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Further implications
Negative attitudes are aroused within many Australians at the prospect of asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat. These attitudes were given powerful expression by then Prime Minister John Howard as part of the 2001 election campaign. Mr Howard stated, 'We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come.'
That single sentence encapsulates fears about undefended borders; suspect foreigners and having our natural resources plundered and our national identity undermined. It is a sentence that argues for territorial control and suggests what will be lost without it. However, it seems an exaggerated response to the 'threat' posed by asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat.
The growing number of refugees worldwide appears to have created the impression within this country that Australia is at immediate risk of inundation by poorly identified and potentially dangerous alien masses. The reality does not support this fear. The number of people arriving unauthorised by boat in Australia is small in comparison to the numbers arriving in other parts of the world such as Europe. Similarly, the number of asylum claims lodged in Australia is small in comparison to the United States and Europe.
In 2012, Australia ranked 20th overall for number of refugees received, 29th per capita and 52nd relative to GDP. It also needs to be remembered that of that figure more than half these refugees were invited into the country by way of our humanitarian resettlement program or arrived in Australia by plane. In 2012-13 refugees who arrived by boat made up just 2.5% of all immigration. Further all unauthorised boat arrivals in Australia are subject to the same assessment criteria as other asylum applicants and are also subject to comprehensive security and health checks.
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has stated, 'Poor countries host vastly more displaced people than wealthier ones. While anti-refugee sentiment is heard loudest in industrialised countries, developing nations host 80 per cent of the world's refugees.'
It would appear that popular concern in Australia regarding refugees is misplaced. That, however, begs the question of why there is such a widespread fear and why it has gained such powerful political expression.
A nationwide opinion poll conducted in 2014 showed that most Australians believe that asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat are not genuine refugees and that a majority population supported harsh government policies to deter their arrival. A strong majority of Australians, 60 per cent, wanted the government to 'increase the severity of the treatment of asylum seekers.'
Groups most strongly favouring harsher policies were older Australians (aged over 70 years - 68 per cent), and self-employed people (71 per cent). People in Queensland and Western Australia were slightly more supportive of a more severe approach (65 per cent and 64 per cent respectively) than in Victoria and NSW (both 62 per cent). Only 30 per cent of Australians thought asylum seekers should not be treated more severely, while 9 per cent were unsure.
A majority of Australians - 59 per cent - opposed refugees receiving government welfare assistance. Only 27 per cent believed that refugees should receive government support.
These figures clarify the nature of popular attitudes; however, they do not explain them. It is possible that at least some of this fear and hostility derives from living in a post-September 11 era where anxiety about terrorist incursions has grown dramatically.
An ANU poll conducted in July, 2016, indicated that more than half of the country's adults are concerned Australia will be a target for terrorism at home and strongly believe the government needs to introduce greater preventive measures to combat it. Fear of uninvited asylum seekers may well be fed by such apprehensions.
A data survey and qualitative interviews conducted by Harriet McHugh-Dillon in 2015 revealed that fears about national security were a key factor in hostility to 'boat people'. Also significant were 'Negative attitudes...most commonly expressed in terms of indignation at perceived violations of fairness and justice by unauthorised arrivals. Concerns about asylum seekers' perceived 'illegality' - related to fairness and views of asylum seekers' character - also consistently ranked highly.' The nexus here seems to centre around the perception that these people have come without authorisation, they are therefore suspect, pose a risk to the country and are undeserving of support.
McHugh-Dillon further noted, 'Studies also identified fears that asylum seekers pose a threat to jobs and resources as well as an existential threat to Australian values, customs and national identity.' This last cluster of concerns centres on the xenophobia which has been a persistent feature of Australia's history, despite the relative success of our multicultural story.
Perhaps the most regrettable aspect of this situation is that a group of people is being rejected for reasons that do not withstand rational analysis. The core concern around illegality is entirely a matter of designation. If successive Australian governments had not made it illegal to arrive in Australia as an asylum seeker by boat, then it is interesting to speculate whether popular attitudes would be so hostile.