Between 1901 and 1914, non-white people and women were heavily discriminated against. Whether it was the law, violence, or pay, they were at a great disadvantage compared to white men. About a century later, these issues have improved significantly, but there is still room for improvement as these stereotypes are still disadvantaged in our country today. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In December 1901, the Immigration Restriction Act came into effect, now known as the Immigration Policy. 'White Australia. This was one of the first pieces of legislation presented to the newly formed Federal Parliament. This policy was intended to limit non-British migration to Australia. The Federal Parliament was in favor of this law because the majority of the Australian population shared the same views towards people of different races, which today would be considered extremely racist. Criticisms of non-white people suggested that they were less advanced than whites in every way, including morally and intellectually. Indigenous Australians were considered a “dying race” and had virtually no rights. This has shaped our nation today, because even though we are not as racist as white people were in the 1900s, we are still racist towards black people. If a black man and a white man applied for the same job with the exact same skills, the white man would get the job because of one thing: his looks. If we weren't so racist and discriminated against non-white Australians in the 1900s, we might have had a more inclusive culture today. The way we treated Aboriginal Australians was appallingly bad. There are now debates and arguments involving both races, such as Australia Day, called by some Invaders Day. Another great example that demonstrates laws that have affected our nation today is discrimination, violence and rights against women. In the early 1900s, whoever was in charge of the household (usually the father or husband) had the moral authority to use violence to discipline those below him in the hierarchy (the wife and children). Wives and children were told they had to accept discipline, even if it seemed unnecessary. However, violence against people above you in the hierarchy has never been acceptable, regardless of the reason. The husband's role was to keep his family in check without resorting to uncontrolled force. However, where the wife felt that this was excessive force, she could use a number of legal and social measures to ensure that her husband behaved properly. Although little was done to help the wife, the husband simply meted out more punishment. Other methods included hiding the wife and children from the husband to protect them from beatings. Suffragettes fought extremely hard to expand women's very few rights in the early 1900s. However, there were still very few rights and certainly no political rights. In the 20th century, women had a very stereotypical lifestyle: once married, they stopped working, cooked, cleaned, and worked for their family. If they were single, they would work but be paid less than a quarter of men's wages and would work.