COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRLIA.
SPEECH64/ 099
Rt. Hon. SIR ROBERT MENZIES,
M. P.,
ON
YUGO SLAV IMMIGRANT
ORGAMISATIONS.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT.
[ From the " Parliamentary Debates," 27th August 1964.]
Sir ROBERT MENZIES ( Kooyong-
Prime Minister)-by leave--For some time,
there have been references both in the
Parliament and elsewhere to the activities
of certain Yugoslav immigrant organisa-
-ions. The Government is, and over a period
) as been, in possession of considerable
information on these activities. Certain of
this information is embodied in replies which
are being made separately to the series of
questions on the matter which were asked
pthe previous parliamentary session. This
.4pplies to questions asked by the honorable
member for Yarra ( Dr. J. F. Cairns), answers
to which he should get today. However,
I feel I should also take the opportunity to
make some observations to the House about
the Government's general policy in
relation to migrant organisations and about
immigration from Yugoslavia.
In the years since World War II, Australia's
immigration programme has brought
to this country people from all parts of
Europe with a diversity of historical and
cultural backgrounds. Many of these people
were refugees from oppression. Many
derived from happier circumstances. This
flow of new citizens has played an import-
11142/ 64. ant part in building the nation. It is something
which has given us great satisfaction
and we wish to see it continue. However,
it is basic to our immigration policy that all
these new citizens should be integrated as
fully, and as quickly, as possible into Australia's
national life. The people of Australia
endorse this approach and, as part of
its mnigration programme, the Government
has enlisted the help of community and
public bodies throughout the Commonwealth
in the vital work of assimilation.
There has been a very gratifying response
in this regard and on the whole the programme
of integration has met with great
success. The Government is not taking an attitude
against immigrants from particular countries
joining in their own associations. We
do not expect newcomers to turn their backs
on their original heritage. On the contrary,
it is wholly understandable that immigrants
should establish organisations amongst themselves
for a variety of social and cultural
purposes. It rather follows the precedents
of the Irish and Scots in this country. These
organisations, as honorable members will
know, can also be a most valuable means
of assisting migrants to become fully integrated
into the Australian community. I
have no doubt that the great majority of
organisations and societies to which
migrants belong come within the category
to which I have just been referring. However,
the Government looks with disfavour
on any activities of any migrant organisation
which tend to frustrate integration.
The possibility always exists that at some
point, the activities of a particular immigrant
organisation, or the activities of individuals
within that organisation, may transgress
the law. As necessary, investigations
are made, and will be made, into the
activities of various organisations including
some which are not organisations of
migrants alone or even primarily. If, as a
result of these investigations, there is evidence
of illegal activities on the part of an
organisation, or individuals within an
organisation, evidence which would be
receivable in a court of law, then steps
will be taken promptly, as may be appropriate
to the particular case, to appeal to
the law of the State or to invoke the relevant
Commonwealth legislation. I add however,
by way of reminder to the House,
that it is not and never has been the practice
to make details of security investigations
available or public.
I turn now to the matter of immigration
from Yugoslavia. To understand the attitudes
of these migrants it is necessary to
remind ourselves that this part of Europe
has an exceedingly complex and troubled
history. Yugoslavia emerged from the political
settlements of World War I. It brought
together as a union a number of southern
Slav peoples including Serbs, Croats and
Slovenes, under the Serbian King Alexander.
The Serbs obtained their independence from
the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth
century and were numerically the largest
group in the new State. The Croats had
formerly enjoyed a degree of autonomy
within the Austro-Hungarian empire and
retained a national identity dating back as
early as the ninth century. Deep differences
of religious, cultural and historical kinds
have existed between the groups despite
kindred racial origins.
Within the new State, the Croats sought
a federal concept of government with a
large degree of local autonomy. In 1928, the leader of the Croats, Stjepan Radic of
the Croatian Peasant Party and two of his
colleagues were assassinated in the Parliament
in Belgrade. This precipitated a
profound breach between Serbs and Croats.
The Croats developed strong agitation in
support of independence. Peasant Party
leaders taking their cause to the League of
Nations. Some Croat Parliamentary representatives
were arrested, others, among them
Dr. Ante Pavelic, went into exile.
It was at this time that a revolutionary
movement called Ustashi, meaning " insurgents"
was founded, both in Croatia and-.,
abroad, Pavelic being one of its first leaders
This movement, in common with other
Croat organisations, took as its symbol the
traditional Croatian emblem of a white and
red check shield but associated with this
emblem the letter The traditiona'-
emblem, both with and without the " U'
is to be found in extensive use today by
Croatian migrant groups throughout the
world. It is difficult for people coming to Australia
easily to forget their historical backgrounds.
Since the war a number of organisations
opposed to the present Government
of Yugoslavia have developed throughout
the world amongst refugees and migrants
from that country. It is understandable that
some Yugoslav migrants of Croatian origin
should continue to hope for the estab
lishment of an independent Croatia antL
within a democracy like Australia they have
a right to advocate their views so long as
they do so by legitimate means. I wish to
make it perfectly clear that the vast majority
of the migrants from all parts of Yugoslavi
who have settled in Australia have provecr
to be law abiding, hard working citizens
and a real asset to this country.
Commonwealth and State authorities are
continuing their investigations of Yugoslav
and other organisations. Recently the Acting
Premier of Victoria issued a statement on
police inquiries in that State. He said that
the police had found " that isolated acts
of assault and misbehaviour had occurred
but found no evidence whatever to support
allegations of Ustashi violence towards
individuals of Yugoslav nationality from
which systematic or organised attacks could
be inferred". That I take to mean that
individual attacks have been noted but not
an organised or systematic series of attacks.
Similar allegations made in Cairns also were,
I understand, found by the Queensland
police to be unsubstantiated. The Commonwealth's
own investigations so far have not
produced any evidence which would warrant
legal proceedings.
I wish to make the Government's position
in this regard quite plain, however,
Sir, and that is the real purpose of this
statement, as well as to intimate at the
same time that the particular questions asked in detail have been answered in detail,
though not in this statement. So I make
the Government's position quite clear: This
Government will not interfere with freedom
of opinion. Equally, it will not tolerate any
activities which constitute a breach of the
law. I present the following paper-
Yugoslav Immigrant Organisations-Ministerial
Statement, 27th August 1964-
and move-
That the House take note of the paper.
BY AUTHORITY: A. J. ARTHUR, COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CANBERRA.