I’m absorbed in A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900 by Andrew Roberts.
From page 45:
Of course, Australia was right to restrict immigration on some other grounds. A senior public health official was to argue for ‘the strict prohibition against the entrance into our country of certain races of aliens whose uncleanly customs and absolute lack of sanitary conscience form a standing menace to the health of any community.’ While those words sound harsh and deeply politically incorrect today, huge epidemics in China were killing hundreds of thousands of people at the time, and Australia had the right (and duty) protect herself from similar outbreaks.
