The White Australia policy is a blight on our history. A new book examines this legacy and my review in this week’s Bulletin is here.
Author and refugee activist Arnold Zable recently launched the book in Melbourne. His speech captured the essence of Gwenda Tavan’s book:
“Perhaps, one day, we will again have a prime minister who can fully embrace an inclusive and plural society based on the recognition that we are, in essence, a land of indigenous peoples and immigrants, a new world with an ancient past. Meanwhile, we rely on the efforts of advocates and support groups with an alternative vision, and on the efforts of dissident backbenchers. We also need studies like Gwenda Tavan’s to learn of the hard-won reforms that took Australia beyond the racially based policies of the past.”