Migration politics of Australia: shift or continuity in this policy?

The primary goal of this paper is to analyse the development of Australian migration politics from its creation to the present. By fundamentally examining the migration legislation and the structure of Department of Immigration and Citizenship, this paper analyses global migration flow in comparison to Australia. After dissecting the influential periods in Australian immigration from the: gold rush; White Australia; and, multicultural eras of Australian immigration, this paper charts the creation and examines the development of Australian immigration policy. This document then draws attention to the contemporary immigration policy and migration flows in Australia. Highlighted at the end is the correlation between: population and economic growth with immigrant intake and, Australian political changes at the beginning of the 21st century