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=__White Australia Policy__=

The White Australia Policy was about only letting white people enter Australia. It began unofficially in the 1850’s in the gold rush times. In 1901 the federal government passed an Imigration Restriction Act. It included a dictation test that restricted non-whites from coming in. The Policy discriminated against people that were not white. Higher restrictions were placed on the Chinese residents in Victoria and eventually moved to NSW. The Chinese had to pay residency taxes to stay in Australia.

In 1947 Immigration Laws were relaxed. Three years later Asian students came freely to Australia to study. In 1957 Non-Europeans with 15 years residence could become citizens. A couple of years later the condition of entry laws were relaxed. The dictation test was abolished in 1975. The Racial Discrimination act ended in 1978. This year the Howard Government has introduced a citizenship test to become a citizen in Australia.

Australia has been a multi-cultural land and will always be one.

Written by Rene.A and Lettita.S