Good piece, Andrew, and written from the inside. Alas, but as always, there are people who don't even want you to say anything at all. Just keep saying it. There are lots who read, think and act responsibly.

Oh dear...why do so many have have such an animated affection for foreigners? Are the chardonnay anti-imperialists at work here? Or is it something more sinister with multiculturalism becoming code for "I hate white people" (and I am sooo ashamed to be a westerner...sob...sob).

Get real people. Multiculturalism provides some with a means for power and control as demonstrated with the jailing of One Nation founder Pauline Hanson when the popularity of the One Nation party threatended the status quo. Can't have people voting out multicult can we?

Criticism of multiculturalism comes under the banner of 'hate speech' thanks to totalitarian racial vilification laws and helps to explain why not many people dare to speak against it, even on this supposedly democratic forum.

Not all multiculturalists are against equality but all multicultural societies are houses for tinderbox inequality (France, South Africa, Sudan (ethnic genocide currently taking place), Australia (violence at Redfern, Cronulla). Need I go on...better leave before I implicate myself as breaching any racial vilification laws that jails dissenters

Seeing that the author is a refugee for him to be critical of the Australian immigration program would be biting the hand that feeds you.
I think he should just be quite and thank his lucky stars that Australia was there for him when he need it. (And that goes for all other refugee’s)
Remember the refugee needs Australia! Australia does not need refugee! So if you are one of the lucky ones who manage to get into Australia you should be seen and not heard for you have no right to speak when it comes to the issues of this great country especially when it comes to deciding who comes hear.

Yes multiculturalism is here to an extent but it does not need aggravating. Once again it a story of why do we need people who care nothing about Australia becoming two faced and calling themselves Australians? I mean what can an uneducated refugee who can’t speak English and is culturally challenged when it comes to western civilization do that people who are already hear cant? Is it becasue there is a critical shortage of goat herders, suicide bombers and mad clerics in Australia that we contiune letting these people in? Please enlighten me.

Culture:
noun: the tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group
the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization (Eg: "The drug culture")
a particular society at a particular time and place
all the knowledge and values shared by a society
a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality

So what is multiculturalism? multiperfection?? mutliknowledge? multisets of shared values?

Australia has a unique and EVERCHANGING culture - to reflect the far more mobile populations we all share on our planet. Since the advent of cheap air travel and worldwide telecommunications (and the dreaded Global Economy) the genie is OUT of the bottle, people. The pathetic attempt of some to shove their heads in the sand while vainly trying to bung the cork back in the genie's bottle is a futile attempt to go back to a fantasy of the perfect world that has never existed.

Since 1770 Australia is, and always has been, the sum of all people in it and ruled over by a plutocracy, once dedicated to the UK for it's existance and now to both the US and Japan, with China coming up on the rails...

The current Muslim fanatic 'peril' was once the 'yellow boat-people peril' post-vietnam, the 'communist hoard' post WW2, the 'wog and dago' european hoard post WW1 and the chinese and afghan hoard during the 19th century gold rush, all of whom 'threatened' to turn us into their own society where the whites were the minority.

Australia did not survive because the whites all realised the danger and banded together to force these hoards to assimilate or deported the 'fanatics'. We survived because there is no threat to a society ruled by the wealthy.

Unless the morons can all stop fighting with themselves and see just who truly benefits most from any society in opposition to itself. And who are the ultimate 'losers'.

Thank you Andrew for a stimulating and challeging article. I was encouraged by Don Aitken's post to add my support.

My current focus is public education in rural Australia. Current political trends surely do advance "an agenda of supercilious and corrosive superiority, with an absolute disregard for the consequences." People of goodwill have been standing by. Probably because the political management of education in Australia gives lipservice to social justice. But the thrust of the educational change that is being promoted by government is towards requiring the narrow, exclusive and superior values of a conservative Australia that never really existed anyway.

Teachers in their community schools are still grappling with the task of learning for the realities of living in the ways that you described. Let the values of multiculturalism prosper, to enable the learners in those schools to contribute to "a modern cosmopolitan society."

The multi cultural question is resolved - it is part of us. So I have know idea what the fuss is all about"<sneekepete
As I type this in an extreme majority all white suburb, I cant help but think that statement is incorrect. The only time I am an active participant in this policy is when I eat chinese food.

As of last year we just excepted African refugees. Its obvious that the relocation from a poor african country to an australian suburb benefits the african refugees, but can you point out how this will benefit the majority of people in my suburb?
is it another case of extreme minority wins out against majority?(where not even asked the question *do you want to except refugees?*, b4 it is shoved on us!)
do you put a new piece of fruit and a dance move(multiculturalism) above the peacefulness and cohesian of the current community?

WHAT WILL MY COMMUNITY GAIN FROM THIS (african refugees)? AND WHAT CAN THE COMMUNITY STAND TO LOOSE FROM THIS? <fair commonsence question, wheres the on air live national debate about such fundamental issues?
Fact is, they need to learn(I could make a statment in these brackets but am worried about free speech in this country) alot of things to get on in this community i.e: english, how to drive a car, the currency,etc etc etc.
if we need Immigrants(i.e labour), would it not be an economically and socially a better option(not to mention common sense)to pick someone from i.e britain whos culture, language, way of life etc was considerably more closer to us.
there are enough british immigrants to choose from, as they are leaving there country at an exponential rate(can you put to and to together.)

I am a human and I have a soul, and when I see people starving in certain countries etc, i say i would like to help them, BUT NOT at the peril of myself family and friends, my freedom to feel safe and general way of life, we need to support them in their country