Premium
A RATHER INHUMANE ARRANGEMENT: SOUTHEAST ASIAN SETTLEMENT ASSISTANCE INITIATIVES IN MELBOURNE
Author(s) -
Majka Lorraine
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
australian journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1839-4655
pISSN - 0157-6321
DOI - 10.1002/j.1839-4655.1998.tb01334.x
Subject(s) - settlement (finance) , context (archaeology) , devolution (biology) , project commissioning , politics , disadvantage , southeast asia , rhetoric , neglect , public administration , political science , service (business) , publishing , sociology , economic growth , economy , law , history , business , ethnology , economics , finance , medicine , linguistics , philosophy , nursing , archaeology , anthropology , payment , human evolution
Due to its specific historical context and unique sociopolitical milieu, Australia has developed a relatively distinctive Southeast Asian settlement assistance model. This article explores the adequacy of the pattern of service delivery that has evolved in Melbourne in response to the settlement needs of the Southeast Asian community. The research finds that the Australian Indochinese aid initiative is high on principle and rhetoric and low on practical solutions. Despite compassionate public pronouncements, assistance institutions increasingly operate in a harsh social, economic, and political context wherein there are few forced migrant‐specific provisions. A devolution policy has also engendered an inefficient patchwork service setup rather than a benevolent resettlement arrangement. Without a more genuine official orientation and a more appropriate overall approach, many Australian Southeast Asians are destined to continue a protracted struggle against disadvantage and neglect.