There was an article in the Australian yesterday about the imminent
collapse of the Australian building industry.
There have been reports of thousands of small subbies going broke so I
presume it is moving up the industry.
Look at that then think about the 100,000s of migrants a year !

Dear Indyvidual,

«I have met quite a few people who live here but don't want to take on Australian Citizenship.»

Is it they really don't want, or that they are too honest to make a false oath, claiming to believe in and uphold some mediocre values which no intelligent person can agree with?

«I think they should be given an ultimatum of ten years or pack up & go.»

So you prefer just the spineless frauds to stay, those willing to lie under oath just so they can stay together with their Australian families, just so their Australian-born children are not sent to orphanages (well, you know what happens to them there... and what useful citizens they would become as a result).

The honest ones are probably also those who not only support themselves but are also creative, innovative and bring business into Australia, employing Australians and paying their pensions through their taxes. The ones to sheepishly obey your ultimatum are indeed also those dull and unprincipled people who are happy to grab benefits and pensions from the Australian tax-payer.

«I also know quite a few pensioners mainly men of course who opt to live out their life on the pension in a couple of Asian countries where the Australian pension appears to offer them a very good lifestyle.»

With very few exceptions, one must be an Australian resident in order to receive any Australian pension.

The people you speak of, must be living on their superannuation, which is their own money. By living in much cheaper countries, including far cheaper aged-care, they also save the Australian tax-payer from having to pay their age-pension, not to speak of Australian nursing-home beds.

Australian universities’ reliance on foreign students has always been a ‘ponzi scheme’.

In connivance with the federal uniparty, they established a structure to attract huge volumes of full-fee-paying overseas students by arranging for the world's most generous visas, working rights and opportunities for permanent residence.

Plus, lowering of academic standards to cater for students who can barely speak English. Australian students are expected to help the foreigners in group studies arrangements.

Australian universities are the biggest bludgers on foreign students in the world.

Foreign student enrolments reached a record last year - in keeping with Albanese massive increase in all immigration!

Generally I'm fine with the uniparty description of Australian politics being that the difference between the two majors is minor and that's why they end up arguing about optics, personality etc.

But with immigration, even though they each up with roughly the same policy, they come to the same conclusion for different reasons.

The ALP sees new immigrants as new voters and thus wants more of them. Its an indication of how far the ALP has moved away from being a party of the workers because in the past worker's parties opposed immigration seeing them as competition that depressed wages.

The Libs, on behalf of business, see them as consumers. A bigger population means a bigger consumer base.

So they both want more immigrants but for very different reasons. Either way, its the current resident workers who get screwed over - not that either party cares.

The same thing applied to the US...until Trump came along.

Dear Mhaze,

Very interesting analysis, so here is an idea, Trump-style, that could satisfy both parties without burdening the housing market or hurting ordinary Australians in any other way:

Auction Australian voting rights overseas!

“... come the federal election, (voters) are tasked with walking into a discount store and holding up two t-shirts, one at $2.99 and one at $2.98, and trying to decide which one is better quality when they know in their hearts they are made in the same factory and the price discrepancy is probably a typo". (Flat White, Spectator Australia)