Asians: the New Metics of Australia

• Main Authors: Lissa Cheng, George Mickhail
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies 1998-10-01
• Series: Migracijske i Etniĉke Teme
• Subjects: Australia; Asians; knowledge workers; immigration policy
• Online Access: http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/186952
• ISSN: 1333-2546; 1848-9184

The Asian immigration debate has become one of the most contentious topics of debate in Australia. Little about the debate is new and most of the arguments, both in favour and against, begin with demographic considerations, then move on to the economic consequences of immigration and the social and cultural ramifications. Delving deeper into the debate, one will realize that there is an underlying assumption of the economic theory of laissez-faire, which is the driving force of the debate. The new realities of global electronic commerce with laissez-faire economic theory have been transposed onto Australia's immigration policy. The government welcomes the "elite" of the knowledge workers because they are the real generators of wealth. However, the government is also aware that maximizing its benefit out of these immigrants, it must minimize the costs associated with them, such as maintenance cost of their sponsored parents. The analysis, while dispelling the myth of increasing immigration costs, confirmed the urgent need to shift the focus of societal pluralism from an economic one that is rooted in competition and self-interest individualism, to pluralism that is rooted in social organization. This is where society is seen as cooperative units rather than of competing units, that is Asians and non-Asians contributing to Australia as a cooperative group of people. The government promotion of division in society with its archaic politics to instill the 'metic' status for new immigrants may prove detrimental to its effort to attract elite wealth generator migrants.