Dissatisfaction with immigration grows

People and Place

Volumn 16, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 19-34

  Betts, Katharine ^a  

^a SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

IMMIGRATION; INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION; LABOR MIGRATION; POPULATION GROWTH;

AUSTRALASIA; AUSTRALIA; MELBOURNE; NEW SOUTH WALES; VICTORIA [AUSTRALIA];

EID: 54449092681     PISSN: 10394788     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (42)

1. In the 2007 AES, in response to the gone too far/not gone far enough question, 45.0 per cent chose the neutral option of 'about right' and 3.1 per cent didn't answer the question. In response to the reduce/ increase question 38.0 per cent chose the neutral middle option of 'remain about the same as it is' and only 1.6 per cent skipped the question.
2. Data on interest rates are from the Reserve Back web site , F05 Indicator lending rates, accessed 8/9/08.
3. Calculated from Australian Demographic Statistics, Catalogue no. 3101.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Canberra, various issues
4. S. FitzGerald, Immigration: A Commitment to Australia, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1988, pp. 31, 59
5. See accessed 8/9/08.
6. See Labour Force, Australia, Spreadsheets, ABS, Catalogue no. 6202.0.55.001.
7. See B. Birrell, Immigration Reform in Australia: Coalition Government Proposals and Outcomes since March 1996, Centre for Population and Urban Research Monash University, Melbourne, 1997.
8. See K. Betts, 'Immigration policy under the Howard Government', Australian Journal of Social Issues, vol. 38, no. 2, 2003, pp. 169-192.
9. K. Betts, 'The ageing of the population and attitudes to immigration', People and Place, vol. 14, no. 2, 2006, pp. 26-38.
10. For data on the actual effects of immigration on demographic ageing see Productivity Commission, Economic Implications of an Ageing Australia: Productivity Commission Rejearch Report, 24 March, Productivity Commission, Melbourne, 2005;
11. R. Kippen, 'A note on aging, immigration and the birth rate', People and Place, vol. 7, no. 2, 1999, pp. 18-22;
12. C. Young and L. Day, 'Australia's demographic future: determinants of our population', Population 2040: Australia's Choice, Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, 1994;
13. Projections of the Populations of Australia, States and Territories: 1999-2101, Catalogue no. 3222.0, ABS, Canberra, 2000, p. 2.
14. See M. Goot, 'More "relaxed and comfortable": public opinion on immigration under Howard', People and Place, vol. 8, no. 3, 2000, pp. 46-60;
15. K. Betts, 'Immigration and public opinion: understanding the shift', People and Place, vol. 10, no. 4,2002, pp. 24-37.
16. The Scanlon Foundation report used a different method and a different question in 2007 and got a different result. It found in June/August 2007 that 35 per cent of their respondents thought the current intake too high, 42 per cent thought it about right, 13 per cent found it too low, and 10 per cent didn't know or wouldn't answer. The authors add the 'about right' figures to the those for 'too low' and conclude that a majority support current immigration. (This pattern of results is actually quite close to that provided by the gone too far/not gone far enough question in the 2007 AES: 39 per cent gone too far or much too far, 45 per cent about right, 13 per cent not gone far enough or nearly far enough, 3 per cent missing.) For the Scanlon data see A. Markus, Mapping Social Cohesion: The Scanlon Foundation Surveys, Summary Report, p. 11,
17. and A. Markus and A. Dharmalingam, Mapping Social Cohesion: The Scanlon Foundation Surveys, pp. 62-63, both published by Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements, Melbourne, 2008. The question asked was: 'Now some questions about immigration. What do you think of the number of immigrants accepted into Australia at present? Would you say it is: too high, about right, or too low?' The data come from a national, random sample, interviewed by telephone.
18. See K. Betts, 'Cosmopolitans and patriots: Australia's cultural divide and attitudes to immigration', People and Place, vol. 13, no. 2, 2005, Figures 1 and 2, pp. 32, 33.
19. Twelve per cent of Australia-born respondents wanted an increase compared with 16 per cent of MESB-born respondents, and 49 per cent of the Australia-born wanted a reduction compared to 46 per cent of the MESB-born.
20. See K. Betts, The Great Divide: Immigration Politics in Australia, Duffy and Snellgrove, Sydney, 1999.
21. Population Flows: Immigration Aspects 2006-07 edition, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra, 2008, p. 106
22. See for example AES 2004 in Betts, 2005, op. cit., Table 7, p. 37.
23. If support for immigration is analysed by location, controlling for education and birthplace, inner-city dweller are still rather more supportive than people in provincial and rural areas but the differences in the 2007 AES are not statistically significant.
24. M. Stutchbury, 'Backlash in the boom', The Australian, 9 September 2008, p. 12
25. Averages calculated from Australian Demographic Statistics, Catalogue no. 3101.0, ABS, Canberra, various issues
26. Calculated from ibid. See also R. Barker, 'Queensland remains a population magnet', People and Place, vol. 16, no. 2, 2008, p. 19.
27. Calculated from Australian Demographic Statistics Catalogue, op. cit., September quarter 2007,2008, pp. 10-12
28. See B. Birrell and E. Healy, Melbourne's Population Surge: CPUR Bulletin, Centre for Population and Urban Research, Monash, Melbourne, 2008.
29. See R. Judd, 'Letter: 8 million by 2050 The liveable city?,' The Age, 5 August 2008, p. 12;
30. T. Shanahan, 'Letter. Australia can't cope with many more people', The Australian, 10 May 2008, p. 9;
31. M. Kingston, 'Letter: Too many people', The Australian, 2 July 2007, p. 15;
32. R. Johnston,'Letter: Missing the point on water', The Australian, 7 October 2006, p. 16;
33. J. Orton, 'Letter: It's imperative that governments take more radical action: Most talked about water restrictions', The Australian, 27 December 2006, p. 11.
34. See B. Salt, 'Growing concern: population boom expected', The Australian, 11 September 2008, p. 24.
35. The 2008-09 planning figures (non-humanitarian) are from media release May 2008 ; humanitarian (and special eligibility data) are from Fact Sheet 20-Migration Program Planning Levels July 2008.
36. Data on net migration from June 1960 to June 1974 on both net total migration and settler arrivals are from Australian Immigration: Consolidated Statistics No. 13, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA), 1983;
37. to 2006 net overseas migration data: are from Migration, various issues, ABS, Catalogue no. 3412.0
38. and Australian Demographic Statistics, various issues, ABS, Catalogue no. 3101.0. Data for visas issued from June 1975 to June 1999 are from the Immigration Department's annual reports.
39. From June 1999 to June 2008 they are from Population Flows, various issues, published by the Immigration Department. The sources for the planning figures for visas for 2008-09 are in note 25 above. The immigration program's permanent migration data include the humanitarian sub-program, though data on this have been published separately since 1993 (however earlier years often do not include immigrants granted visas onshore).
40. See M. Franklin, 'Rudd warns Australia must prepare for emerging arms race across Asia - PM flags major naval build-up', The Australian, 10 September 2008, pp. 1, 6.
41. While Kippen and McDonald do not advocate this, they show that the fastest way to a moderately small stationary population with the youngest feasible age structure is nil net migration plus a TFR of 2.1. R. Kippen and P. McDonald, 'Achieving population targets for Australia: an analysis of the options', People and Place, vol. 6, no. 2, 1998, pp. 11-23
42. See Population Projections, Australia, 2006 to 2101, Catalogue no. 3222.0, ABS, Canberra, 2008, pp. 32-33.