Immigration Mindsets - How Our Thinking Has Shaped Migration Law in Australia

Abstract:     
This article explores the relationship between the law and policy governing asylum and refugees in Australia and the way people in Australia characterize the problem of involuntary migration. The author contends that the Australian mindset on these issues operates to exaggerate the dangers posed by irregular migration, at the same time under-playing or even screening from consideration the human and other costs of the policies. The focus of this article is on two aspects of immigration and asylum policy in Australia. The first, which will be a minor theme in this article, relates to how Australians characterize the problems to be addressed. The second and major theme of this article concerns the question of who should exercise the controls necessary to achieve the policy outcomes sought.

Keywords: immigration, tampa, asylum, refugees

JEL Classification: K10, K30, K33

Accepted Paper Series