Year 8 NSW » History

Topic : Multiculturalism

In this topic you will learn...

Chapter 1 : History of multiculturalism: how did it come about?

During the middle of the 20th century Australia`s immigration policy changed from one of assimilation to multiculturalism
This change was generated by external and internal factors
A new world environment after World War II made it more difficult for Australia to defend the White Australia policy against international criticism
Pressure groups in Australia gradually built into a movement supporting the idea of multiculturalism
Small steps throughout the 1950s and 1960s helped dismantle the White Australia policy but the idea that newcomers should take on a British lifestyle and shed their own cultures remained
Activists for multiculturalism influenced government policy in the early 1970s
In 1973 the Whitlam government changed immigration laws so that colour, race and religion no longer influenced prospective immigrants` eligibility
In 1974 Malcolm Fraser, then immigration spokesman for the opposition, lobbied for the Liberal Party to make its immigration policy non-discriminatory as well
In 1975 parliament passed the Whitlam government`s Racial Discrimination Act which made official discrimination on the grounds of race illegal
Throughout the next two decades multiculturalism was a large part of government policy and multicultural radio stations, community organisations and other programmes were funded by the government

Chapter 2 : Opposition to multiculturalism and immigration

Chapter 3 : Multiculturalism's influence on society

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