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The term ‘queue-jumpers’ and variations on this theme have been widely applied in recent months in Australian public discourse, especially since the commencement of the so-called ‘Tampa crisis’ on 27 August 2001, when a boat carrying 438 unauthorised arrivals heading for Australia sank in international waters in the vicinity of Christmas Island. (1) This paper analyses this discourse in three components. First, I will identify the use of the queue analogy within contemporary Australian public discourse. I will consider definitional and historical uses of the term ‘queue’, and explore the implicit themes embedded in the meaning of queues, with a view to identifying an established word-use. Finally, I will examine elements of refugee immigration policy in Australia to establish whether this policy conforms to the characteristics and thematic underpinnings of a queue as defined earlier. The focus of this paper will be on the use of the terms ‘queue’ and ‘queue-jumpers’ in Australia between 26 August and December 2001, during and immediately after the Tampa crisis. Restricting the word-use to this specific timeframe enables a coherent analysis of immigration policies, procedures and outcomes within a rapidly changing policy area.

Contemporary Australian Public Discourse

Recently, the use of the queue analogy and synonymous terms has become ubiquitous in several fora. In the case of public discussion on regular radio talkback shows, for example, on 27 August John Laws on 2UE spoke to a caller who referred to unauthorised arrivals as ‘backdoor people’. Laws responded by referring to them as ‘gatecrashers’. (2) On 28 August Mike Carlt…