Australian Attitudes to Immigration and Multiculturalism

Abstract

This paper begins with a discussion of Australia's immigration context and the extent of ethnic diversity in the country. Following a brief discussion of public opinion surveying in Australia it considers five main issues, based in large part on the findings of the Scanlon Foundation surveys, fifteen of which have been conducted since 2007, These issues are: social cohesion; sense of belonging and social justice; attitudes to immigration and asylum seekers; levels of intolerance; and multiculturalism.