Australia once had ‘immigration amnesties’ to grant legal status to undocumented people. Could we again?

Australia once had ‘immigration amnesties’ to grant legal status to undocumented people. Could we again?

The year is 1972. The Whitlam Labor government has just been swept into power and major changes to Australia’s immigration system are underway. Many people remember this time for the formal end of the racist White Australia Policy. A lesser-known legacy of this period was the introduction of Australia’s first immigration amnesty. This amnesty, implemented later in 1974 with bilateral support, provided humane pathways to permanency or citizenship…

Australia once had 'immigration amnesties' to grant legal status to undocumented people. Could we again?

The year is 1972. The Whitlam Labor government has just been swept into power and major changes to Australia's immigration system are underway. Many people remember this time for the formal end of the racist White Australia Policy. A lesser-known legacy of this period was the introduction of Australia's first immigration amnesty. This amnesty, implemented later in 1974 with bilateral support, provided humane pat