• Advertise
  • About us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact us
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Australian Times News
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia
No Result
View All Result
Australian Times News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Australia ‘swamped’ by Asians and Muslims? The data show a different story

OPINION & ANALYSIS: Pauline Hanson claimed Australia was in danger of being “swamped by Asians”. At her re-election to the Senate on 2016, Hanson expanded her claim to also being “swamped by Muslims”. But is this factually correct?

The Conversation by The Conversation
05-07-2017 10:45
in News

Population growth has profound impacts on Australian life, and sorting myths from facts can be difficult. This article is part of a series on The Conversation, Is Australia Full?, which aims to help inform a wide-ranging and often emotive debate.


By James Forrest, Macquarie University

In her maiden speech to federal parliament in 1996, Pauline Hanson claimed Australia was in danger of being “swamped by Asians”. At her re-election to the Senate on 2016, Hanson expanded her claim to also being “swamped by Muslims”. But is this factually correct?

Using data from the 2011 Census, we analysed the distribution of Asians and Muslims at four spatial scales (neighbourhood, suburb, district, and region) within Australia’s 11 largest urban areas. We found no evidence of any “swamping” by Muslims, or of ultra-segregation into “ghettos”.

There are concentrations of Asians, mainly in Sydney and Melbourne. But they are mostly neighbourhoods and suburbs where they form only a small minority of local populations.

The geography of Asians and Muslims

Asians form small minorities in about half of the more than 33,000 local neighbourhoods (average population of 430) across Australia’s 11 cities.

In another 40% of neighbourhoods, Asians comprise between 10% and 25% of local populations. In only 2% overall do they make up more than half the local population.

AlsoRead...

The Broker who says ‘Yes’ when Banks say NO

The Broker who says ‘Yes’ when Banks say NO

8 July 2025
Leading with Trust: Why Quality still wins in the AI Era

Leading with Trust: Why Quality still wins in the AI Era

5 June 2025


The geography of Muslims is very different, and much less segregated. They are a much smaller proportion of Australia’s 11 metropolitan and major urban areas. But they are almost entirely absent from many neighbourhoods and suburbs.

In only 82 of the 33,337 neighbourhoods and in just one suburb – all in Sydney and Melbourne – do Muslims constitute half the local population. This amounts to 0.025%.



In only four Sydney neighbourhoods and one in Melbourne (0.015% combined) is the Muslim population as high as 70%.

A figure of 70% or more is regarded in the international literature on Western cities as indicating a ghetto situation.

Which cities stand out?

So, one point stands out: local neighbourhoods where Asians and Muslims form a majority are almost entirely concentrated in Australia’s two major cities – Sydney and Melbourne. Brisbane and, less so, Perth also have very small pockets where Asians form half of neighbourhood populations.

In none of the other nine places is there even a single neighbourhood where Muslims form a majority of local neighbourhood populations.

In three of them – Newcastle, Geelong and Darwin – there are no neighbourhoods where Asians are a majority.

In Sydney, just under 8% of neighbourhoods contain one-quarter of the city’s Asian population. In Melbourne there are fewer Asian neighbourhoods, with 12% of the city’s Asian population.

The Sydney suburb of Hurstville, which Hanson has identified as somewhere “swamped by Asians”, has 63% of its population Asian. And nine other Sydney neighbourhoods are home to 13% of the city’s total Asian population.

But such a concentration is rare elsewhere. Melbourne has four districts (groups of suburbs) with Asian majorities.

Sydney and Melbourne also have the largest Muslim populations. But few are concentrated in areas – even at the smallest, neighbourhood level, where they form as much as half of local populations.

In only one suburb, Sydney’s Lakemba, is more than half the population Muslim (predominantly Lebanese). But even in a suburb like Lakemba, these concentrations are scattered across different neighbourhoods.

Why the moral panic?

Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman argued that populist political parties like One Nation promote their causes by creating “moral panics”, or fears of:

… some evil [that] threatens the wellbeing of society.

In this situation, multiculturalism is presented as creating such fears where many of the immigrants are seen as “strangers”, culturally different from everybody else.

For some, known as “mixophiles”, the presence of such strangers in their midst is a positive aspect of city life. But not so among “mixophobes”, whom Bauman saw as concentrated among those who:

… lack the capacity to cut themselves off from [what they see as] … all too often unfriendly, distrustful and hostile urban environments.

This latter situation provides “highly fertile and nourishing meadows tempting many a political vote-gatherer to graze on them”. This, Bauman argues, is an opportunity:

… a growing number of politicians [not to mention certain media elements] would be loath to miss.

___________________________

By James Forrest, Associate Professor of Geography and Planning, Macquarie University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

TOP IMAGE: Only one Australian suburb, Lakemba in Sydney, has a population that is more than half Muslim.
(AAP/Jane Dempster).

Tags: AustraliaAustralia immigrationAustralian politicsimmigrationIslamIslamophobiaPauline Hansonpolitics
DMCA.com Protection Status

SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER

[mc4wp_form id=”2384248″]

Don't Miss

The Broker who says ‘Yes’ when Banks say NO

by Pauline Torongo
8 July 2025
The Broker who says ‘Yes’ when Banks say NO
Business & Finance

When faced with constant loan rejection or last-minute withdrawals of support, Trelos Finance stands out as a solution.

Read more

Common Mistakes When Buying a Telescope — And How to Avoid Them

by Fazila Olla-Logday
1 July 2025
Common Mistakes When Buying a Telescope
Technology

You’ve spent hours scrolling through telescope specs online, dazzled by features and grand promises. The excitement builds—until your newly arrived...

Read more

From Portugal to Bali: Where Aussies Should Go for Your Next Coastal Holiday

by Fazila Olla-Logday
20 June 2025
Source: Flickr
Travel

Aussies, here is a guide to where you should go for your next coastal holiday.

Read more

Leading with Trust: Why Quality still wins in the AI Era

by Pauline Torongo
5 June 2025
Leading with Trust: Why Quality still wins in the AI Era
Business & Finance

If you're leading a software team today, you've likely noticed the shift: faster feature rollouts, routine automation, and AI taking...

Read more

How to Save on Airport Parking: Budget Tips Every Traveller Should Know

by Fazila Olla-Logday
3 June 2025
How to Save on Airport Parking
Travel

Saving money on airport parking can be a challenge,but here are some budget friendly tips to help you navigate.

Read more

Why Australian Investors are Betting on the Aviation Maverick Louis Belanger-Martin

by Pauline Torongo
28 May 2025
Why Australian Investors are Betting on the Aviation Maverick Louis Belanger-Martin
Business & Finance

Bélanger-Martin’s ambitions stretch beyond redefining inflight comfort—they’re rooted in resurrecting the romance of supersonic travel with a modern twist.

Read more

Why a Gluten Free Hamper is simply the Best Gift for a Coeliac

by Fazila Olla-Logday
22 May 2025
Gluten Free Hamper
at

Buying a thoughtful gift can be tricky at the best of times, but when someone has dietary restrictions like coeliac...

Read more
Load More

Copyright © Blue Sky Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
australiantimes.co.uk is a division of Blue Sky Publications Ltd. Reproduction without permission prohibited. DMCA.com Protection Status

  • About us
  • Write for Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact us
  • T&Cs, Privacy and GDPR
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia

Copyright © Blue Sky Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
australiantimes.co.uk is a division of Blue Sky Publications Ltd. Reproduction without permission prohibited. DMCA.com Protection Status