Immigrants In Australia example essay topic

Research Essay ^aEUR" Immigrants in Australia Australia is known throughout the world as a multicultural society, its large-scale migration program at the end of World War II is thought to be one of the major building foundations leading to our identity. Agreements were reached with Britain, some European countries and with the International Refugee Organisation to encourage migration, including displaced people from war-torn Europe. Australia,'s population rose shortly after this program was introduced and the population grew from 9 million to a staggering 19.5 million people. Since then the number slowly declined but now once again it is rising and a new yet old argument has re-emerged. The controversial argument is on whether more immigrants should be allowed into Australia at their current rate. This topic is debatable today and doubtlessly will be for many years to come, there are both advantages and disadvantages of immigrants.

Immigrants can offer us a chance to broaden our cultural and religious understanding, offer a certain amount of security and will be needed to boost our population, yet on the other hand, migrants also come at the risk of people,'s jobs, at the possible loss of our nation,'s identity also a lot of other important factor which must be considered. Firstly, we must clarify the difference between refugees and immigrants, for even though this may seem obvious to some, many do not know and often are badly mistaken on the difference. ^aEURoeA refugee is a person fleeing from their country for their safety^aEUR. Where an immigrant is ^aEURoea foreigner coming from overseas for either financial or personal reasons to stay in a country permanently^aEUR. The tax which many people argue that they are forced to pay in order to keep immigrants in detentions centres, to keep some out and similar things, are not for exactly immigrants yet instead refugees or illegal immigrants. The amount of money in tax that an average person has to pay on legal immigrants is small to none therefore not an important matter to discuss on this issue. Australia does have an identity to live up to, our multicultural diversity is known throughout the world and it cannot be ignored when deciding on this subject.

Our nation has set a good example in the recent crisis in our world, an example which we made at a risk for we too are now a target for terrorism. Terrorism is something that affects all countries throughout the world but to some more than others, the advantage that we could gain by having a large amount of immigrants could lower our chances of having a terrorist threat. The current amount of Muslims in Australia is great but with an increase our danger lessons, leading to a great example of why we should encourage immigration. Recent migrants in Australia have greatly influenced all of our lives both culturally and economically. Migrants have created new business for local Australians and continue to do so e.g. Restaurants and local shops. They have offered Australians a unique opportunity to broaden our cultural and religious understanding, which is not possible in many countries today or at least not to the same extent.

It is true that many Australians believe that the increase of immigrants is at the risk of their jobs and at the cost of many others and those who will come to be. These thoughts have not gone unspoken or heard but their worries must be put at rest. Immigrants have actually filled many needed jobs for Australians that they could or would not take up thus not really effecting the amount of jobs available for the locals for example a recent survey shows that 65% of Doctors in Australia are from Asian or European descent (not from Australia). The department of Immigration also clearly acknowledges that the majority of migrants are accepted through the ^aEURoeskill stream^aEUR thus they are qualified and can bring their knowledge from overseas and offer their services here. Immigrants in Australia have also proven to be prepared to work for cheap labour or lower wage jobs that many average Australians simply refuse to do, thus they are offering their services for a fraction of the amount many Australians would agree to work for ^aEUR" Making many manufacturers and companies in Australia a chance for cheap labour. A problem which arises with immigrants coming into Australia is that they are always led to the large or more developed cities such as Sydney and Melbourne thus putting more pressure on the environment in those parts.

It also raises the government,'s immediate problem with the current price of houses in these parts of Australia. Experts now agree that it,'s practically impossible for young / future Australians to get a decent sized house or in some cases a house at all. This problem is currently being seen to, with more things being thought of that may appeal to immigrants and other Australians to come to less urbanized areas. Many also argue that we may lose our own cultural identity as more immigrants come, yet statistics from the department of Immigration prove this not to be true. The excess of births over deaths has contributed more to the population,'s growth than net overseas migration (see table below). Therefore we have no need to worry about the possible loss of our cultural identity.

As you may have also noticed, Australia,'s birth-rate is slowly declining and as we are already in an underpopulated country, the need for more immigrants grows. As Australia had realised during World War II, a large population = greater economic wealth. It is a well known fact for many Australians that we have an aging population it is a fact which we all must face. The introduction of more immigrants ensures a more stable equilibrium in our population. As you can see there are many good and bad points for immigration in Australia and as I and many others believe, the good far out weighs the bad, the need for migrants in today,'s society is just too strong for us to ignore, whether it is for economic, cultural or security reasons, immigration is vital to our countries success.

Everywhere we look there are immigrants helping everyday Australians whether it,'s doctors and surgeons saving peoples lives to in the steelworks - helping our economy, immigrants are an asset to our society and a must for Australia for without them Australia loses it,'s identity, the nations identity.

Bibliography

Updated 22 Aug. 2003) web This site offered me a wide range of information concerning Australian immigration standards, laws, facts and some statistics.
It was the most helpful. web This site was helpful in finding possible solutions to problems that may arise if more immigrants are allowed into Australia. Fredrick James, Immigrants: A Closer Look, Yale U.P., 1987 This book helped me in gathering information on immigration in general.
Bick man Tracy, The White Australian Policy (Sydney: 1991) This source helped me in my work in the places that I have cited and others as well.