Asians in Australia: The Dynamic of Migration and Settlement 9789814379502

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The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies was establishe d as an autonomo us organizati on in 1968. It is a regional research centre for scholars and other specialists concerned with modern Southeast Asia, particular ly the multi-face ted problems of stability and security, economic developm ent, and political and social change. The Institute is governed by a twenty-tw o-member Board of Trustees comprisin g nominees from the Singapore Governme nt, the National University of Singapore , the various Chambers of Commerce , and profession al and civic organizati ons. A ten-man Executive Committe e oversees day-to-day operations ; it is chaired by the Director, the Institute's chief academic and administra tive officer. The Social Issues in Southeast Asia (SISEA) programm e was establishe d at the Institute in 1986. It addresses itself to the study of the nature and dynamics of ethnicity, urbanism, and populatio n change in Southeast Asia. These issues are examined with particular attention to the implicatio ns for, and relevance to, an understan ding of problems of developm ent and of societal conflict and co-operati on. SISEA is guided by a Regional Advisory Board comprisin g senior scholars from the various Southeast Asian countries. At the Institute, SLSEA comes undPr tlw uvmall chargt: ol tlw Dimdor, wlto is guid1:d by all dlh i~un lUJlJJ:lilll:l : l.ninr

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The Dynamics of Migration and Settlement Edited by Christine Inglis S. Gunasekaran Gerard Sullivan Chung-Tong Wu

I5EA5

Social Issues in Southeast Asia INSTITUTE OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES

Published by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Heng Mui Keng Terrace Pasir Panjang Singapore 0511 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. © 1992 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Cataloguing in Publication Data Asians in Australia : the dynamic s of migratio n and settleme nt/edited by Christine Inglis ... [et al.]. 1. Asians - Australia . 2. Brain drain - Asia, Southeas tern. 3. Chinese -Austra lia. 4. Australi a-Emigr ation and immigra tion. I. Inglis, Christine . sls92-85504 1992 DU122 A8A83 ISBN 981-3016-33-7 (soft cover) ISBN 981-3016-34-5 (hard cover) The responsi bility for facts and opinions expresse d in this publicat ion rests exclusiv ely with the contribu tors and their interpret ations do not necessar ily reflect the views or the policy of the Institute or its supporte rs. '(vpesPI hy Internutio nol 'fypesettc• cs Printer! in Sin'!U[Jnl'f ' IJ1' Stur Stonrforrl Industries I'IP Ltrf.

Contents List of Tables Vll

List of Figures X

Introduction Xl

1

China's Policy Towards Migrants, 1842-1949 Michael R. Godley 1

2

Japanese Emigration Policy, 1880-1941 Neville Bennett 23 3

The "New" Migration and Australian Immigration Policy Stephen Castles 45 4

Patterns of Settlement in Australia of Indochinese Refugees James E. Coughlan 73

5

Labour Market Outcomes Among the Chinese at the 1986 Census F. L. Jones 117

Contents

vi

6

Is There An Asian-Australian "Brain Drain"? Gerard Sullivan and S. Gunasekaran 157 7

The "New" Migration of Asian Skills and Capital to Australia Christine Inglis and Chung-Tong Wu 193

List of Tables

3.1

Australian Immigrati on by Category, 1986-87 to 1988-89

3.2 3.3 4.1

4.2 4.3

4.4

4.5 4.6 4.7

4.8

Migration Programm e for 1989-90 Australian Population , 194 7-86 Demograp hic Characteri stics of Australia' s Populatio n by Country/R egion of Birth and Sex (1986 census) Social Characteri stics of Australia' s Populatio n by Country/R egion of Birth and Sex (1986 census) Percentag e Distributi on and Median Period of Residence in Australia of Individua ls Aged 5 Years and Over, Their Language Spoken At Home and English Language Proficienc y, by their Country/R egion of Birth and Sex (1986 census) Percentag e of Persons Aged 15-24 Years Attending Specific Education al Institution s by Their Country/ Region of Birth and Sex (1 986 census) Distributi on of the Indochine se-born Communi ties across Australia by Sex (1986 census) Percentag e Distributi on of the Main Ancestry Responses of the Indochine se-born (1986 census) Percentag e Distributi on of the Labour Force Status of Persons Aged 15 Years and Over by their Country/R egion of Birth and Sex (1986 census) Percentag e Distributio n of Occup::

(lq

Total 1

12,572

5,960

11,307

4,792

16,659

4,768

15,565

5,682

16,699

5,858

I

(!) (!)

"'

AII figures are in dollars per annum.

SmrRc:E: ABS, 1986 census.

I

..... 0

c.o

110

fames E. Coughlan

The low median annual income of Vietnamese-born males and the high median annual income of the Lao-born females require a brief discussion. Although factors such as job status, labour force experience, education, and hours worked may be used to explain the incomes of the Vietnamese males, these do not account for the position of the Lao women. Additional analysis of data, not yet available, will hopefully determine precisely why the Lao women have such relatively high incomes. The higher median income of the Lao-born women compared to the other Asian-born women appears to be due to two factors. The first is their high fertility, and thus the larger number of children they have to care for. The Commonwealth Department of Social Security pays a Family Allowance benefit to mothers, which is about A$500 per annum for each child. As the fertility level of the Lao-born women is about 1.5 children higher than that of the Vietnamese-born women, and about 2.0 children higher than the "Other Asian" -born women, this factor assists in explaining the median income differentials between the Lao and other Asian-born women. Although child-bearing reduces the level of labour force participation, this reduction appears to be only a short-term effect for the Lao-born women. Many Indochinese-born women utilize child-care facilities - either family, friends or community centres - in order to re-enter the labour force after having children. Another factor that may contribute to the Lao women's higher median income is their significantly lower unemployment rate, compared to the Vietnamese-born women. Conclusion

The sociological characteristics of the Indochinese-born communities in Australia indicate that they are a disadvantaged group compared to the rest of Australian society. Their relatively poor English language proficiency and the late age at which many left school indicate that they are in need of special assistance. Those over thirty years of age have few prospects of improving their education and English proficiency. These disadvantages are reflected in the labour force performance and activities of the Indochinese-horn communities. Any major improvmmmt in the socio-r)conomic attributes and status of llw Indoc:hinr:sP f'nmmuniliPs will dopend, as it has

Patterns of Settlement in Australia of Indochinese Refugees

111

with previous immigrant groups, on the younger members of these communities, who will spend a considerable period of time in the Australian pre-tertiary education sector. The younger generation will be in a better position to achieve higher educational qualifications than their elders, and thus have better employment opportunities. Very few of the first generation Indochinese immigrants are fluent in English, but most of their Australian-born children will be. At the same time, while most of the Indochinese immigrants have few skills and qualifications that are in demand or recognized in Australia, nearly all of their children will have gone through the Australian education system, and thus will be in a much better position to obtain employment than their parents. However, the employment opportunities for the Indochinese-born Australian-educated youth will be lower than those of the Australian-born youth of Indochinese ancestry. In the near future a marginal increase in the economic performance of the Indochinese-born communities is likely, with significant improvements expected towards the end of this decade. This positive outcome is a result of two trends: the younger generation completing high school or graduating from tertiary institutions in Australia, and thus being in a position to obtain jobs, while on the other hand, their unskilled parents will find it increasingly difficult to maintain employment as industry restructuring continues. Additional large-scale immigration of Indochinese-born persons to Australia will probably act as a retardant to the economic advancement of the Indochinese-born community as a whole, especially if the new arrivals come as refugees and have no family or friends in Australia. This is especially in the case of the Vietnamese. The majority ofthe Vietnamese refugees currently in Hong Kong are ethnic Vietnamese from northern Vietnam, have had an average of 3-4 years of education, and are just literate in their own language. They do not have a knowledge of any Western languages, and most have no relatives in the West. Many of these refugees, except for the very young. would have great difficulty in obtaining employment in Australia. On the other hand, if there is greater family reunion immigration of Indochinese this may assist in reducing the high level of psychological stmss PxpmimlC!)cl by the new immigrants, which in tum will t:nhanr:1: tlwir t:r:onuJnic :...,Q Q

:::::

Is There An Asian-Australian ''Brain Droin "?

169

looking for work, retired or disabled workers, and homemakers. The table shows that slightly more than 8 per cent of people from the Southeast Asian region were classified as being in professional or technical occupations, 8 per cent were in the business and commerce sector, 4 per cent were skilled workers and tradespeople. Almost 20 per cent worked in clerical or administrative positions, 13 per cent were semi-skilled workers, one-third were unemployed prior to migration, and about 13 per cent were unskilled, rural or service workers. If nothing else, these figures show that the Australian immigration programme does not select only well-educated professionals and entrepreneurs. This does not preclude the possibility of a "brain drain" however. In order to determine this, we have compared the occupational distribution of emigrants with those of the labour forces in the sending countries. The results of this analysis are discussed later in this chapter. The occupational and skill level of Southeast Asian immigrants varied from country to country. Those who were granted visas in Thailand (predominantly Indochinese refugees) tended to be at the lower end of the occupational scale, consisting of many unemployed, rural, semi-skilled and service workers. The inclusion of many refugees (presumably having similar occupations as those from Thailand) in the figures for Malaysia also skew the distribution for that country towards the lower end. Singapore, then Hong Kong and Malaysia contributed a higher proportion of people in professional and technical occupations than did the other three countries in the analysis. The Philippines also stands out as having had a low proportion of emigrants to Australia in these occupations. Singapore is notable for its contribution of people at the upper end ofthe occupational scale, suggesting that concern in this country about the loss of welleducated and skilled labour may be justified. The very low number of migrants who were rural workers in most ofthese countries indicates that the occupational distribution shown in the table does not resemble that of the labour force in at least some of the countries included in the analysis, again suggesting a relative loss of human resource' capital. This does not nr:c:r:ssarih· transl:1tr: intn