War-time Refugees Removal Act 1949

Last updated

War-time Refugees Removal Act 1949
Coat of Arms of Australia.svg
Parliament of Australia
  • An Act to provide for the Removal from Australia of certain Persons who entered Australia during the Period of Hostilities.
Assented to12 July 1949
Repealed31 December 1973
Introduced by Arthur Calwell [1]
Status: Repealed

The War-time Refugees Removal Act 1949 was a piece of Australian legislation that formed part of the White Australia policy. It was introduced by the Chifley Government in July 1949, in order to give the federal government the explicit authority to deport non-white foreigners who had arrived in Australia during World War II. [2]

The act was created in response to O'Keefe v Calwell (1948), a High Court decision that found in favour of an Indonesian woman, Annie O'Keefe, who had been issued a deportation order under the Aliens Deportation Act 1948 . The Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell, was a strong supporter of the White Australia policy, and claimed that the High Court's decision would lead to a "mongrel Australia". [3] The government wished to expel the 800 or so foreign non-whites who had entered Australia during World War II, and formulated a new act to eliminate the loopholes that the High Court case had uncovered. The new act, which came into force in July 1949, "empowered the minister to force any person to depart the country who had been allowed to enter as a result of the war and had not since left". Calwell made extensive use of his new powers up until the December 1949 federal election, where the Labor government was defeated. Harold Holt, the immigration minister in the incoming Menzies Government, opposed the White Australia policy and declined to make use of the act's provisions, accepting the refugees as a "wartime legacy". [4] His successors did the same, and the act was eventually formally repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1973. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Harold Holt Prime Minister of Australia from 1966 to 1967

Harold Edward Holt was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party.

White Australia policy Australian racial policy that forbade non-European people from immigrating to Australia

The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting in 1901. Governments progressively dismantled such policies between 1949 and 1973.

Arthur Calwell Australian politician

Arthur Augustus Calwell was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Labor Party from 1960 to 1967. He led the party to three federal elections.

Security certificate

In Canada, a security certificate is a legal mechanism by which the Canadian government can detain and deport permanent residents and all other non-citizens living in Canada.

Immigration Restriction Act 1901

The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which limited immigration to Australia and formed the basis of the White Australia policy which sought to exclude all non-Europeans from Australia. The law granted immigration officers a wide degree of discretion to prevent individuals from entering Australia. The Act prohibited various classes of people from immigrating and provided for illegal immigrants to be deported.

<i>Immigration and Refugee Protection Act</i>

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) is an Act of the Parliament of Canada, administered by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), that replaced the Immigration Act, 1976 in 2002 as the primary federal legislation regulating immigration to Canada. The "Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations" (IRPR) specify how provisions of IRPA are to be applied.

<i>Canadian Council of Churches v Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration)</i> Supreme Court of Canada case

Canadian Council of Churches v Canada , [1992] 1 S.C.R. 236, is a leading Supreme Court of Canada case on the law of standing in Canada. In particular, the case sets out the criteria a public-interest group must meet in order to be allowed to mount a constitutional challenge in court.

Canadian immigration and refugee law

Canadian immigration and refugee law concerns the area of law related to the admission of foreign nationals into Canada, their rights and responsibilities once admitted, and the conditions of their removal. The primary law on these matters is in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, whose goals include economic growth, family reunification, and compliance with humanitarian treaties.

<i>Al-Kateb v Godwin</i> 2004 decision of the High Court of Australia

Al-Kateb v Godwin, was a decision of the High Court of Australia, which ruled on 6 August 2004 that the indefinite detention of a stateless person was lawful. The case concerned Ahmed Al-Kateb, a Palestinian man born in Kuwait, who moved to Australia in 2000 and applied for a temporary protection visa. The Commonwealth Minister for Immigration's decision to refuse the application was upheld by the Refugee Review Tribunal and the Federal Court. In 2002, Al-Kateb declared that he wished to return to Kuwait or Gaza. However, since no country would accept Al-Kateb, he was declared stateless and detained under the policy of mandatory detention.

Post-war immigration to Australia Large-scale migration after WWII

Post-war immigration to Australia deals with migration to Australia in the decades immediately following World War II, and in particular refers to the predominantly European wave of immigration which occurred between 1945 and the end of the White Australia policy in 1973. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Ben Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia (1945–1949), established the federal Department of Immigration to administer a large-scale immigration program. Chifley commissioned a report on the subject which found that Australia was in urgent need of a larger population for the purposes of defence and development and it recommended a 1% annual increase in population through increased immigration.

<i>Minister of State for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Teoh</i>

Minister of State for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Teoh was an Australian court case which was decided by the High Court of Australia on 7 April 1995. The case is notable for giving unprecedented significance to the ratification of international treaties by the executive government.

Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 United Kingdom law

The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The Australian government has a policy and practice of detaining in immigration detention facilities non-citizens not holding a valid visa, suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorised arrival, and those subject to deportation and removal in immigration detention until a decision is made by the immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to repatriate them to their country of origin/passport. Persons in immigration detention may at any time opt to voluntarily leave Australia for their country of origin, or they may be deported or given a bridging or temporary visa.

Chifley government

The Chifley government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1945 to 1949.

<i>Plaintiff M70 v Minister for Immigration</i>

Plaintiff M70 is a decision by the High Court of Australia. The lawsuit concerned an injunction sought by multiple Afghan asylum seekers against immigration minister Chris Bowen. The injunction was to prevent Bowen from deporting the plaintiffs to Malaysia, pursuant to s198A of the Migration Act. The purpose of the deportation was to avoid their asylum application from being assessed by Australia.

<i>Migration Act 1958</i> Act of the Parliament of Australia

The Migration Act 1958 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that governs immigration to Australia. It set up Australia’s universal visa system. Its long title is "An Act relating to the entry into, and presence in, Australia of aliens, and the departure or deportation from Australia of aliens and certain other persons."

Lorenzo Gamboa Filipino-American barred from Australia

Lorenzo Abrogar Gamboa was a Filipino-American man who was excluded from Australia under the White Australia policy, despite having an Australian wife and children. His treatment sparked an international incident with the Philippines.

<i>Aliens Deportation Act 1948</i>

The Aliens Deportation Act 1948 was a piece of Australian legislation that formed part of the White Australia policy. The act gave the government sweeping powers to deport aliens. Minister for Immigration Arthur Calwell, who introduced the act, explained the act targeted "those aliens whose character and conduct are such that they should not be allowed to continue to reside here, but whose deportation cannot be effected at present because of the limitations upon the Commonwealth’s immigration powers". Despite criticism in parliament about its broad powers, the Act commenced 18 January 1949.

<i>OKeefe v Calwell</i>

O'Keefe v Calwell is a High Court of Australia case.

Federal policy oversees and regulates immigration to the United States and citizenship of the United States. The United States Congress has authority over immigration policy in the United States, and it delegates enforcement to the Department of Homeland Security. Historically, the United States went through a period of loose immigration policy in the early-19th century followed by a period of strict immigration policy in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Policy areas related to the immigration process include visa policy, asylum policy, and naturalization policy. Policy areas related to illegal immigration include deferral policy and removal policy.

References