A survey of Australian attitudes towards immigration has found that although most people support multiculturalism, adapting to its challenges is a constant struggle.
The research -- commissioned by SBS -- also reveals that although the nationalities of those arriving have changed over the years -- many concerns remain the same.
A survey of 1,400 Australians conducted by the Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute found that 62 per cent agree that Australia should be a multicultural society.
But only 48 per cent believe migrants should be able to maintain their culture without prejudice or disadvantage, and 23 percent of those from non-English speaking backgrounds say they experienced racial discrimination in the past year.
"There were a lot of patterns around people thinking that people should embrace the Australian way of life and very much associated that with speaking the language," says researcher Caroline Tomiczek.
Less sympathy for asylum-seekers
The survey also found that sympathy for asylum-seekers has declined over the past decade.
Yet eight out of 10 believe that Australia has been generous to immigrants throughout its history.
Dr Tomiczek says that a comparison of surveys going back 25-years revealed a pattern of fear and anxiety about new arrivals.
"And the things people were saying about Italians were quite similar to the things people said about Muslims," she says.
Filmmaker, Alex West, says he also noticed this pattern in producing "Immigration Nation", an SBS documentary which investigates migration back to Federation including the controversial White Australia Policy.
"The kind of fears that people had over 100 years ago are similar to what they had today, these kind of dark paranoias about invasion from the north that Asian hordes are going to overrun this country," says Alex West, the producer of SBS' Immigration Nation.
From the slavery of South Sea Islanders to hostilities towards early Asian and European immigrants, Mr West says that Australia has forged a multicultural society against the odds.
The Ipsos-Eureka survey appears to back that up, finding that within one generation, those with a migrant background show as strong a sense of belonging as the general Australian population.
The three-part multi-platform documentary, "Immigration Nation - The Secret History of Us" will be screened on SBS One and online from January the 9th.
Share
