Sydney Muslims poorer and face more hostility than in Melbourne
Date
October 26, 2012
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Daniel Flitton
Senior Correspondent
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Illustration: Cathy Wilcox
PUBLIC hostility towards Muslims is much greater in Sydney than Melbourne — by a factor of two to one — with immigrants far more dispersed across the Victorian capital, according to a social survey.
The findings show Sydney is home to a higher percentage of people born overseas than Melbourne, but they are typically poorer and concentrated in fewer suburbs than those in Victoria.
The targets of racism in Australia have also changed – Indians are now most often singled out rather than the past focus on people of east Asian descent, despite official attempts in recent years to calm anger over a spate of attacks on Indian students.
The stock take of attitudes towards immigrants offers an insight into the experience of a growing national population – up 3 million in the past decade, a figure that includes births as well as migrant intake.
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The results show 29 per cent of Sydneysiders hold a negative view of Muslims, compared with 15 per cent in Melbourne.
The violent protests in Sydney’s CBD last month over the depiction of Muslims in an American-made film sparked fears of a return to the tensions that followed the 2005 Cronulla riots, prompting an immediate condemnation from Islamic leaders. But the survey findings also warn of broader problems creeping into immigrant neighbourhoods in both cities, with people born in Australia more likely to feel vulnerable in their homes than those of non-English speaking backgrounds.
The research, released today, is built on data collected over several years by Monash University, backed by the Scanlon Foundation and the Australian Multicultural Foundation.
The surveys, drawing on a sample of 15,000, also delve into the fears and aspirations across the country. The economy, the quality of politicians, and boats ferrying asylum seekers ranked as the three most serious problems facing Australia.
Boat arrivals are toxic for the Gillard government: the results show 6 per cent of people think Labor is doing a good job, compared with an overwhelming 66per cent vote of disapproval.
Only one in four people believe people arriving by boat should be eligible for permanent residence; 62 per cent of Greens voters are in favour.
The survey is not all bad news. Most are convinced by the statement ‘‘Australia is a land of economic opportunity where in the long run, hard work brings a better life’’ – an optimism especially felt among people who speak a language other than English at home.
‘‘Many immigrants are actually more positive about Australia than Australian-born because their reference point is where they come from,’’ said the study author, Andrew Markus.
But a breakdown of the findings, examining migrant hubs in Sydney and Melbourne around Bankstown and Dandenong, suggests that trust is fraying between migrants and those born locally.
Third generation Australians – people born here of parents also born in Australia – are far more likely to be dissatisfied living in one of these neighbourhoods.
Nationwide, only 28 per cent of Australian-born people felt unsafe walking alone at night – but the concern shot up to 50 per cent in the local findings.
Third-generation Australians are also twice as likely than those of non-English speaking backgrounds to report life in their local area has become much worse and see the migrant intake as ‘‘too high’’.
Hass Dellal, from the Australian Multicultural Foundation, said the split between Sydney and Melbourne on views of Muslims resulted from more work in Victoria to engage the Islamic community.
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http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-mu...n-melbourne-20121025-288ry.html#ixzz2AMCqB3OX
