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The Forum > Article Comments > Population: a big problem but easy to solve > Comments

Population: a big problem but easy to solve : Comments

By Peter Ridd, published 13/8/2009

Australia's population growth should be considered an economic and environmental problem of huge proportions.

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Great post Efranke!
In fact it’s so good it should be printed again:

“Jon J wrote: ‘Yes, because of course Asian and African nations are going to sit by quietly and let us drastically reduce our immigration quotas without batting an eyelid.’

Last time I checked, Australia was a sovereign nation with an inalienable right to determine the size and composition of its own population. Australia's policies on immigration and population are its own affair and should be dictated by the national interest, not the phantom of "international opinion".

I'm not sure where this ‘all eyes on Australia’ notion originates from, but the idea that the whole world is closely scrutinising our immigration policies, just waiting to condemn Australia the moment we reduce immigration to more sensible levels, is very silly.

Japan has a zero immigration policy. As do most Asian countries. As does most of Europe. In fact, aside from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, every country in the world tightly limits immigration. It hasn't hurt their international relations.
Posted by Efranke, Saturday, 15 August 2009 5:59:38 PM”

When I see people declaring that we can’t have this or that policy because our neighbours or trading partners mightn't like it, I never know whether to laugh or cry.

Laugh because, almost invariably you will find that our neighbours have policies and procedures that are far more self-interest centred . Or cry, because our education and media could have failed so badly to inform.
Posted by Horus, Sunday, 16 August 2009 7:38:14 AM
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Australia is the only country in the world where the estate agents united in their Real Estate Institutes, have an iron grip on all land transactions and renting.

Their army is more numerous than the defense army; their power, bloomed in the last twenty five years, has broken all marketing rules and conventions.

It is protected by Federal, States and Territories’ politicians and, like a sacred caw, cannot be touched by the ACCC.

It. with the maligned State stamp duties drains and wastes an amount in excess of 12% of the value of the property at each transaction and anybody who wishes to look can see the disastrous ‘collaterals’ it causes to the economy and the well being of the Nation
Posted by Alcap, Sunday, 16 August 2009 6:09:38 PM
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"It is not only some dodgy colleges which are involved in this cash-for-visa scam. Our universities take in large numbers of students whose main aim is to gain Australian residency. We are prepared to take money from them to smooth their way through the process. Effectively selling permanent residency visas through the education system is neither ethical nor in the best interests of the country."

This is a very important point that I forgot to comment on earlier.

The entire higher education sector in Australia has essentially become one giant immigration racket, with our universities being shamelessly used as visa factories for foreign students lured here solely by the promise of permanent residency upon graduation.

As Peter Wilkinson wrote in his eye-opening book “The Howard Legacy: Displacement of Traditional Australia from the Professional and Managerial Classes” (2007), Australia’s universities “market themselves as providing education but they know, and certainly their prospective applicants know, that they are marketing permanent residency visas.”*

Wilkinson notes how the universities are effectively discriminating against Australian students by lowering the standard for full fee-paying foreign students, who can then apply for a visa on the basis of the conceded pass.

Not only do young Australians miss out on education and career opportunities in their own country, but Australia as a whole also loses out. We hand out permanent residency to sub-standard, unemployable foreigners while also degrading the quality of our domestic degrees. This cash-for-visa scam also provides an almost clear pathway to Australian citizenship, thus diminishing its value and meaning.

And the Federal Government apparently has no problem with any of this. It continues to parrot the claim that Australia's higher education sector is an important "export industry." Seems more like an import industry to me.

* For more on "The Howard Legacy", see here: http://www.theindependentaustralian.com.au/node/10
Posted by Efranke, Sunday, 16 August 2009 6:43:24 PM
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Rick S in Canada

Thanks for the Canadian perspective.

Your numbers work out at $7320 per migrant; I do not know of a similar study here, but it is possible, and perhaps someone on this forum can provide further info.

Do you have a link that you can provide for the Canadian study?

As I pointed out earlier, infrastructure costs are in my view the main national expenditure which is never accounted for in cost benefit studies. Our high quality infrstructure is clearly a major inducement for new migrants and should be included in any analysis,(if in doubt consider the hopeless situation of remote Aboriginal communities where infrastruture is very limited). It is also a very significant cost, of at least $300,00 per person

Do you know whether Canada Gov. maintains any information on the value of national infrastructure, or whether any studies have been done on this?

Any references or links that you have would be very welcome.
Posted by last word, Monday, 17 August 2009 12:10:10 PM
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last word, if you go to Grubel's website at http://www.sfu.ca/~grubel/Part%2010,%20Recent%20Opinion%20Pieces.htm you will find his article "The Fiscal Burden of Recent Canadian Immigrants." (a Microsoft Word document). Let me know if that link doesn't work for you. I believe that this piece should be required reading for everyone, as it demolishes so many of the myths of immigration, including the "aging population" nonsense. The amount of immigration required to keep the population age ratio constant for the next 40 years is absolutely staggering.
Posted by Rick S, Monday, 17 August 2009 3:46:39 PM
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Sorry, I should have mentioned that I do not necessarily agree with Grubel's proposed solution, but I'll leave it to people in this forum to consider his analysis and react.
Posted by Rick S, Monday, 17 August 2009 3:51:18 PM
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