Journal of Australian Studies
Volume 40, Issue 4, 2016, Pages 433-447

“These Few Small Boats”: Representations of Asylum Seekers During Australia’s 1977 and 2001 Elections (Article)

Peterie M.*
  • a Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, School of the Arts, English and Media, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

Abstract

This paper compares the asylum-seeker discourses of prime minister Malcolm Fraser and his minister for immigration and ethnic affairs, Michael MacKellar, during Australia’s 1977 federal election campaign, with those of prime minister John Howard and his minister for immigration and multicultural affairs, Philip Ruddock, during the much-analysed 2001 election campaign. It argues that in 1977 Fraser was not an outspoken advocate for asylum seekers as he was later in life, but that his silence—when considered in conjunction with MacKellar’s emphatic and humanising statements—functioned to depoliticise boat arrivals and calm public concerns. Further, it demonstrates that the arguments prosecuted by the Howard government in 2001 were not new; similar arguments had been made in 1977 but were decisively rebutted by MacKellar at the time. This analysis ultimately suggests that while government discourses have the power to amplify the latent fears and hostilities that can lead to moral panics, they also have the capacity to defuse them. © 2016 International Australian Studies Association.

Author Keywords

MacKellar Ruddock discourse moral panic Election Fraser Asylum seeker Howard

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84994512336&doi=10.1080%2f14443058.2016.1223150&partnerID=40&md5=480acf8acf90f2c346a741ac781066b6

DOI: 10.1080/14443058.2016.1223150
ISSN: 14443058
Cited by: 4
Original Language: English