Essay Example on White Australia Policy: Immigration Restriction Act 1901

Introduction

The Immigration restriction Act of 1901 was a statute introduced to limit the movement of non-European citizens to Australia. The purpose of the Act was to prohibit immigration. The law also enabled the expulsion of many immigrants from the commonwealth. The bill was one of the first legislation enacted in the Commonwealth house of parliament. The Act is also regarded as the White Australian Policy (Appleyard, 1965). The legislation was enacted by the Australian colonialist, the senate and house leader of Australia's commonwealth, and the king's most outstanding majesty. The bill was implemented following a rise in the number of migrants from China and the Pacific. The purpose of the policy was to exclude non-whites who were Asian and retain the whites of Australia and the British. The White Policy Act dominated the Australian culture in the 20th Century as it influenced people's international policy and perceptions towards immigrants.

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Impact of Immigration Restriction Act (1901)

The ban impacted Australia in a variety of areas, impacting migrants' lives, there was a question of the significance of the Act that changed the view of the society and improved the partnership between Australia and Asian countries. The White Australian program was introduced because of worries over low working conditions that immigration may have provided, and suspicions that refugees might have provided inexpensive labour. The Act further facilitated the entry of other citizens, such as ship crewmembers and soldiers from European countries, which defined the 20th Century in the region. Australia was known as a proud racial nation (Mirza et al., 2017). The Act ended in 1958 when the migration act replaced it by the conservative government.

Historical Context: Pre-20th Century Australia and the Need for Unity

Before the 20th Century, Australia did not exist; then, there were six colonies, Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, and Tasmania, which was an island colony. Britain ruled the colonies as six nations (Pope, 1992). There was little desire to uniting the colonies under one country because entrepreneurs were interested only in their financial interests. Communication expanded in the 1900s, and the colonies needed to fight to protect themselves because Germany, France, and Russia were rising in the Pacific. Most Chinese had come to Australia after the gold rush. The government and traders wanted to limit the market competition of migrants from Asia. In 1900, the citizens decided to a referendum on the Australian Federal Constitution, and the Commonwealth of Australia was created. In the 20th Century, Australians were proud of their country. Citizens thought of it as a nation with many possibilities. Australia would pass legislation by the government, but it did not have its armies to create alliances since it was governed by Britain. Australia was concerned after Britain made alliances with Japan that they feared. Australia started developing the navy in 1909 (Bagnall, 2019).

Creation and Implementation of the Immigration Restriction Act

In 1901, most of the population was white, and Australia decided to retain a nation of white citizens with British traditions. The government anticipated competition from Chinese workers that could provide inexpensive labour and reduce wages (Bashford & Howard, 2004). Fear of competition culminated in the development of the first commonwealth act by the federal government. The Act stated that any person migrating to Australia had to do a dictation test in any European language; this resulted in many Asian failing the test.

The Dictation Test: Tool of Exclusion and Discrimination

An officer named by the Act, who served as coordinator, provided the dictation, which had fifty terms in any European language. Once an immigrant failed to write the test and signed the test, the result was deportation and imprisonment (Martens, 2006). The dictation test acted as a tool exclusion of non-whites from the commonwealth by the Australian government. Anyone who failed the test was termed as a prohibited immigrant. The test guaranteed that certain foreigners would bring figures to a minimum and served as a way of excluding, limiting, and deporting immigration on the grounds of nationality without mentioning so. The officer picked a foreign language that he suspected the applicant would lose.

Societal and Economic Effects of the White Australian Policy

The law determined on the individual who would access Australia even if the examination were offered to those entering Australia. Billy Hughes, the prime minister, labelled and claimed the white Australian policy to be Australia's most significant success. Egon Kisch, for example, was a prominent Jew aristocrat who was fluent in several European languages and was imprisoned for failing to recite lords Scottish Gaelic prayer, which generated national outrage and a lot of uproar regarding the legislation (Miller, 1999). Other categories of restrictions included sick persons who had an infectious disease, mentally impaired persons; any person who had been charged with or convicted of a felony for one year or more and had not received pardon and any prostitute. Non-European immigrants convicted of a crime were considered prohibited immigrants and deported to their countries by the government. The Act also provided the implications of immigration offenses. Immigrants were detained for up to six months and then deported.

The Act exempted some individuals. Exempted people included people under a contract of employment within the commonwealth, land and king soldiers, crewmembers of the ship, person, and any person who had been sent by the commonwealth government on a specific mission. (Jupp, 1995) An authorization letter was given to the eligible citizens, written by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or a representative. An officer was allowed to inspect the ship to determine that there was no store way it the method applied to a visitor or team member without permission on a vessel. Penalty was given to the owner of the ship and captain if they carried an immigrant in their store way. The ship would also be detained if it were carrying illegal immigrants.

The goal of the Immigration Act was to create and maintain a homogenous community and to preserve the British culture, but it had a social effect on Australia (Jupp, 2009). The dictation test was deemed as a mechanism of discrimination. Australia was perceived as a racial community by other nations and segregated from the rest of the world. Australia was deprived of the economic and social benefits of cultural differentiation, integration, and trade ties. Migrants were reluctant to travel to Australia for fear of being discriminated against. After the elimination of the Act, the political, economic, and cultural facets of the Asia Pacific region were strengthened.

The Chinese arrived in Australia from the start of the 1900s and provided inexpensive labour in the mines. Some Chinese went back to their nations, while some lived in Australia. The Chinese had some land and began cultivating vegetables; some were carpenters and other employees. The colonizers viewed settling of Chinese in Australia as a treat to compete with the Australian economy (Adusei-Asante & Adibi, 2018). The strategy was followed by promoting distrust and fear of immigration among the population. The government believed that citizens would be driven away from jobs, as the immigrants would be allowed to run on a limited payroll base. Acceptance of immigrants was thought to deliver low conditions of accommodation and dangerous working environments. The invasion of the Chinese gradually contributed to the development of a white Australian policy to maintain the white community and prevent other Asians to join the land.

Transition and Shift in International Relations Post World War II

After the Second World War, Japan's population increased after defeating China and South Asia. Australia feared invasion by Japanese soldiers. Australia's population had declined years after World War II, but the population or perish doctrine guided the government in fear of Japanese advancement. The goal was to promote the ideology of 'Australia for the White Man.' Australia believed in the dominance of British culture and ethnicity. Australians were considered naive and lacking knowledge and discriminatory to certain people. The nation was already reducing even after the perish and populate paradigm that compelled the Australian government to encourage certain non-European nationals to the country. Efforts to preserve white culture failed since the majority of non-white immigrants sought refuge in Australia.

Australia was mostly focused on Britain. After World War Two, Britain did not have much influence over other nations. Australia needed to shift its perspective to adapt to the changing world. New international policy guidelines were set in place (Bandara & Smith, 2002). The white Australian policy act was no longer in the economic, political, and social interests of the country; Australia was segregated from the rest of the world and perceived as discriminatory. Nazi Germany's aristocrats did not recognize ethnic prejudice. Australia recognized the need to strengthen ties with Asian nations. White Australian policy was ultimately scrapped and embraced by most Australians. The termination of the immigration restriction act began by expanding the administration of the dictation test. Initially, the dictation test was carried out in the first year after a foreigner entered Australia. Still, a change was introduced, and the dictation test was carried out five years after an individual entered Australia, and it was issued several times.

Conclusion

The Immigration Restriction Act and the Dictation Test ended in 1958 and provided for direct verification systems. The Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 was enacted to protect non-Europeans from discrimination on the grounds of race (Adusei-Asante & Adibi, 2018). The Act made it possible for non-Europeans to be permitted to reach Australia on the grounds of abilities, attributes, suitability, and ability and not nationality. That was the first step towards abolishing the agenda of the White Australians. The government abolished any legislation that concerned racial discrimination and immigration, resulting in a multicultural Australia. Since the elimination of slavery, a huge number of refugees came to Australia, transforming Australia into a multicultural society of various backgrounds, diverse faiths, and cultures. Relations with Asia have increased political and economic sharing. Australia views diversity as a symbol of economic and social prosperity.

References

Adusei-Asante, K., & Adibi, H. (2018). The 'Culturally and Linguistically Diverse' (CALD) label A critique using African migrants as exemplar. Australasian Review Of African Studies, 39(2), 74. https://doi.org/10.22160/22035184/aras-2018-39-2/74-94

Appleyard, R. (1965). Book Reviews : ASIAN MIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA: THE BACKGROUND TO EXCLUSION 1896-1923 By A. T. YARWOOD London, Oxford University Press for Melbourne University Press, 1964. 210 pp. 55s. Race, 6(4), 340-341. https://doi.org/10.1177/030639686500600411

Bagnall, K. (2019). Immigration Restriction Act - The Tiger's Mouth. Chineseaustralia.org. Retrieved 7 May 2020, from http://chineseaustralia.org/tag/immigration-restriction-act/.

Bandara, J., & Smith, C. (2002). Trade Policy Reforms in South Asia and Australia-South Asia Trade: Intensities and Complementarities. South Asia Economic Journal, 3(2), 177-199. https://doi.org/10.1177/139156140200300204

Bashford, A., & Howard, S. (2004). Immigration and Health: Law and Regulation in Australia, 1901-1958. Health And History, 6(1), 97. https://doi.org/10.2307/40111469

Jupp, J. (2009). Immigration and ethnicity. Australian Cultural History, 27(2), 157-165. https://doi.org/10.1080/07288430903165303