Australia proposes a ban on Māori

Australia proposes a ban on Māori

This article was published in the Dominion newspaper on 30 April 1948. It quotes the Australian minister of immigration claiming that Māori should be excluded from settling in Australia, as they were Polynesian. His comments caused a minor diplomatic storm, and he later apologised. Although Australian politicians who subscribed to a white Australia immigration policy made attempts in the late 1950s to restrict Māori arrival, their efforts failed. As British subjects and New Zealand citizens, Māori could settle in Australia with little restriction, although few chose to do so until the 1960s.