jan 29, 1973 - Multiculturalism
Description:
Australia's approach to immigration from federation until the latter part of the 20th century excluded non-European immigration. The 'White Australia' policy as it was commonly described was progressively dismantled by the Australian Government after World War II.
The Whitlam government (1972-1975) removed race as a criterion for immigration, introducing a new test based on qualifications and family ties that saw Asia become the main source of new migrants. By 1973, Al Grassby, the immigration minister, introduced Australia to multiculturalism, and migrant groups were forming state and national associations to maintain their cultures, and promote the survival of their languages and heritages within mainstream institutions.
The White Australia policy restricted non-European immigration to Australia from 1901 to 1973. The policy limited the ethnic and cultural diversity of the immigrant population. The policy was an attempt to preserve the British identity of the Australian nation, promote European immigration, and to exclude persons who did not fit the European, predominately Anglo-Celtic, character of Australian society. As the twentieth century progressed and the number of migrants from the United Kingdom became insufficient to meet labour shortages, immigrants came increasingly from other parts of Europe, and eventually Asia. This led to the development of multiculturalism.
Nowadays, Australia is a multicultural country. Australia’s multicultural policy embraces our shared values and cultural traditions. It also allows those who choose to call Australia home the right to practise and share their cultural traditions and languages within the law and free from discrimination. Australia is a society of people from a rich diversity of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Most Australians are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants who arrived over the last two centuries from more than 200 countries.
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Australia After WWII
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