5. 'Boat People'

By the 1970s, things are changing rapidly. Australia finally abandons the official White Australia policy, and start welcome in significant numbers of people from Asia. In episode 5 of Australia Fair, host Janak Rogers delves into the complex journey of Vietnamese refugees and their impact on Australian society. In the tumultuous days of April 1975, as Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces, countless Vietnamese fled. The arrival of the first Vietnamese boat people in Australia in 1976 marked the beginning of a significant shift in the nation’s demographic and cultural landscape. Despite the initially warm reception, the growing Vietnamese community soon faced challenges and discrimination. Figures like Pauline Hanson built a powerful political party initially by attacking Asian immigration, and by the 80s communities in Cabramatta became a by-word for drug and gang violence. Hear from Dai Le, the first person with a Vietnamese refugee background to be elected to Federal parliament, as well as lawyer and emerging leader Tu Le, and Lam Tac Tam, one of the first Vietnamese refugees to ever arrive in Australia.

A group of Vietnamese refugees from the freighter 'Song Be 12' arrive in Darwin in 1977. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images

In the 90s, obviously Cabramatta experienced a huge issue around drugs and gangs. I was a journalist by then and I covered a lot of the stories. A lot of the young Vietnamese kids who were came here as young kids or who were born here were very marginalized. They were ostracized. Our community here really were often in the media for the wrong reason.

Dai Le — former journalist and Member for Fowler in the House of Representatives

Australia Fair offers a critical look at the nation's struggle to reconcile its diverse present with its exclusionary past.

LISTEN TO

5. 'Boat People'

SBS Audio

29:23English

Find all episodes in the eight-part series in the SBS Audio app or other podcast apps such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and LiSTNR.

GUESTS

Dai Le - former journalist and Member for Fowler in the House of Representatives

Tu Le - lawyer, former politician

Lam Tac Tam - one of the first Vietnamese refugees to ever arrive in Australia.

Australia Fair is created by Janak Rogers

Additional editing by Max Gosford

The podcast is dedicated to Joyrsri Trivedi Rogers (1945 — 2024). "Woman Extraordinary. Plenipotentiary. Citizen of the World, Origin India". And, to John Michael Rogers (1932 - 2002).