Political Parties and Australia’s Migration Program, 1972-2010: A Partisan Difference?

Abstract

This thesis examines the historical relationship between political parties and Australia’s permanent migration program. Whilst the existing empirical literature has often compared the decisions of specific, consecutive governments (for instance, the work comparing the Fraser, Hawke-Keating and Howard administrations) it has not yet viewed the parties themselves as central units of analysis. In practice, this means that it has not yet explicitly tested whether, over multiple administrations, the Labor and Liberal parties have supported distinct or coherent permanent intakes. This thesis explores this precise question. From 1972-2010, it examines whether Australia’s major parties have promoted programs of a different size or composition. Throughout this analysis, the paper recognises the influence of external factors in limiting and framing party autonomy. In particular, it acknowledges employment’s historical impact on migration decisions. Because of this, the thesis’ empirical analysis attempts to both acknowledge and control for the labour market. Ultimately, whilst not suggesting one single, overarching narrative about specific parties and migration outcomes, the paper emphasises the often distinct ways in which (because of both different responses to economic imperatives and different partisan motivations) Australia’s political parties have shaped the migration program’s size, composition and trajectory.