Western Australia - a migration magnet
Media Release - DPS 11/96
Western Australia has a higher concentration of overseas-born people than any other Australian state, according to a new report published by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA).
The report says that close to one-third of the State's population was born overseas (29.5 per cent), compared with a national average of 22.8 per cent.
It points out that Western Australia immigration has a strong Indian Ocean connection, with disproportionately high numbers of migrants coming from South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and India.
The State also attracts far less immigrants from East Asian areas such as Viet Nam and China, who have been attracted to the Eastern States of Australia.
These facts are contained in a new publication called The Atlas of the Australian People - 1991 Census - Western Australia, recently published by DIMA.
The report will be launched at 10.30am on Tuesday, 22 October 1996, in the Theatrette, Alexander Library Building, Perth Cultural Centre, Perth by Ms Ricky Johnston MP, representing the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Philip Ruddock MP.
The Western Australian Minister for Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs, the Hon Paul Omodei MLA, and the author of the report, Professor Graeme Hugo, from the University of Adelaide, will also speak at the launch.
The publication is based on 1991 Census data and updates the 1986 Census atlas also written by Professor Hugo. It analyses the changing picture of first and second-generation immigrants from 47 separate birthplaces, indigenous Australians and other culturally and ethnically defined groups in the Australian population.
It is the fourth report in the series of State and Territory-based atlases commissioned by the Australian Population, Immigration and Multicultural Research Program, which is a joint initiative of the Commonwealth, States and Territories.
More than any other State, Western Australia has been a magnet for immigrants from the United Kingdom, dating from the post-war era to the present day.
According to the report, a comparatively large share (55.1 per cent) of Western Australia's total overseas-born population are from English-speaking origin countries including the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.
The report found that the dominance of UK immigrants in Western Australia has continued, whereas in other states it has declined. The State's UK-born population increased by 11 per cent in the 1986-1991 period compared with 1.9 per cent for the nation as a whole. Almost one-fifth of the Australia-born population of Western Australia (19.7 per cent) has at least one parent born in the UK.
Other facts identified in the report include:
- there are increasing numbers of European immigrants moving to Western Australia from other States. Many of these people migrated to Australia during the 1950s and 1960s and are from the Netherlands, Germany and Italy.
- The numbers of people from non-English speaking backgrounds in Western Australia grew at a faster rate than people from English-speaking backgrounds between 1986 and 1991.
- In 1991 Western Australia had a disproportionately large share of the nation's indigenous population (15.7 per cent).
Canberra, 21 October 1996
Media contact: Professor Graeme Hugo on (08) 303 5643