Getting In
Getting In
Exhibition launch - Opening Speech on Australian Immigration
Immigration Museum, Melbourne
Tuesday 25 February 2003
The last two times I was on stage with Harold Mitchell were associated with two organisations he leads with great distinction and success. They were the 20th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Australia and the opening of the very successful Italians exhibition at the Melbourne Museum.
The Commonwealth Government under s51(xix) has jurisdiction over 'Naturalization and Aliens'. Immigration policy, past and present, is a continuing controversy between preserving the past and preparing for the future. Immigration policy cannot be evaluated without examining where we come from and determining what we want to become. We must examine the statistics.
The population of Victoria at the time of federation of Australia was just over one million. At the centenary of Federation it was just under five million. The proportion of Victorians living in Melbourne in 1901 was 41 per cent and in 2001 it was 73 per cent. In 1901, 78 per cent of Victorians were born in Australia (93 per cent in Victoria itself). One hundred years later, this figure had only dropped to 72 per cent. While the proportion of Victorians born in Australia has not changed substantially, the country of origin of new arrivals now differs remarkably. In 1901 Victorian immigrants were from the United Kingdom (13 per cent of the total population) and Ireland (5 per cent of the total population). In 2001 immigrants from the United Kingdom and Ireland comprised just over 5 per cent of the total population. The Chinese population of Victoria, historically connected to the discovery of gold, peaked at 40,000 in 1858 and by 1901 had fallen to 6,300.
Melbourne was the Australian centre for post World War II European assisted passages and still remains home to the largest communities in Australia from European countries. In 1901 97.7 per cent of Victoria's population was counted as Christians (36 per cent Anglican and 22 per cent Catholic). In 2001, 67.3 per cent of the population was counted as Christian (16 per cent Anglican and 29 per cent Catholic) and 25.9 per cent of Victorians stated they were of no religion. Paradoxically, the religious division in society was greater when more people were religious and religions were fewer. Estimates of the indigenous population in Victoria in 1901 were 0.7 per cent of the total population. In 2001, this figure has increased to 6.1 per cent.
The United Nations estimates that there are 15 urban agglomerations of more than 10 million people: Tokyo (26 million), Mexico City, Sao Paulo, New York, Mumbai, Los Angeles, Kolkata, Shanghai, Dhaka, Delhi, Buenos Aires, Jakarta, Osaka, Beijing and Karachi.
Sydney has 4 million people and Melbourne has 3.4 million. There are only 4 cities in Europe which have larger populations: Paris (9.6 million), Moscow (8.3 million), London (7.4 million) and St. Petersburg (4.7 million). Electrified railways link all the capitals in Europe. The Sydney-Melbourne transport corridor is one of the busiest in the world. It would have been faster, cleaner and safer if the two State governments had not rejected the Fraser Government's offer to share the cost of electrifying the railway. It is clear that most of Australia's future growth will be concentrated in the three capitals on the east coast.
It would be amiss not to say something of my own policies at this opening. My Government not only jettisoned the White Australia practices but in the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 introduced equal opportunities for Australians of all ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. The legislation enacted the 1966 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. This law, more than any other, has improved the rights of indigenous and subsequent Australians. My Government acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. The 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights still remains to be enacted.
As an elder statesman, born in Victoria, I am delighted to launch the Getting In exhibition. I have seen Australia's population change more than most and I have been involved in changing population policy more than most. This exhibition, documenting immigration policy since the 1800s, is an important contribution to determining what future population changes Australia will achieve.
Exhibition details
Venue: Immigration Museum
Adddress: Old Customs House, 400 Flinders Street, Melbourne
Daily hours: 10am - 5pm
Price: Included in venue admission - $7 Adults, $3.50 Children, concessions apply
