Asians now Australia’s principal immigrants

Press, 24 October 1984, Page 21

Asians now Australia’s principal immigrants

NZPA-AAP Canberra Asia has replaced Europe as the principal source of new settlers in Australia, but this appears to have happened because of a drop in the number of European migrants rather than an increase in the number of Asian settlers. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show 7740 Asians arrived in Australia as permanent settlers in the first three months of this year, compared with 4910 Europeans. In the same period last year Asians accounted for 7600 settler arrivals and Europeans 10,690. The bureau said total settler arrivals in March were 5750, which was 17 per cent lower than the same month

last year and 40 per cent down on March, 1982. “The decline in settler arrivals can be attributed mainly to the decline in settlers from Europe,” it said. Numbers of Europeanborn settlers dropped 49 per cent from 2980 in March last year to 1530 in March this year, while the numbers of Asians rose only slightly from 2730 to 2910. After accounting for 52 per cent of settlers in March, 1982, the European share of the intake fell to 43 per cent in March last year and declined to 27 per cent in March this year. Asian immigration as a share of total migration rose from 28 per cent in March, 1982, to 39 per cent

in March last year and 51 per cent in March this year. This means Asians have replaced Europeans in percentage terms but not in absolute numbers. The figures are expected to add fuel to the immigration debate sparked by a professor of history, Geoffrey Blainey, when he spoke of the “Asianisation” of Australia. The Federal Opposition spokesman on immigration, Mr Michael Hodgman, also has claimed the European share of the migrant intake is falling while the Asian share is rising. ' The A.B.S. includes Middle Eastern countries such as Cyprus, Turkey, and Lebanon in its figures for Asia.