Australia's Moral Panic

Paper Summary:

The paper describes how Australia relies heavily on immigration and tourism to achieve population and economic growth. The paper discusses, however, how the number of unauthorized asylum seekers increased to the point that the country felt that it could not control society anymore. The paper examines whether there truly is a need to control asylum seekers and concludes that the Australian government is currently having an exaggerated moral panic. The paper disagrees with the government's use of the issue of deviance or social norms because this has only triggered racial discrimination and labeling among the white Australians.

Outline:
Introduction
Immigration and/or Asylum Seekers in Australia
The Reaction of the People
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Australia is also one of the signatories the Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol, which prove that Australia welcomes and has properly resettlement areas for asylum seekers. Since these agreements were signed, "Australia has resettled large numbers of refugees and other persons of humanitarian concern from overseas camps". However, unlike other countries such as the US, Australia's record of asylum refugees was not that large thereby enabling the Australian government to have a direct and tight control over all aspect of immigration programs - such as social policies - concerning the asylum seekers (Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1967)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Australian National Audit Office. (2001). Management Framework for Preventing Unlawful Entry into Australian Territory. Report No. 57.
• Canberra: Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. (2001). Refugee and humanitarian issues: Australia's response.
• Jewkes, Y and Letherby G. (2002). Criminology: A Reader. SAGE Publications Ltd.
• McMaster, Don (2002). "Asylum Seekers: Australia's Response to Refugees." Melbourne; Melbourne University Press, pp 60
• Picketing, Sharon. (2001). "Common Sense and Original Deviancy: News Discourses and Asylum Seekers in Australia," Journal of Refugee Studies, 14(2): 169-86.

More papers on Australia's Moral Panic:

• Case Study # 45198 : "Moral Panics in Australian Media"
• Essay # 138202 : "Social Problems and Moral Panics"

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