EPISODE 3: THE ‘WHITE AUSTRALIA’ POLICY

Australia once upheld the ‘White Australia’ policy, a set of immigration laws that discriminated by race until the mid-1970s. The government aimed to maintain a ‘white British’ ideal by excluding non-Europeans, such as Chinese, Pacific Islanders and others. The ‘Dictation Test’ was also used to enforce this policy, allowing immigration officials to deny entry based on language skills, a thinly veiled form of racial discrimination.

African Stream’s Ahmed Ghoneim (@ahmed.ghoneim.official on IG) argues in this episode of ‘Decolonised Minds’ that the government may have abolished the ‘White Australia’ policy, but its exclusionary intent has left a lasting impact.

In recent years, Australia has touted its immigration policy as ‘non-discriminatory,’ but glaring inconsistencies remain. For example, former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton prioritised white South African farmers, citing their hard work and potential contributions. However, young Black South Africans facing violence and Rohingyas fleeing gen*cide in Myanmar have not received similar attention. Australia’s humanitarian efforts in Iraq and Syria have favoured Christian refugees from a region where they are a minority, raising concerns about the true inclusivity of Australia’s immigration policies.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who have lived in Australia for over 65,000 years, make up just 3.8 per cent of the population and face significant socio-economic disadvantages. Unfortunately, Australians overwhelmingly voted against the 2023 referendum aimed at granting greater political rights. Many say this reflects an unwillingness of settlers to reconcile with Australia’s colonial past with the continued marginalisation of the aboriginal peoples.