[Marxism] Immigration in the Australian Economy

["Calvin Broadbent" <calvinbroadbent@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I was not being 'over the top'. Australia *is* an imperialist country. Its
citizens are rich (Australian GDP per capita $33,629, Lebanese GDP per
capita $5,434), and, furthermore, enjoy a far higher degree of income
inequality than the Lebanese (Australia with a Gini coefficient of 35 and
Lebanon with a Gini coefficient of 56). Please spare us the tripe about
Australian 'false class consciousness'. We have surely heard this all
before. Higher living standards *and* increased immigration is the pattern
presented below.


<http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=72>


Australia's Increasing Ethnic and Religious Diversity

By Christine Inglis


December 1, 2002

Australia began the new millennium with a larger and more diverse
population, according to results from the 2001 census. A five percent growth
in overseas-born residents arriving since the 1996 census led to a slight
decline in the proportion of Australian-born residents to three quarters of
the entire population. The United Kingdom led the flow as the birthplace of
5.5 percent of the population, followed by New Zealand (1.9 percent), Italy
(1.2 percent), and China and Vietnam (0.8 percent each). In addition, 6.3
percent of the population was born in Asia, North Africa, or the Middle
East.

With more individuals born outside English-speaking countries, 15 percent of
the population now speaks languages other than English at home. The most
commonly spoken languages are now Chinese, Italian, Greek, and Arabic.

When asked about their ancestral origins, 35.9 percent claimed Australian
ancestry. Over 65 percent also claimed various European ancestries. The
census allowed individuals to select more than one ancestry, which also
accounts for why the total responses exceeded the total population by some
20 percent. Some 7.2 percent also acknowledged Asian ancestries, especially
Chinese (3 percent). A further 1.9 percent referred to their North African
and Middle Eastern origins, mainly Lebanese (0.9 percent).

Another element in Australia's diversity is the growth of non-Christian
religions. The number of Buddhists increased 79 percent over the previous
five years, partly due to conversions in the existing population and partly
due to immigration flows. Buddhists now account for 1.9 percent of the
population, ahead of Muslims (1.5 percent) and Hindus (0.5 percent).

A continuing trend first noted in the 1991 census is the growth in the
Indigenous population to 2.2 percent of all Australians. This is a 16.2
percent increase in five years, and follows a 33 percent increase between
1991 and 1996. The most significant factor for the growth is not changes in
fertility and mortality, but rather the growing willingness to acknowledge
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ancestry.

Sydney at the Center

Australia's growing diversity is most evident in Sydney, Australia's largest
city, which has a population of over 3.4 million. Its economic position
ensures that it is the major Australian destination for long-term migrants,
7.2 percent of whom arrived after 1996. It is also the nation's most diverse
city. One third of its population (33.5 percent) are foreign-born, with 10.4
percent from Asia and another 3.1 percent from North Africa and the Middle
East.

As an emerging global city, the service sector is of major importance in its
economy, as are the numbers of highly educated individuals in the population
as a whole. Research carried out in 1996 showed that 13.3 percent of
Sydney's adult population had university degrees. While only 12.8 percent of
the Australian born had university-level qualifications, the comparable
figures for the overseas born were higher: 16.3 percent for those from the
main English-speaking source countries and 14.8 percent for those from
non-English speaking countries. More recent immigration patterns suggest
that the education levels of the foreign born have risen since 1996.

Over a quarter (27.3 percent) of all Sydneysiders speak a language other
than English at home. The most common are Chinese (6 percent) and Arabic
(4.3 percent). As part of this greater linguistic diversity, Sydney is also
the state capital with the highest proportion (6 percent) of its population
not fluent in English.

Religious diversity is also increasing in Sydney, which is home to the
majority of Australia's non-Christians. Buddhists are the largest group
(357,813), followed by Muslims (281,578), and Hindus (95,473). Together,
they constitute eight percent of the city's population. The Muslim
population is very diverse in its origins, coming from the Middle East and
Southeast Asian countries, including Lebanon, Turkey, Indonesia, and
Malaysia.

Fewer Sydneysiders refer to having Australian (28.8 percent) or Anglo-Celtic
(39.2 percent) ancestry than for the nation as a whole. More, however,
report Southern and Eastern European (14.4 percent) as well as Asian (14.5
percent) and Middle Eastern (5.3 percent) ancestry. Another important
dimension of Sydney's diversity is that it has the largest Indigenous
population in the country (31,174), which makes up one percent of its
population.

Australia's growing ethnic and religious diversity presents a challenge in a
world where difference is increasingly linked, by many members of the public
and policy makers alike, to threats to security and social cohesion. Sydney,
with its extensive diversity, will increasingly be a key site in determining
whether these fears are justified.

Increased Immigration Ahead

Since the mid-1980s, when Australia began to restructure its economy to meet
the challenges of globalization, there has been an increasing focus on
developing high value-added sectors such as banking and insurance, as well
as on building a knowledge-based economy. As a result, migration policy has
refocused on highly skilled workers, both permanent and temporary.

Citing the contribution of immigration to higher living standards, income
equality, and healthier government budgets, Australia plans to increase its
2002-2003 immigration program for permanent residence to the highest annual
intake since the end of the 1980s.

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