The writer of this article does not make a distinction between perceived and real threats. And like an alchemist he transforms real threats into perceived ones. The Muslim fundamentalist threat is not imaginary but a real one. And as such, it inevitably raises the hackles of hostility of most Australians.

One should give therefore “the good old Aussie finger” to all the shallow cultural and political analysts, like Robert Manne, who are unable to make a serious contribution to the complexities that rise in a society that has a “menagerie” of different cultures in its midst, that ultimately are bound to clash with each other.

http://kotzabasis1australiaagainst.blogspot.co

Mr Nance

You are incorrect when you claim that Australians are:

"incapable of accepting fellow beings from other nations, or our own Indigenous people for that matter, as equals."

Generally, Australians are not averse to any race.

What Australians are averse to are groups or gangs who wander around this nation belting the crap out of innocent bystanders, invading and plundering their property and conducting practices which are deemed cruel or unjust by those who have been raised in a decent manner. Some offenders are of Australian descent, others just happen to be from other lands.

Mutual respect is all that most decent Australians and non-Australians expect.

My new neighbours over the road are Africans. They are the quietest neighbours in the street and probably the most courteous.

"there is still a massive amount of room for people, either immigrants or those born here, to settle and develop."

No Mr Nance...there is not. Clearly you have failed to consider the dire state of Australia's environment.

Whilst Western Australia (my state) has a mere 2 million inhabitants with a land mass exceeding that of other states, it is now deemed one of the planet's 34 environmental hotspots. Many plants, animals and ecological communities are threatened and already 1400 contaminated sites have been officially identified and with the well-overdue new legislation for mandatory reporting, a dramatic increase is predicted for this year.

Urban development is placing significant pressure on the environment and 40% of contaminated sites are identified only during land development. In addition the EPA has conceded that the drastic issue of soil erosion and salinity data for WA is inadequate. Groundwater pollutant plumes have increased in inland and bore water. Fires are having a huge impact on residential areas and pollutant industries are land-grabbing, contaminating air, soil and water and forcing citizens to relocate.

Australia should put a halt to immigration for the time-being until it cleans up its unsustainable environment - an environment already threatening its current inhabitants. These fragile eco systems will not cope with additional pressures from any significant increase in human population.

I would agree with what you say Leigh. I note you have incurred the (feeble) wrath of rainier. He makes the rattle inherent from an empty bucket as it tumbles through the insular cloisters of “academia” (never challenged by a need to earn a real living)..

As a migrant, I take issue with the authors notion that

“Let’s never forget that, excluding indigenes, we are all migrants in this place we call our home.”

I am a “migrant” – which meant I had to prove my “worthiness” before being extended the privilege of settling here (and am now a naturalized citizen and proudly call myself “Australian”, equal with any other citizen, indigene or otherwise),

One of my daughters was born here. she is not a “migrant” by matter of physical fact.

The problem with the authors statement is in perpetuates the perverse, invalid, small minded and squalid notion that because of “race”, certain Australians are distinguishable, classifiable and different to other Australians.

I have consistently held the view that all men are equal and none is more equal than another.

Notions, which support the inherent difference which the author expressed, being simply because of ones race, are not only morally indefensible but were used as justification for the slave trade of centuries past.

I guess, in the parlance of Latham, and to paraphrase him

“the author (along with rainier) are among a conga line of suckholes, on the apologist and appeasement side of Australian society”.

"The good old Aussie finger?" What is that? The Aussie fingerS consists of the "V" for victory sign with the back of the hand facing the offender. What you probably mean is the "Good old, copied from the Yank, finger."

Phoenix 2,

So, you disagree with me. Big deal.

You should get your facts right, though, if you want to take other people to task. You are obviously completely ignorant of Australia’s environment and capacity for population. “Room” has nothing to do with suitability for human occupation.

Even that darling of the left, Tim Flannery, has advised that our population should be no more than 13m.

Ranier,

When you squawk, the only thing I think of is the old Charlie Drake song, “My boomerang won’t come back.”

If the Spanish had arrived here first, they would have made short work of your mob.

Call me a racist as much as you like. I also think that you a racist and an ignorant pig: a total embarrassment to the likes of Noel Pearson.

Col Rouge,

You are living proof that many migrants are more Australian than some of the ‘ockers’ who make fools of themselves here and in society generally. I would swap Ranier and other idiots for people like you any day. The problem is, although they moan and groan about every thing Australian, they just haven’t got the guts to piss off.

Leigh: "The problem is, although they moan and groan about every thing Australian, they just haven’t got the guts to piss off."

By this logic, if anything goes wrong in the country, the people who are willing to speak up and try to fix it, should just piss off.

By this logic, we'd never change anything. Everything would remain stagnant, and our economy would fall to pieces.

By this logic, we'd never be accepting of new developments. We'd be stuck in the pass, because the people who have the guts to "moan and groan" who are also the people who see when something's wrong, would just have to "piss off."

Western nations are built on a foundation of critical appraisal leigh. It's how we developed things like freedom of speech, and averted things like dictatorships.

The line: "you don't like it, leave" is for the weak willed.

I prefer: "you don't like it, fix it."

That's what people who are ACTUALLY devoted to their country do, Leigh.

Besides, whingeing about whingers makes you a hypocrite. Even by saying things like the "piss off" line, you're "moaning and groaning" and doing exactly what you hate.