Aliens Deportation Act 1948
Parliament of Australia
  • An Act to provide for the Deportation of certain Aliens.
CitationNo. 84 of 1948
Enacted byAustralian House of Representatives
Royal assent21 December 1948
Repealed1 June 1959
Introduced byArthur Calwell
Repealed by
Migration Act 1958
Status: Repealed

The Aliens Deportation Act 1948 (Cth) was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which formed part of the White Australia policy.[1] The Act gave the government sweeping powers to deport aliens.

Background

Minister for Immigration Arthur Calwell, who introduced the Act, explained the Act targeted "those aliens whose character and conduct are such that they should not be allowed to continue to reside here, but whose deportation cannot be effected at present because of the limitations upon the Commonwealth’s immigration powers".[2] Despite criticism in parliament about its broad powers, the Act commenced 18 January 1949.[1][3]

Legacy

Shortly after coming into force, the Act was put into question by O'Keefe v Calwell (1948), which ruled in favour of Annie O’Keefe, an Indonesian wartime evacuee who had been issued a deportation order. After this defeat, Calwell sought legislation to close the loophole, leading to the War-time Refugees Removal Act 1949.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Aliens Deportation Act 1948". Federal Register of Legislation. Office of Parliamentary Counsel (Australia). Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Senate, Debates, 2 December 1948 :: Historic Hansard". historichansard.net. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Immigration control and deportation". press-files.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  4. ^ Power, Paul (18 March 2014). "How one refugee signalled the end of the White Australia policy | Paul Power". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
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