Melbourne Law School - Theses

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Administrative law and immigration control in Australia: actions and reactions

Crock, Mary E. ( 1992)

The conduct of a sustained immigration programme is a notoriously delicate business for governments. Australia's experience over the last two decades well demonstrates the difficulties inherent in balancing labour market and other demographic demands with the public's natural resistance to any large-scale influx of foreigners. After the abolition of the White Australia Policy in 1973, the number and cultural diversity of people eligible to settle in the country increased dramatically. The growth of visible minorities within the community, coupled with the gradual decline in the country's economic fortunes, brought immigration to the forefront of public consciousness in a manner not seen since the end of World War II. By the mid 1980s, it had become the subject of a most vigorous, and potentially divisive, public debate. Arguments ranged over the benefits and burdens of large-scale immigration; the racial mix of migrants; the criteria for selecting them; and the problem of illegal immigration, and what to do about it. (From introduction)