Book Review: Every Assistance & Protection

Many years ago, Socrates stated, “I am a citizen, not of Athens and Greece, but of the world,”1 a view in tune with the modern concept of internationalization and globalization. This philosophy underpins the necessity for a document that provides safe passage for travellers. The modern Australian passport does just this, being evidence of identity and citizenship for Australian citizens traveling internationally.2 An Australian citizen is entitled to be issued an Australian passport on application to the Minister,3 unless one of the reasons listed in the Australian Passport Act 2005 (Cth)(Passport Act) applies.4 Much historical, legal, political and cultural activity provides rich context to the words of the legislation, and it is this context that this book details and explores.5

This book provides a detailed historical study of the Australian passport. It is an excellent book, thoroughly researched and eminently readable. One of the strong features of this book is the approach taken in linking the passport with the aims of the government of the time. The only minor quibble for this reviewer was the use of glossy paper, which can make reading difficult in certain lights.

The authors set the scene in the Introduction with an extremely interesting examination of passports in antiquity, including an Old Testament reference to letters allowing safe travel in the time of Nehemiah.6 Even at this time, one of the essential elements associated with issuing of a passport was the necessity for citizens to be scrutinized by a bureaucracy before permission to travel would be granted. In the Middle Ages, an extremely important individual, usually a king, had authority to issue a safe conduct document, said to be one of the most significant developments in the history of international relations. Interestingly, the convicts, officers and crew of the First Fleet did not carry passports, and their safety was invested in Captain Arthur Phillip’s sea brief.

In Chapter 1, the authors begin by setting out the European and English origins of the Australian passport during the early 19th century, a time that the authors characterize as a ‘freedom of movement era.’ By the end of that century, States began to control movement of people in and out of their territories, for diverse reasons such as making sure that men did not escape military service, that people were not able to escape paying taxes, that workers with valuable skills were retained, that unwanted immigrants were barred entry and so that ‘undesirables’ were excluded.

Chapter 2 focuses on the ramifications of World War 1 for travel, and the use of the passport to contain the movement of possible spies and make sure that men could not leave the country to evade military service. The authors suggest that, at this time, there was a shift from controlling entry to monitoring and controlling departures. The War Precautions Act 1914 (WPA) was passed, conferring very wide powers on the Commonwealth Government. There was no mention of passports in the 1914 Act. However, there were powers for the Commonwealth to control movement as deemed necessary to secure public safety and defence.7 In August of 1914, the incoming Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher, asked the States to relinquish their powers in relation to passports and, with reluctance, the Premiers agreed on 5 November 1914.

As the authors state:

Chapter 3 topically raises the issue of the role of the passport in the control of the ‘Spanish Flu” and the link between health and the national identity. The authors discuss the discretionary power of the Minister in granting passports, a theme that recurs throughout this book. Chapter 4 examines the development of the passport system in the 1930s, including the use of the passport to control the entry of women into Australia when that was thought to be undesirable on moral grounds.9 Chapter 5 develops the theme of the use of the Minister’s discretionary power, in the context of the Cold War and communism. At this time, the 1950s, ministerial authority was considered to be very wide, and the government was not obliged to specify reasons for rejecting a passport application.

Chapter 6 is devoted to Wilfred Burchett’s battle for an Australian passport. The authors use extensive research to demonstrate the tight coupling between the decisions of the various governments of the day and national and international political events. It was 4 days after Gough Whitlam’s success at the general election that Burchett was issued with his Australian passport, after 17 years and seven months of unsuccessful applications.

Chapters 7 and 8 examine issues of citizenship, immigration, globalization and the problems facing governments in ensuring that those who hold passports are who they claim to be. Particularly interesting reading is the impact of the Stewart Royal Commission on the reform of the passport system to minimize the incidence of fraudulent passports. The authors provide insight into how criticisms of passport policy led to Whitlam’s Minister for Immigration, Al Grassby, deciding to create a mechanism for the review of administrative decisions, laying the basis for the regime that allows individuals the opportunity to ask for a review of decisions in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The authors also continue the theme in these chapters that passport issue is not related to the conferring of citizenship but is closely linked to relations with foreign governments.

This book is highly recommended for those who have an interest in Australian political history and Australian civil liberties issues.

Elizabeth Gass

Footnotes

1.  440 BC to 339 BC. 
2. Australian Passports Act 2005 (Cth)(Passport Act) section 3. 
3. At present, the relevant Minister is the Foreign Minister. 
4. Passport Act s 7.
5. For more detailed information about the rights and obligations that have attached to passports, and the somewhat disturbing related civil liberties issues, the authors have helpfully provided referenced to an article by Robert S Lancy, 1981-1982, “The Evolution of Australian Passport Law”, 13 Melbourne University Review, 428.
6. Nehemiah, 2.7.
7. Memorandum, ‘War Precautions Bill 1914’NAA: A2863, 1914/10.
8. At page 77, relying on the work of John Torpey, ‘World War One and the Birth of the Passport System’, in Jane Caplan and John Torpey (eds), 2001, Documenting Individual Identity: The Development of State Practices in the Modern World, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
9. For example, the case of Mrs. Mabel Freer, involved a white British subject, born in India, in possession of a British Passport, and thus eligible for entry into Australia, but who was a divorcee. Another example involved the issuing of passports for single women. They were not issued until after the fullest investigation, for the protection of the applicant.