Australian migration

Some more sniping about Australian migration

From SUE WENDT in Suva

Faced with the problem of being diplomatic about a subject he feels to be an “injustice”, Fiji’s Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, plumped for honesty when questioned in March about Aus tralia’s immigration policy. Sir Kamisese will be making an official visit to Australia in April.

Australia’s immigration policy was a domestic affair, he told a news con ference, and Australia could not be expected to like Fiji to make pro nouncements about it.

“We would not like Australia to be talking about our immigration policy”, he added.

However, he felt that most Pacific territories were not happy about the discrimination the Australian immi gration policy applied in relation to Pacific people.

When citizens of Fiji who went to Australia were treated in a discrimi nate fashion because of colour, this

had a reaction in relation to Fiji’s own racial harmony.

If some Fiji citizens were treated by Australia better than others, it made people feel bitter.

“When I was asked how I felt about the new UK immigration ar rangements, I replied that it was not new”, he said. “I pointed out that this was how Australia and New Zealand treated us.

“It is a question of colour and goes back to parentage”.

Asked if he had finalised a “shop ping list” for his visit to Australia, the Prime Minister said this was still be ing considered.

One matter he hoped to discuss was the possibility of sending Fiji citizens to Australia to be trained in skilled and semi-skilled work.

“I feel too that some of the help Australia might give the South Paci fic region could be channelled through the University of the South Pacific.

This, indirectly, would help Fiji, which now carries the lion’s share of the burden”.

Australia’s immigration policy and other aspects of Australia-Fiji rela tionships prompted lively discussion in the Fiji Senate in March, with at least one senator complaining bitterly about Australia’s preoccupation with South-East Asia and “deplorable” neglect of the South Pacific.

There were pious statements from Australian politicians about assistance for the South Pacific —but no realistic steps to follow, he said.

Another senator asked whether the Australian Government believed that by allowing Fiji people to go into Australia a social or immigration problem would be created.

Even if the whole of Fiji’s popula tion went to Australia there would be no problem, he declared.

Several senators said it would be wrong to accuse Australia of having given nothing to Fiji. Australia had helped to lay the foundations of Fiji’s business, commerce and industry. One senator pointed out that Australian missionaries had Christianised and educated Fijians.