Migrants attitudes to immigration in Australia: 1990 to 2004

Since 1990, migrant Australians’ attitudes to immigration have waned and waxed according to the same overall pattern as those of the Australia born. However, migrants are consistently less likely to want a decrease in the intake and consistently (slightly) more likely to want an increase. This is particularly true of those born in non-English-speaking-background (NESB) countries. Even so, in 2004, only 26 per cent of NESB-born Australians wanted an increase in immigration. Migrants are also likely to want an increase in immigration from their own region of origin. But the stand-out group here are the British. UK-born Australians are much more likely to want an increase in British immigration than are Asia-born Australians to want an increase in Asian immigration or Southern-Europe-born Australians to want an increase in Southern European immigration. When we focus on regions within New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, the differences between the Australia-born and the NESB-born in their attitudes to immigration in general are marked. But in no instance do a majority of the NESB-born want an increase in immigration. Pagination on item is incorrect Copyright. Monash University and the author/s