Australia and forced displacement: A new research agenda?

Abstract

In the global and interdisciplinary field of forced displacement or forced migration studies, there is a significant focus on Australian laws and practices. There is a wealth of literature on Australia’s treatment of those who come in search of international protection and how Australia’s refugee policies have influenced legal developments in other parts of the world (such as the now abandoned refugee offshore processing agreement between the United Kingdom and Rwanda). In this body of scholarship, Australia is positioned as a refugee receiving state. Scholars of forced migration and forced displacement have traditionally not considered Australian laws and policies that cause or respond to the displacement of Australian residents. This is despite forced displacement being a central aspect of Australian life. The brutal history of post-invasion Australia is one of genocide and forced displacement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Australia has a long history of bushfire, flood, drought and cyclone events that have resulted in people leaving their homes and communities temporarily or permanently.