From 1945 until 1990 Australia gradually humanized its immigration and refugee programs. It was accepted that refugees had genuine problems in an unsafe world, that Asians could settle in as well as Europeans, and that organizations and policies should be developed to cater for the needs of new citizens, regardless of their origins. There were still older traditions: submerged historical prejudices against unfamiliar and unfortunate immigrants who might not fit into the dominant British-created society. Some of these prejudices originated in Britain even before 1788. A continuing strand of racism was inherited originally from the British Empire. Fear that Asian numbers might ‘open the floodgates’ and swamp the small Australian population was timehonoured. These attitudes sustained One Nation between 1997 and 2017 and some relatively minor racist and extremist groups recently. They were also latent in many Australian minds.

These traditions appealed to those within the Immigration Department who had operated the White Australia policy and regretted its ending, as well as hard-line staff within the Compliance Branch of the department who were responsible for ensuring that the ‘floodgates’ remained firmly locked against unauthorized entrants. These fulltime officials were able to influence their short-term ministers. In practice the ‘floodgates’ were open to temporary workers, working holidaymakers, students and investors, in larger numbers than for refugees. Those depositing investments of two million dollars or more could look forward to permanent residence and citizenship in due course. The great majority of these were prosperous Chinese.

Other favoured groups were seen as economically productive, but not as permanent residents. Hundreds of thousands of them were living and working in Australia without citizenship by 2010. Some were being exploited by their employers. Most were not and came from countries to which they could return as they thought fit. Others were originally asylum seekers, offered Safe Haven Enterprise Visas if they moved to provincial areas with labour shortages. This was an echo of the directed labour of displaced persons in the 1940s. It was introduced in 2014, but did not guarantee permanent residence to those who had arrived by boat.

Many in the Liberal Party still subscribed to the idea of Australia as a homogenous society dedicated to British traditions. These found their leadership in John Howard, prime minister between 1996 and 2007.