Boazy: "... I see I have still some work to do, in order to bring you fully into the fold of enlightened white people :) dig dig.."

Yawn.

Leigh: "All immigration to Australia should cease, and those people already here who are not citizens should be repatriated."

Zzzzzz.

I am constantly amazed that eloquent, educated, well read people like, for want of an example Andrew Leigh, can be succered in to believing the economy crap.

"We need immigration to keep the (untouchable on a pedestal) ECONOMY going or it will fall over and we will all die"

What absolute crap! If we intelligent people can't work out a system which will work within our replenishable resource limits we are doomed. And why? because we believe what the advertising guru's for banks and real estate companies tell us.

What has this to do with immigration? Heaps! Everyone on the planet can NOT live in Australia, Germany, The US or any other 'First World' country for that matter. When are we going to see what is going on and do something that will encourage people to stay in their country of origin. Education is the answer. Free education for people from third world countries and send them back with support mechanisms built in to enhance what they have learned. Difficult, you bet, impossible, you bet, but we can not keep heading down this road or the whole world will look like Egypt in less than 100 years.

Spend our money on improving these countries so they can stand up by themselves and we will all be better off and better regarded for the effort.

Academics are a constant worry to me. I wonder how some can be so well educated and lack practicality and common sense. This auther is no exception.

He says "A spate of studies suggest that continued high levels (of immigration) will most likely bring a raft of economic and social benifits". Wrong, wrong, wrong. Studies here show that the opposite is the most likely outcome. Benefits of high immigration are dubious at the best. Social impact is to lower the quality of life for citizens.

He also says "Lower immigration would impose an economic cost, barring businesses from importing much needed skills". Wrong again!
Shortage of skilled labour here is a result of poor planning and committment by Governments and business. Ethically, what right do we have to poach skilled people from poorer countries, that need their skilled workers far more than we do. We have to train our own.

He appears to argue for high Immigration, with diversity yet conceeds that the effects of diversity is less trust in communities.
He believes we can overcome the trust factor by educating the population.

This bloke needs a good dose of practicality or a real job in the real world.

Hooray! Perhaps all is not lost – if the tired old wimp, Howard, eventually stands aside for Peter Costello.

Costello said today that certain people with dual citizenship who do not work for Australia instead of against it should have their Australian citizenship stripped from them.

Pendulums eventually swing the other way and, although it is taking a lot of time, the MC/PC madness infecting Australia must be swept aside eventually

Are these new threads fire resistant? Lets hope so, for their sake.

The history of this country is based on bringing out immigrants for maximising profits and exploitation of the land. Briefly, in order to colonise the country a very cheap source of labor was required with minimum rights. In Britain, a colonial policy squarely aimed at those most suitable for hard work was drawn up and deportation laws enacted. As well, in tandem, there was the inclusion of the murderous policy from the Colonial Office in London to clear aboriginals off the land.This policy would later be ratified so that there were no future claims on the land.
After the Chinese immigrants did most of the backbreaking work on the railways, a capaign was whipped up to demonise them; (the white Australia policy) many were hung and others fled inland to work on sheep properties subject to the most menial slave type conditions.
The government policy is bring out immigrants to work under the most minimal wages and conditions, as well as, creating a surplus or reserve army of workers to depress wages and keep them low. Moreover, when it is convenient, the governments both Labor and Liberal have a long sordid history of scapegoating immigrants for either some of the ills in society or to cover up for precisely what the politicians are doing.
Through the very practise the politicians carry out this creates a lot of anxiety in society and this anger is often diverted or manipulated outwards by blaming others, and instituting fear and ignorance. The politicians laugh about this and describe it as a 'series of buttons you press' to get a certain reaction. Racism is in reality a tool used to create divisions in society - to divide the most powerful force in history the working class.