Learning module:
Migration experiences Defining Moments, 1945–present
Bringing it together
1. Migration experiences (1945–present): Reflections
From what you have studied so far, how would you now answer these questions?
1. Who has migrated to Australia since the Second World War and what has been their experience?
Who has migrated to Australia?
Where have these people come from?
Why did they come?
How were they treated when they arrived?
What support/opposition existed from the Australian community?
What challenges/failures did they experience? (Explain why.)
2. How did governments organise postwar migration?
Under what government policies, schemes or support did migrants arrive in Australia?
Why did governments have those policies?
Why were successive governments keen for migrants to come to Australia?
How did the emphasis and focus of migration policies change over time?
Was the emphasis on integration, assimilation or multiculturalism?
How successful were Australia’s migration policies? (Explain why.)
3. How was the White Australia policy changed?
Why was the White Australia policy changed?
Did it create harmony or division among communities?
Did it have any economic, political or environmental impacts, as well as social ones?
4. How have some asylum seekers become a contested area of postwar migration?
Who are asylum seekers?
When and how have they come to Australia since the Second World War?
How have governments responded to asylum seekers and why has that response varied over time?
What obligations do countries such as Australia have towards asylum seekers?
5. What have been the overall impacts of postwar migration on Australian society?
What impacts has postwar migration had on Australian diversity and identity?
How have these impacts changed over time?
What has caused these changes?
What have been the consequences of the changes?
What stayed the same? Why?
