Racism and refugees. (Society).(Statistical Data Included)

THERE IS A SIMPLE and clear case that Australia should accept more refugees. It does not require us to attack the current government, or its supporters, or the Australian people, as racist. In the main, such attacks are misguided, and they are certainly counterproductive. Nor does it rule out the practice of compulsory detention or the offshore processing of unauthorised boat entrants (the so-called "Pacific solution"). These may have a legitimate role in an overall policy on humanitarian migration, whether or not we accept more refugees.

It is frustrating that the debate about humanitarian immigration typically comes down to assertion and counter-assertion about the moral adequacy of Australia's social and political culture. In particular, the real moral issues become lost in arguments about racism, which have some relevance but are far less important than the protagonists suggest.

In his article "The Protection of Our Borders" (Quadrant, January-February 2002), David Flint begins with a strong defence of the Australian people, arguing that we "have paid [our] international dues". He correctly cites our good record in fighting for freedom and democracy, and the relative generosity of our refugee resettlement program. As he states, Australia has been far in advance of most other countries in achieving and maintaining democracy, in its support for basic human rights, and in its openness and compassion towards refugees. He attributes the historical and continuing strength of our economy, as well as our success as good international citizens, to our political culture, particularly the Westminster system of democracy and the rule of law.

In fact, although there is room for dispute about the details, the rule of law and the Westminster system of responsible government have served us well. Flint's observations are generally correct, as well as valuable, and his perspective should not be lost amidst the anxieties that currently trouble us as a nation: about globalisation and Americanisation; our difficulties in fashioning an alternative to the British monarchy's anachronistic role; Aboriginal reconciliation; and migration issues, including refugee policy. However, it would be a non sequitur to move directly from the praiseworthy aspects of Australian society that he identifies to a conclusion about what policies should be adopted now on humanitarian immigration.

Flint's approach reflects a defensiveness about attacks on Australia's social and political culture. The intellectuals who make the running on these issues from what is broadly considered the "left", though it now includes social conservatives such as Robert Manne, are excruciatingly aware of, and outspokenly vocal about, the darker aspects of Australia's history.

To an extent, they have a point. While there is much in our history to be proud of, there is also a strong element of racial antagonism, dating from the mid-nineteenth century, and arising, in part, from the economic competition between white and Chinese workers and business people during the gold rush era. Furthermore, many white settlers in the nineteenth century, and the early decades of the twentieth, looked on the Aborigines as an evolutionarily unfit race, inevitably fated for displacement and extinction. Compared with other countries, Australia has a relatively mild history of racism, but it cannot simply be denied or hidden away. It must put some stain on our vicarious pride in our forebears.

Moreover, at the start of the new millennium, it is clear that Australia's economic prosperity requires an immersion in the global economy and the abandonment of many traditional concepts. But the global economy's amoral flow of transactions inevitably has its down side, with harsh effects on some individuals and communities. Hence, it is not surprising that insecurities associated with globalisation have led to a populist backlash, with the expression of nostalgic values. Nor is it surprising that some elements of the backlash show an impatience with people from other cultures--an impatience that doubtless crosses the line into racism in a lot of pub talk and talkback radio around the country.