidedly sparse and largely non-existent in non-recognition of qualifications, and also recent decades (Pettigrew, 1959; Robinson, time of arrival—members of minority ethnic 1987; Schaefer, 1975). Contemporary communities form a large proportion of the geographical scholarship has excelled at iden- working class (Jupp, 1984, p. 11) where they tifying how racialisation operates within place are sometimes seen as an ‘industrial reserve and how racialisation is placed (Bonnett, army’ acting to depress all workers’ incomes 1996; Durrheim and Dixon, 2001), but the (Collins, 1984; Lever-Tracey and Quinlan, study of spatial variation in racist attitudes 1988; McAllister and Kelley, 1984, pp. 53– and experiences, and of racialisation, has 54). Such a competition-for-jobs basis to been neglected. Yet, as shown in the next racism is accentuated in the current climate section, contemporary geographical theory of economic restructuring, resulting in job dis- makes a compelling case for research on the placement and marginalisation, especially in spatially varied nature of community relations the manufacturing sector where most immi- and nationalism. Furthermore, geographers grants have traditionally been concentrated have clearly advocated the importance of (Vasta and Castles, 1996, pp. 38–40). such spatial variations to the formulation and Racist attitudes