The ‘White Australia Policy’ was first put in place by the federal government in 1901. The overall aim of the policy was to limit non-white immigration, especially Asians. At the time, 98% of Australia’s population were white; Australia wanted to maintain this number, and aim to have the country mainly consist of British people. With most of the country already white, the majority of Australians supported the policy when it was first introduced; this is because the white Australians were concerned about losing their jobs to non-white workers. They believed a restrictive immigration policy was the only way to ensure a secure future. So with denying so many races the right to migrate to Australia, what legacy did the policy leave on Australia? …show more content…
The legacy of the ‘White Australia Policy’ has been a negative one as it has changed the views of other countries towards Australia. The policy restricted a large amount of races from migrating to Australia; for example, when the Japanese received news on the restrictive act they were greatly offended, this was not because of the policy itself but their national pride. They believed that their civilisation was superior to other races such as the Indians, Chinese and Pacific Islanders. The Japanese government were offended by Australia as Australia grouped them with other races who in their opinion were far less advanced compared to themselves. When the ‘Pacific Island Labourers Act’ was first introduced there were many mixed reactions. The 10,000 Pacific Islanders who were living in Queensland at the time were affected by this the most. These men were recruited as indentured labourers and worked ten hours a day, six days a week on the sugarcane fields in Queensland/ New South Wales. This new act forced the Pacific Islanders out of the country. This created great frustration and …show more content…
In December 2005, Cronulla Beach (located in Sydney) was the scene of multiple race riots and mob violence between White and Lebanese Australians. Phrases and slogans such as “100% Aussie Pride” and “We grew here, you flew here” were written in the sands of Australia, becoming a new source of national shame. The riot was provoked by the assault of two off-duty lifesavers, they were attacked by a group of men with Middle Eastern appearances. Australian’s were furious that people who used their free time to protect others had been abused; most wanting revenge. From the acts of one small group of men, a large majority of Australia’s population were abused both verbally and physically, this included women, men and children; every Middle Eastern person was looked at differently and no longer considered an Australian. After the assault of the lifesavers a message was sent out to hundreds of mobile phones: “This Sunday every F***ing Aussie in the shire, get down to North Cronulla to help support Leb and wog bashing day...Bring your mates down and let’s show them this is our beach and they’re never welcome back!”. The racial tensions quickly turned to mob violence when 5,000 people turned up at Cronulla Beach. The riots were greatly publicised in other countries, with Britain, Canada and Indonesia warning their people to be careful when visiting Australia. Australia was once again now seen as a racist and dangerous
Indigenous Australians have faced many changes to their original life style, with numerous policies being brought in. These policies had an incredible affect on how the indigenous Australians lived. The policies inflicted on the indigenous Australians varied widely and had numerous impacts. The policies of assimilation, protection and integration had mainly negative impacts on the community, causing loss of identity, language and religion. The policies of self-determination and reconciliation, had mostly positive effects to the indigenous Australian community, creating a stronger bond between black and white Australians, encouraging the concept of closing the gap between indigenous Australians and non-indigenous Australians. These policies had an incredible influence on the indigenous Australians life, changing many ways they lived. The policies changed the path of history for all Australians.
The 2014 Walkley Award winning documentary, "Cronulla Riots: the day that shocked the nation" reveals to us a whole new side of Aussie culture. No more she’ll be right, no more fair go and sadly no more fair dinkum. The doco proved to all of us (or is it just me?) that the Australian identity isn’t really what we believe it to be. After viewing this documentary
The Cronulla Riots ‘ that day that shocked the nation’ occurred on December 11, 2005 in Sydney’s South on Cronulla beach. (Cronulla Riots: The Day that Shocked the Nation, 2016) A violent, wild crowd of 5,000 ‘white’ Anglo-Celtic local Australians fuelled by alcohol, targeted men of ‘middle eastern appearance’ in areas around Cronulla beach, the local shops and the railway station, by brutally beating them. As a result of this a storm erupted between members of a dominant ethic group against a minority group. (Poynting, 2006) The after math of the riots has ultimately resulted in surf life saving authorities bringing in a more culturally inclusive environment and incorporating different ethnic groups within surf life saving guidelines. How did the riots start between white Australian and Lebanese Australians? What was the history behind it? How could surf lifesavers make the beach more culturally and racially inclusive?
Over the years Australia has had many different problems with racism and racism affecting peoples’ lives. Many racial groups have been affected, most significantly the Aboriginals. The end of world war two in 1945 marked a huge change in types of racism. Australia went from the ‘superior’ white Australians dominating over immigrants and aboriginals. To a relatively multicultural and accepting society that is present today.
Key events in Aboriginal Australian history stem from the time Australia was first discovered in 1788. For instance, when Federation came into existence in 1901, there was a prevailing belief held by non Aboriginal Australians that the Aborigines were a dying race (Nichol, 2005:259) which resulted in the Indigenous people being excluded from the constitution except for two mentions – Section 127 excluded Aborigines from the census and Section 51, part 26, which gave power over Aborigines to the States rather than to the Federal Government. Aboriginal people were officially excluded from the vote, public service, the Armed Forces and pensions. The White Australia mentality/policy Australia as “White” and unfortunately this policy was not abolished until 1972. REFERENCE
In 1788 when the European settlers “colonised” Australia, the Australian land was known as “terra nullius” which means “land belonging to no-one”. This decision set the stage for the problems and disadvantages faced by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for 216 years. The protection policy was meant to disperse tribes and force Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people off their traditional land so the “white Australian’s” could have more control. The protection policy enforced by the British colonies drove the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander onto reserves.
...ause white people benefit from the advantages they receive by just being white, they have a power to incorporate change in America to help people who are less fortunate. However, it seems as though they're all too content and it doesn't directly affect them so they find no serious need to worry.
Struggles by Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people for recognition of their rights and interests have been long and arduous (Choo & Hollobach 2003:5). The ‘watershed’ decision made by the High Court of Australia in 1992 (Mabo v Queensland) paved the way for Indigenous Australians to obtain what was ‘stolen’ from them in 1788 when the British ‘invaded’ (ATSIC:1988). The focus of legislation in the past w...
There have been many different studies that focus particularly on white flight, and the effects of it. Many studies, particularly focus on reasons why it happened, and rarely on the effects of it. This particular paper will focus on the effects of white flight. It will mainly focus on certain effects such as crime and income levels within urban areas.
‘Approximately 1 in 5 people and 7 in 10 teens are victim to racism.’ This is truly alarming and worrying for Australia. Racism has been in Australia from the very first settlement in 1788. Britain claimed Australia as ‘terra nullius’ (empty land) even though they knew that aboriginals existed. The indigenous people of our land were treated more like flora and fauna than citizens of Australia and only were counted in
The Stolen Generation has left devastating impacts upon the Aboriginal culture and heritage, Australian history and the presence of equality experienced today. The ‘Stolen Generation’ refers to the children of Aboriginal descent being forcefully abducted by government officials of Australia and placed within institutions and catholic orphanages, being forced to assimilate into ‘white society’. These dehumanising acts placed these stolen children to experience desecration of culture, loss of identity and the extinction of their race. The destructive consequences that followed were effects of corruption including attempted suicide, depression and drug and alcohol abuse. The indigenous peoples affected by this have endured solitude for many years, this has only been expressed to the public recently and a proper apology has been issued, for the years of ignorance to the implementation of destruction of culture. The Stolen Generation has dramatically shaped Australian history and culture.
The assimilation policy was a policy that existed between the 1940’s and the 1970’s, and replaced that of protectionism. Its purpose was to have all persons of aboriginal blood and mixed blood living like ‘white’ Australians, this established practice of removing Aboriginal children (generally half-bloods) from their homes was to bring them up without their culture, and they were encouraged to forget their aboriginal heritage. Children were placed in institutions where they could be 'trained' to take their place in white society. During the time of assimilation Aboriginal people were to be educated for full citizenship, and have access to public education, housing and services. However, most commonly aboriginal people did not receive equal rights and opportunities, for example, their wages were usually less than that paid to the white workers and they often did not receive recognition for the roles they played in the defence of Australia and their contribution to the cattle industry. It wasn’t until the early 1960’s that expendi...
In the 1960s, inspired by the Civil Rights movement in the US, Charles Perkins organized the Freedom Ride of 1965. The tour’s purpose was to study the race relations in Australia, and raise awareness of the lack of equality for Indigenous Australians. This attracted lots of media attention around Australia and overseas, encouraging Australians to face racial confli...
After the release of Rabbit Proof Fence, many `politically right' white Australians tried to promote that the film was based on myth and misunderstanding but in facet is not as the film itself promotes the openness of racism. Racism was not only a problem is Australia but throughout the world and is continuing to stay a problem, even in our own backyard. The racism between the white Australians and the Aborigines is quite similar to the racism shown in schools and even in parliament here in New Zealand between the Maori and Europeans, or once again between the `white' and the `black'.
The multicultural society in which Australia operates, supports the ideals of democracy; whereby every person is free and equal in dignity and rights (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2005). However, racism is undeniably endemic in contemporary Australian society – particularly for Indigenous Australians; threatening these founding ideals (Furze, Savy, Brym & Lie, 2015). Well-established as a social construct, the idea of ‘racism’ naturally draws our attention to the dominant arena in our society where ideas are created, shaped, governed, transmitted and transformed – the media (Furze, et al., 2015). Arguably a mass agent of socialisation, it is important to explore the media as a catalyst for racism because it is omnipotent and ubiquitous in nature with the capacity to drive social change (Furze, et al., 2015). Any positive change in this paradigm could address widespread discrimination and misrepresentation of Indigenous Australians “…as drunks, child abusers, and petrol sniffers”