Dangerous Xenophobia

[Tee Kay]

Nobody serious has said that for half a century. Just a few of the less perceptive or more delusional members of the National Party.

However, the converse, that we should artificially restrict population growth, is also silly.

Indeed.

I am generally pro-immigration. But I have more reservations able guest workers than I do about regular immigrants. It seems to me that with that the country gets the benefit without the responsibility, and so creates a group of second class people that don't get full rights. You want immigrants to fill jobs, get people who will become citizens over time.

I agree. You want people who are interested in the country's future, who are emotionally invested in the country and call it home. Creating an underclass of foreign guest workers is a recipe for social unrest, and feeds xenophobes.

 

[Masada]

Caveat: I'm involved in Indigenous demographic research focusing on this.

all up its a bad system open to abuse...

Agreed. There should be mechanisms in place to protect those being shafted. I'm aware of at least two cases where companies have been caught underpaying workers, copped the fine and then kicked the poor buggers out when the dust has settled.

but just 100 aboriginal jobs is just plain laughable in a project of this size and cost

I would be surprised if even those jobs get filled. Government's need to work on the skills that enable Indigenous people to e.g. driving, literacy, numeracy and basic financial skills.

 

[Tee Kay]

Solution:

1. Build a really big solar power plant
2. Air-condition all the deserts

 

[Old Hippy]

Caveat: I'm involved in Indigenous demographic research focusing on this.

interesting link

Agreed. There should be mechanisms in place to protect those being shafted. I'm aware of at least two cases where companies have been caught underpaying workers, copped the fine and then kicked the poor buggers out when the dust has settled.


I would be surprised if even those jobs get filled. Government's need to work on the skills that enable Indigenous people to e.g. driving, literacy, numeracy and basic financial skills.

some miners actively form relationships with communities offering training,jobs and community infrastructure, to take into account that the project will most likely raise local rents to something like $1500-2000 week (for people like me, to fly in fly out ) and drastically reduce conditions for local nurses,shop workers and teachers in the commnunity... when negotiated at the lease/land rights stage ... fair enough
But what really annoys me... is that SOME mining companies use this very negotiation to prove that an agreement can not be reached and then use the legislation to by pass this stage completely

Complaining that Australians will not move to these harsh environments when on their very doorstep are community's fighting to maintain living in this very environment and about the lack of employment opportunity....

is the most laughable excuse of all to bring in overseas workers

 

[Camikaze]

Speaking of xenophobic policies:

Asylum seekers who are believed to have destroyed their documents before arriving in Australia will have a presumption against refugee status under a coalition government, Opposition leader Tony Abbott says.

As part of three policy "enhancements", which the opposition leader said would immediately be put in place under a coalition government, Mr Abbott said there would be a "strong presumption that illegal boat people who have destroyed their documents not be given refugee status".

[...]

Under the third proposal put forward by Mr Abbott, an integrity commissioner would report to the minister every six months on what is happening to the processing success rates.

"What is happening now is that 90 per cent of people who arrive illegally via boat are given successful outcomes."

Mr Abbott said other countries had "heavier rates of rejection" and he wanted to know why this was the case.

The "enhancements" would be on top of the party's current immigration policy, which includes the re-establishment of offshore processing at Nauru, the re-introduction of temporary protection visas and the option of turning boats around.

It boggles my mind that the response to 90% success rates isn't to acknowledge the vast majority have legitimate refugee claims, but to insist that the government should go out of its way to make it as hard as possible for these legitimate claims to be approved.

 

[Tee Kay]

turning boats around

Reading this I thought of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

...

Australians should be proud that we are such a great nation that so many people are prepared to abandon everything they know and risk their lives to be one of us. People who show this sort of commitment to the country should be welcomed with open arms, not this disgrace we choose to inflict on them.

 

[Arwon]

But, you know, Labor and Greens voters don't like the idea of using often-abusive temporary guestworker programs as a battering ram against workers rights and wages, so they're the xenophobic ones, amirite.

 

[Old Hippy]

Speaking of xenophobic policies:

It boggles my mind that the response to 90% success rates isn't to acknowledge the vast majority have legitimate refugee claims, but to insist that the government should go out of its way to make it as hard as possible for these legitimate claims to be approved.

but it should not surprise you ... the government gets just one day of positive news coverage and tony puts his phyphon grip back on the front page again... julie is just no match with her cobra stike

yes... my mind has been boggled every day bar one, since the last election, it dose things to you...

even with his "new?"policey he even makes the point that he wants

Mr Abbott said his government would also ensure that his Immigration Minister "exercise the right" to appeal against affirmative decisions.

he wants to change the system and then give his minister the power to go against his own systen... yep boggled again

 

[Tee Kay]

Well may we say "God save the Queen", because nothing will save us from Tony Abbott.

 

[Arwon]

Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Shudder.

God damn Labor.

 

[Tee Kay]

Could be worse. We could also have a President John Howard.

 

[Patroklos]

Xenophobia has a definition, wanting restrictions on immigration does not qualify.

 

[Masada]

Ah, true. Then again, it isn't white British illegals we worry about (I do a lot) but a smattering of brown people. So I guess that makes it xenophobic racism right?

 

[Tee Kay]

Brown Muslims, at that.

 

[Old Hippy]

Xenophobia has a definition, wanting restrictions on immigration does not qualify.

anywhere else that would be a valid comment... except in Australia ... some of our politicains ask journalists to "please explain" when the word is used...

she's long gone ... because the mainstream right took up nearlly all her catch cries to protect their own voter base.... "stop the boats" is a daily proclimation from the leader of the party... we even jail Asylum seekers indefinately and don't tell them the reasons why... just because they are a security risk... but they can't challenge this as that would be a security risk to tell them why... very few countries would have a former respected prime minister resign from his own party out of shame, and it barely raised a ripple in the parties platform on "boat people "

 

[Camikaze]

Xenophobia has a definition, wanting restrictions on immigration does not qualify.

It doesn't follow from the fact that wanting immigration restrictions is not necessarily xenophobic, that wanting immigration restrictions cannot possibly be xenophobic. The Australian debate is unfortunately heavily tainted by alarmism and popularism skewed towards the historic racism of the apparently vital "working families"/"Howard's battlers" demographic. And Abbott's policy is far from being an exception to this. He harnesses such sentiment as much as he can.

 

[classical_hero]

Speaking of xenophobic policies:

It boggles my mind that the response to 90% success rates isn't to acknowledge the vast majority have legitimate refugee claims, but to insist that the government should go out of its way to make it as hard as possible for these legitimate claims to be approved.

Without documentation they can say anything they want and most get in. Do these people look like refugees to you? They sure don't look like that to me.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/labor-a-soft-touch-on-boatpeople-abbott/story-fn9hm1gu-1226390584355

Go to Africa to see those who are being denied a place due to these so called refugees. They can't afford the $10,00 price tag it costs to get them here from Indonesia, so you have to wonder why people like Captain Emad. It is basically a joke when rich people can force their way in, and yet the poor have no alternative but to rely on handouts at the camps just to survive.

 

[Old Hippy]

yet you link us to an article about tony critcising labour when he refused to support their tough policey on overseas processing of refugees (one i think is dreadfull) just another example of using "boat people" to score cheap "xenophobic" votes ... even when his own policey is overseas processing
chances are that they are refugees... 90% of boat people are ...so thats 10% that get rejected
... hard to tell just looking at a photo tho,

 

[Arwon]

Without documentation they can say anything they want and most get in. Do these people look like refugees to you? They sure don't look like that to me.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/labor-a-soft-touch-on-boatpeople-abbott/story-fn9hm1gu-1226390584355

Go to Africa to see those who are being denied a place due to these so called refugees. They can't afford the $10,00 price tag it costs to get them here from Indonesia, so you have to wonder why people like Captain Emad. It is basically a joke when rich people can force their way in, and yet the poor have no alternative but to rely on handouts at the camps just to survive.

Ye gods you're serious aren't you.

As posted earlier: the "queue" is a creation of Australian government policy. We created the zero-sum game between asylum seekers and UN-sponsored refugee entry. It is the right of all people to seek asylum in other countries, and the fact that over 90% of boat-arrivals get refugee status is a pretty clear indication that they are, in fact, refugees.

 

[Old Hippy]

we just have to get them to cover up more,clothing wise... to meet Australian safety standards