FROM WHITE AUSTRALIA TO PART OF ASIA - RECENT SHIFTS IN AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION POLICY TOWARDS THE REGION

This article examines the impact on Australia of population movements in the Asia-Pacific region since 1945, with special reference to the p eriod since 1975 that marked the termination of the restrictive 'White Australia Policy. That policy, which had its origins in racist theori es popular at the end of the nineteenth century, isolated Australia fr om its immediate region and kept it tied to its European and, more spe cifically, British origins. The impact of population, trade and capita l movements in the region has been such as to make Australia 'part of Asia.' Nevertheless, public opinion has yet to accept these changes fu lly, especially when they involve changing the ethnic character of the resident population. It is concluded that the generation which has gr own up since 1945 and which is now starting to dominate politics and i ntellectual life will find it easier to reorient Australia than did th e previous generation, despite continuing ambivalence in public attitu des. The presence in Australia of large numbers of permanent residents and citizens of Asian origin is a necessary factor in expediting chan ge.