Living with any aspect of your particular culture is always restricted with respect to the law of this Nation. If you care to actually read up on the government website re Multi-cultural policy you will see that this is so.

Our multicultural policy actually explicitly makes a statement regarding respect of Australia's laws, values AND other cultures. It is not just about nurturing one's own and damn any other or disregarding the law.

Obnoxious behaviour is not the prerogative of any particular culture I'm sorry to tell you. Neither is historical prejudice and hatred towards another. Are those prejudices and hatreds cast in stone? Of course not.

What I find offensive is when nationalistic and patriotic behaviour intrudes. Like some of the flag waving. A flag is a National symbol, not a cultural symbol. This incidentally also goes for some of the Australian flag waving I've recently seen. This is my nation's flag I've seen some dropkicks misuse for their own purposes.

Each Australian citizen has their particular family culture and ethnic culture, with the Australian constitution and laws and Australian flag unifying us all. Go to a citizenship ceremony and see the pride and emotion of new citizens. They are all compatible immigrants, because they chose to be.

David

You say, "large numbers of Asians have moved into' Bennelong. If they are not Australian citizens they can't vote - so the word 'Asians' is misleading. Nor are they one single entity. In Bennelong the big groups include diverse voters with Korean, Chinese and Japanese backgrounds.

You cite no evidence for your sweeping claim: "Asians tend to vote labor more than coalition." The facts are: "It's not the case that the resulting new [Asian-background] electors are ALP voters - at the last federal election they broke slightly in favour of the Libs, but they have replaced generally WASPs, who tended to break two to one against the ALP." (The Australian, 27/2/2007)

George Megalogenis says Howard achieved a swing to him in 2001, when the defining issue was border protection. The Asians swung with him then, albeit not as strongly as the WASP areas of Bennelong." (ibid) And this in the face of Howard contradictions: his anti-Asian comments on the one hand and record immigration from Asia under his government on the other hand.

Howard, himself, says: "I find with migrants in my electorate, those of Asian background, that many of them do share those small business, family (values),...many Asians, of course, come from an English-speaking background" (ibid). So your glib race-based explanation why 'Asians' vote ALP is specious.

You emphatically endorse Howard's words: "We.. determine who comes here, and under what circumstances they come". Students of Australian history know that these are a paraphrase of Sir Alexander Downer - father of current Foreign Minister - in 1958 while abolishing the infamous dictation test (Leck & Templeton, Bold Experiment; a documentary history of Australian immigration since 1945, OUP 1995 p. 176)

Your snide conclusion is absurd: "...due to demographic changes of a particular racial flavor, and some electoral boundary re-alignment, our 2nd longest serving prime minister could lose his own seat ! Now..THAT is political instability based on race/culture."

Twaddle! If Howard loses it will be because of unfair IR laws, high interest rates, corruption (AWB), moral turpitude (illegal invasion of Iraq), neglect (water and climate change) etc.

Quite so, Frank - but since when has our brownshirted Crusader let mere reality get in the way of a good racist rant?

If a Muslim had made similarly false claims, old Boazy would undoubtedly proclaim them as 'taqiya'. I'm not sure whether there's an exact Christian eqiivalent - 'bearing false witness' perhaps?

Of course, there is a perfect Aussie term that this site regards as profane, which has a very similar meaning to 'bulldust'.

Frank...thanx for that perspective. I should have made the point that I was actually quoting a news item, so they were not in reality my own claims ("Asians tend to vote Labor") It was the view of a political commentator.

I fully realize that 'Asian' is not one particular race, as you rightly pointed out. It was not relevant to my point.

If the political commentator was correct, (and I appreciate and welcome your well sourced evidence to the contrary) then what I stated holds quite well. Lets not forget the actual central issue, that sloppy immigration administration can indeed lead to the things I pointed out.

I'm probably reflecting my own life experience where in Sabah the Muslim chief ministers always brought 'refugees' from the Southern Philippines (Muslim) and the Catholic one brought 'refugees' from Timor (Christian area). i.e. 'Refugees'='votes'.

I'm simply emphasising that undue attention to careful policy will have negative results.
I absolutely maintain my support for Howard in his "We...determine" soundbite, but don't take that as uncritical support for him or his party.

A previous point you made about the need for careful argument and supporting evidence is not lost on me, I'll seek to do better.

CJ I would have thoght the needle continually rasping over the same track on the broken record of 'Boazy the racist' was worn beyond use,.. apparently not :)

I am wondering in which country both an author and too many disputants live in.

Racism and xenophobia were, are and if nothing changed dramatically, to be a grounding stone of/for a UK-courtyard called Australia.

An expression an "Australian-born Chinese man" sounds illogical to me as it highlights geography as a common denomination for a nation only.

TRTL. No mate, won't see me advocating lynch mobs, what's done is done. I do, however, think it wise to change direction sooner rather than later. After all, we have to think of our kids, don't we. My father migrated from the Uk to Australia in the 60's on the hunch that the country was going down the pan, largely thanks to certain immigration policies. Having lived there only a few years back for a number of years I can't disagree with him. I've been based outside of Aus for almost 10 years now, and everytime I go back I worry if we are going the same way. I can't help feeling that it is well meaning 'fair go' people like yourself that will ultimately contribute towards this situation.