Hi MamaChui, in the cities and country where I have lived and live, there is a small percentage of people who pass curious comments when coming across a person who has either been born overseas or has an accent. More out of curiosity and interest to learn, as opposed to being racist thereby not accepting that person.

Most people I mix with through work and socially were either born overseas or here, however travel extensively, mix with people of all origins regularly and are not racist. For the small number who are racist for whatever reason: "Forgive them, for they know not what they are truly doing" ie the profound hurt inflicted born out of ignorance and fear

Quayle: "Indigenous Austalians do not have a right to self determination other than that allowed by Australian law."

Well, yes. And in amongst all those common rights, is the right to self-determination: how does the right to organise one's fellows conflict with Australian law ? People have the right to go off and live pretty much as they like, wherever they like, if they gather the resources. What else do you have in mind by 'self-determination' ?

Terra nullius ? I don't think it was ever law in Australia: in every pastoral lease agreement, there was this clause:

"And reserving to aboriginal inhabitants of the said State and their descendants during the continuance of this lease full and free right of egress and regress into upon and over the said lands and every part thereof and in and to thesprings and surface waters theris and to make and erect and to take anduse for food, birds and animals ferae naturae in such manner as they would have been entitled to if this lease had not been made."

I'm fascinated by that last phrase: Aboriginal people had these rights on Crown Land as well as pastoral leases ? So where is the Terra Nullius ? These are full usufructuary rights, all the rights that people previously had except the right to exclude others. Actually, there were other restrictions concerning keeping a mile away from homesteads and cattleyards, but the gist was (not any more) that people had those usufructuary rights.

So in the 90s, people negotiated from a position of NOTHING, when they actually had a strong base to work from, and so ended up with less than they already had. God save us from advisers and lawyers.

Joe

I just googled "ethnic tension” and this is what I got from the most popular hits prompt:

ethnic tensions in Afghanistan
ethnic tensions in Australia
ethnic tensions in Somalia
ethnic tensions in Nigeria
ethnic tensions in Iran
ethnic tensions in Chechnya
ethnic tensions in China
ethnic tensions in Indonesia
ethnic tensions in Kenya
ethnic tensions in Turkey
ethnic tensions in India

What struck me about this prompt is that all the nations listed had huge numbers of casualties, hundreds or thousands brutalized or murdered, except one....guess which one. Why is "ethnic tensions in Australia" on the top hits list of google? Who is politicizing a non event as shown by the interest factor in web hits.

Australia is not racist, Australia has imported a load of politically savvy ethnic groups that will not assimilate, the migrants from the 40's,50's, and 60's seemed to survive and prosper in this hot bed of racial hatred we call Australia.

Australian politicians have signed away our right to decide who we let become citizens. Illegal Economic refugees who jet into Indonesia to catch the ferry to Australia win eight out of ten times they take us to court to overturn an extradition order, it's a travesty.

Finally to the bleeding heart humanitarians on OLO. You are being manipulated by a Fabianesque socialist society that is itself being manipulated by the "money". I can understand how globabisation is in the "moneys" interest, but why they want a global melting pot that diffuses societies I can only see as a control factor for the later this century. The only problem that they will have is the one we are now experiencing in first western countries. That is that the Muslims do not assimilate and their cultural heritage is practiced regardless of where they are. They have beaten the west into submission with political correctness, but the Muslims do not buy that bull dust.

A last word to the ethnic whingers and idiots like Pauline Hanson, if you don't like it here, go...goodbye.

"Idiots like Pauline Hanson"?

Ummm, she did have AN AWFUL lot of people vote for her, which suggests she was not a one off.

What happened to her, well... That is the work of the various parties and demonstrates the nastiness of party politics in this Country.

But as to whether She, I or anyone else has to assimilate to a multicultural society, NO. Not going to happen, now, next week, the next year or the next life.

I like my part of society just the way it is, sure, there are some problems, but they are our problems and will be dealt with our way.

Anyone trying to "force" ethnic Australians (oxymoron if ever I saw one, you're Australian or Ethnic, one or the other), into assimilating would be hounded to the ends of the earth by the press and HREOC.

So why do people assume it is alright to "force" Pauline, Me or anyone else who has no interest in "assimilating" into a multicultural society into doing so?

Trust me, if I can't do it, you can't and you can expect a hell of a fight if you try. I come from a place where blacks and whites can and do live in a state pretty close to harmony (well with everyone but the pigs). Flinders Mall now, going on how it was a year ago, is nothing on what it was in the early-mid 90's, when groups of AJ's used to get bashed in there every weekend. The nightclub strip is pitiful now too, what is with the half dozen divy vans across from the Mad Cow & 50 odd pigs on Friday/Saturday nights?

It's getting so a man can't even have a decent brawl any more, which is a shame. Actually CJ, I'd have to suggest that parts of Townsville are more violent than anything I've yet to encounter in the major cities, over a lot less too.

Nobody's forcing you, Custard, and that is what being multicultural means - in the sociological sense of 'culture'. Freedom of expression in Australia ensures that nobody has to change their values, or beliefs, or outlooks, not you or me or any Muslim or Buddhist or fundamentalist Christian or communist or Hansonite, or any combination of the foregoing - it's all legal.

It's a liberal, multicultural society: you have all the freedoms as long as they don't intrude on anybody else's, and vice versa. You don't have to like any particular group, and they don't have to like you.

Yeah, I miss those days of biff too :(

But that is just the problem mate, I keep seeing on here how every other ethnic/cultural group but the poor old Anglo-Celt and the black fella have to change so as to assimilate into "our" new multicultural society.

If the multiculturalists had the balls to come out to where we live, live with what we live with, see what we see and see if they can do what we do, then there'd be a chance.

Quite frankly, this is the second article in 2 weeks saying that "we've" got to change, from someone who couldn't tell anyone here which Australian town/city holds the record for the hottest day & what it was...

I know, I've lived there and all about the place. My family lived there, it also did so 100 years ago and it really hasn't changed much since.

So I ask again, why should anyone else have the "right" to tell me to "Change" when I don't have the "right" to tell them to "Fit in"?

I must be dumb or something, I'm certainly not understanding this big city multicultural stuff, does that mean I have to apply to be an Aussie now? How do I know what is and is not Australian, I mean, I thought I knew, but obviously, watching the news, I'm well out of the loop. I wonder what my 2 great-grandfathers would have thought...

One was not allowed to join the Light Horse (His step-father was the AWU Secretary @ Winton during the strikes), so he joined the Infantry and the other joined the 1LHR in Adelaide at the end of a cattle drive...

I suspect they'd have no wish to take part either, so yeah, thanks for the suggestion, but you just keep it to yourselves ok?

If that makes me a racist redneck, then that makes me a racist redneck (that's still Australian right?). I strongly suspect both would have taken a dim view of being lectured by any breed of Turk, or is that just me?