Last month, Mary Wang, an IT professional of Chinese descent residing in Perth, was deeply affected upon knowing about intensive anti-immigration protests expected to take over Australia. Cancelling her plans to assist the elderly in their smartphone-usage education was heartbreaking yet necessary due to the increasingly unsettling atmosphere. She shared, ‘The feeling of insecurity is overwhelming. I find myself in a place drastically different from where I was born and raised, struggling to fit in.’ Living in Australia for the past four years, she still finds it challenging to claim a sense of belonging.
Mary, along with her husband, also from her native land China, moved from Melbourne to Perth with hopeful aspirations for enhanced probabilities of acquiring permanent residency. However, their life is now overshadowed by an increasingly troubling issue. An escalating anti-immigration sentiment, reaching its zenith on August 31, has introduced a newer, significantly critical challenge.
Observers express their concern about the present situation in Australia. The rising wave of right-wing ideologies globally and Australia’s economic concerns have evidently contributed to this transition. There’s a fear that this change can potentially compromise the multicultural fabric of Australian society nurtured over many decades.
Particularly worrisome is the vulnerability of Chinese immigrants in the face of this change. The scenario seems aggravated with Australia’s conservative and right-leaning political elements taking a more hostile stance towards China. The widespread ‘March for Australia’ anti-immigration processions on August 31 echo this shift.
These marches, which unfurled in every state and capital territory of Australia, witnessed a high turn-up. Sydney alone recorded an impressive participation of around 15,000 individuals. While the mainstream and opposition parties, Labor and Liberal, denounced these protests marking them as xenophobic, some political figures like Senator Pauline Hanson of One Nation rallied unabashed support for them.
Sophie Loy-Wilson, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney and a scholar of the Chinese-Australian community, interprets these protests as part of a broader ‘global shift’. However, it manifests itself with unique Australian nuances. Major Australian cities experience some of the steepest increases in housing prices among mature economies.
Sydney is known as the world’s second most expensive city in terms of housing, with Melbourne and Adelaide also ranking in the top ten. Coupled with these sky-high prices are the soaring living costs. Loy-Wilson connects these observations to a host of recent government policies targeted at immigrants, including reduction of international student enrollments.
According to Loy-Wilson, these policies erroneously implicated international students as contributors to the prevailing housing crisis. She opines that these insinuations are both irresponsible and factually incorrect. Melbourne-based psychologist Carol Lin, of Chinese lineage and a long-term Australian resident, stated her empathy for those grappling with the rising living costs. However, she firmly believes that immigration isn’t the scapegoat here.
An analysis of the official data reveals China as the third largest contributor to Australian immigration, preceding only Britain and India. A steep increase of over 50% was observed in the influx of Chinese immigrants to Australia over the decade from 2013 to 2023.
Regardless, Evan Mulholland, who serves as the shadow minister for multicultural affairs in Victoria, highlights the prevalent sentiment, ‘Chinese and Asian Australians undeniably enrich both Victoria’s vibrant economy and dynamic culture. The Liberals and Nationals unequivocally uphold our varied communities, valuing and supporting all Victorians.’
A recent surge in assaults on Chinese nationals in Australia over the past quarter is cause for concern, with two incidents reported in Sydney and one in Hobart, Tasmania. Despite this, Wang maintains overall appreciation for the safety measures adopted by the Perth authorities for immigrants and Indigenous Australians.
Li, another Chinese residing in Gold Coast, extends her support to Wang’s sentiments. She wants to believe that despite the troubling incidents, the city remains genial and accommodating to people of Chinese origin.
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s deputy chief executive, Jana Favero, drew attention to the federal election results in Australia. Describing them as a blow to fear-stoking, divisive, and anti-immigration rhetoric and policies, she asserted that the march and hatred were indicative of a tiny minority’s views.
Although the situation seems grim, the hopeful outlook from Favero and many others in the Chinese-Australia community indicate that the spirit of multiculturalism in Australia will endure, even in the face of adversity.
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