The Asianisation of Australia? Some Facts about the Myths

Laksiri Jayasuriya and Kee Pookong, The Asianisation of Australia? Some Facts about the Myths (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1999), 114 pp., $16.95 (pbk), ISBN 0 522 84854 0.

Now that One Nation has sunk back into the depths from which it so dramatically emerged, there is room for a sensible discussion of the degree to which Asian immigration has affected Australia. This jointly authored book seeks to dispel the myths which One Nation leader Pauline Hanson detailed in her maiden parliamentary speech in 1996. The authors provide factual background on Asian immigration, demographic trends, the social profile of Asians, social integration, emerging issues and the challenge of pluralism. Forewords by Malcolm Fraser and the late Don Dunstan endorse their approach.

Unlike much...