PEOPLE

l%e Bwt fiopk
Fifty-one vessels, carrying 2011 boat people, landad in Aumalia.
The tom1 numbcr of Indo-Chinese refugees sttded in Ausualia by
September 1979, howevtr, was 25 WO (21 000 Vietname, 3OM
Laotians and 1 OOO bpuchealw); by the middle of 1980 Ausdia
will have redeemed im pledge at the UNHCR Gcncva confmna and
settled 37 000. Most are flown at government expense from mpa
in South-East Asia. Those with relatives in AudL arc given first
priority, Selection is then made on the basis of pnst associations withm
Ausmlia and integration prospects, including job skills and ability
to speak English. However, as a reminder that this is a humanitarian
program, a number of 'bud to settle' casts (unskilled mple without.
English) are deliberately chm. Most of the resettlement cxpenseu
art borne by the government, although charitable bodies also play
a role. The cost in pubiic funds is abut $2500 for each refugee.
A national poll conducred by the Age in June 1979 (before he
promisc to UNHCR to take more refugee) showad that Australians
had mixed feclinp about the new arrivals. While 23 pcr cent thought
Australia should continue to accept refugees from Indo-China, only
7 per cent drought more should be taken. Against this, 30 per cent
thought fewer should come, while 37 per cent went further and said
no more should be accepted,
The poll's negative finding could he partly expiained by reservations
on the political left and among trade unions. They had
opposed the commitment of Australian troops to Vietnam and now
argued that the refugees were a continuing conquence of that war.
With increasing unemployment, Australian workem also tended to
see refugees as a threat to their liveliho6d. Immigration to Australia
has traditionally servcd the political interests of the conwatives
(who favour a competitive labour market md anti-communist immigrmts)
md the Viemamese seemed to fit that tradition. Another factar
was that nvo of the three communist parties in Australia were
aligned with Mo~ow and Peking, and bitterly opposed over Vietnam,
giving the refugee issue a high profile in trade-union politics,
In the state of Queensland, a riot broke out and arrests wm made
when resettled Viemarncse gathered to protest against two visiting
unionists from Hanoi. Some antagonism to the refugees has ako
been shown by Austrnlims who are themselves immigrants, or of
immigrant parents,
Australia's consemtive Libml/Country-party coalition govmment
was also, however, in a quandary, because racipl politics in
Austrmlia had always been active on the extreme right, especially in
coune electorates. The Australian Ltaguc of Rights distributed a
pamphlet which asked: 'Why should loyal Ausaalians, including
many who risked their lives to dcfmd the nation, be smeared n racist
and undesitablt because they protest against an immigration policy
which, if continued, must ruin Australia as it is ruining other
countries?' Some Austr~lian conservatives used the arrival of the
bmt people to advocate the acceptance of white Rhodesian refugees,
when their time comes. However, as both the tibtraI/Counuy party
government and the Labor party opposition evidently have problems
about the refugee question within their own ranks, the boat
pcoplc have not kome an iswe beween the two main parties and
have been able to settle in with considerable success.
When the refugees fir~t arrive in Australia they arc sent to migrant
centres; employment opportunities determine where they go from
there, It is difficult to measure the exact number of refugees in each
Australian state huse interstate movement is common: families
and individuals mwe to join relatives and friends; single young men
(who are 57 per cent of the total rescttIed) are also highly mobile.
At present, 10000 are in New South Wales, Victoria ha8 7500 and
South Ausmlia, Western AusmIia and Queensland each has 2500.
Despite local unemployment, difficulties with English and lack
of recognized qualifications, in Victoria about WOO Indo-Chinese
refugees (or nearly half) have found jobs, especimlly in manufamring,
which is the mmt competitive sector of the labour market, and
in the automotive industry. It is not uncommon to find academics
and professionals on a production line or ding fmres on Melbourne's
public transport, Some refugees find he housing centres
inadquatt because there are no cooking facilities mnd the food there
does not suit them, There have also been incidents of violence in
these centres, In 1979 fighting among rival factions of Vietnamrefugees
was rcporttd, involving about a hundred Vietnamese men
in the grounds of a centre in Adelaide and resulting in the stmbbing
of a 23-year-old man. But, until hey have learned English and
bccome mploycd, it is difficult for them to move from the ccntres.
Through church groups and community agencies, the federal