In what ways, and for what reasons, have government (and community) attitudes to large-scale immigration changed during the course of the post-war period‪?‬

This essay aims at explaining the changes in Australia’s immigration policy since
1945 and the reasons why governments have implemented major changes. The
steps involved in Australia’s movement from the White Australia Policy towards
multiculturalism will be examined chronologically.
In order to understand the importance of the changes after the Second Word War
it is necessary to take a brief look at what policy had been in place until then.
From the day of the first settlement in Australia, the country has always been an
immigrant society. With the exception of Indigenous Australians, everybody’s
ancestors have emigrated from various destinations to live on the continent down
under since 1788. Besides the German (largely in South Australia) and the
Chinese minorities, a majority of them had British or Irish origin.1
The first regulation implemented to secure who was – or rather who was not – to
enter the country is known as the White Australia Policy. This policy had a
tremendous effect on immigration in Australia. The roots of this policy go back to
the 1850s, when Chinese immigrants working in the mines in Victoria and New
South Wales were discriminated against and resented by the white population.2
This was largely due to racist theories like Social Darwinism and a fear of non-
Europeans that was strong enough to lead to the Commonwealth Immigration
Restriction Act of 1901. Although these words were never explicitly documented
in the policy, it aimed at excluding non-European immigrants. [...]

1 James Jupp, From White Australia to Woomera: The Story of Australian Immigration,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002, p.5.
2 Department of Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs, ‘Abolition of the ‘White
Australia’ Policy’, Fact Sheet 8, Canberra, 6 November 2002,