ONLINE EXHIBITION OF THE AUSTRALIAN HISTORY MUSEUM

Throughout Australian history, contentious economic and employment circumstances have contributed to anti-migrant sentiments. Opposition to multiculturalism and Asian immigration grew in the 1980s. Discriminatory perspectives became the platform of political parties such as the Australians Against Further Immigration party and the One Nation party who advocated for zero net migration and warned against Asian migration which would 'swamp' Australia, spreading fear that migrants would create a lower level of living standards, which historically is known to be effective in producing anti-immigration sentiment.

The Tampa affair of 2001 marked a decisive moment in contemporary immigration policy when the Howard government refused the entry of Norwegian shipping freighter MV Tampa carrying 438 rescued refugees into Australian waters. The event lead to the Border Protection Bill passed by the government with Prime Minister Howard famously quoting: 'We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come.' Subsequently, the Pacific Solution was created to process refugees and asylum seeker claims outside of Australian territory on islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Biased and prejudicial perspectives persist in contemporary society and lead to racially motivated crimes in Australian communities as seen in the Cronulla race riot of December 2005, where attacks occurred on Lebanese Australians and in the Melbourne attacks on Indian students in 2009.

In 2013, Operation Sovereign Borders was launched by the current Abbott government to deter boat arrivals by towing back refugee vessels. Australia currently has one of the most restrictive immigration control systems of any democracy, frequently changing its policies and procedures to avoid accountability and limiting access to information, it is also referring to recent undocumented arrivals as 'illegals', terminology which promotes negative perceptions.