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The White Australia policy was a set of racial policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origins – especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders – from immigrating to Australia in order to create a "white/British" ideal focused on but not exclusively Anglo-Celtic peoples.
Beginning in 1901, Australia maintained the White Australia policy for much of the 20th century, which forbid the entrance in Australia of people of non-European ethnic origins. Following World War II, the policy was gradually relaxed, and was abolished entirely in 1973. Since 1945, more than 7 million people have settled in Australia.
Dismantling the domestic defence framework began with the ending of the White Australia policy between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s. Australia persisted, however, with other components such as tariff protectionism while other advanced economies were moving toward more open trade in the post-war years through the GATT process.
The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 (Cth) [1] was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which limited immigration to Australia and formed the basis of the White Australia policy which sought to exclude all non-Europeans from Australia. The law granted immigration officers a wide degree of discretion to prevent individuals from entering Australia.
Immigration was still strict in allowing non-Europeans to immigrate into the country due to the White Australia Policy. The White Australia Policy began to be abandoned in 1966, under Prime Minister Harold Holt. [15] The last reside of the policy was finally abolished in 1973 under the Government of Gough Whitlam.
A white Australia also meant the exclusion of cheap Asian labour, an idea strongly promoted by the labour movement. [57] According to historian John Hirst, "Federation was not needed to make the White Australia policy, but that policy was the most popular expression of the national ideal that inspired federation." [58]
Watson was a white nationalist and white supremacist who played a key role in the creation of the White Australia policy. According to Hearn (2007) , the "ideal of a white Australia stood at the centre of Watson's political ideology, a touchstone of Australian identity that Watson repeatedly stressed in interviews, speeches and articles".
It was the location of the 26th National Conference of the Australian Labor Party in 1965, when the White Australia policy was abolished from the ALP platform. [4] [2] In the early 1990s the owner of the Cyprus Hellene Club planned to demolish most of the building and erect a 34-storey residential development.