We should welcome all foreign students and showcase our exemplary legal system, and our fair free and honest society, and lead the world by example. We don’t of course, because we don’t have a fair free and honest society, or an exemplary legal system. Oh yes we used to have one, before 1970, In New South Wales at least, but now we have gone atheist or pagan. I am sure most students from totalitarian regimes feel right at home.

When we had the revolution in 1972, led by the Labor Party, and set up the Republic of Australia, with a self governing Mini republic in the Federal and Family Court, we had no lawyers prepared to tell us we were going wrong. When we elevated our Lawyers to the Rank of Ayatollah, our foreign students felt right at home. So to do the Muslim Australians, who have been coming in increasing numbers. A student from Zimbabwe, or Singapore, found the same kind of Judge as they have at home. Our technology is pretty good, and our education in everything except law, is great. We do good science, we do good business, but we do shocking law.

Like Mohammedans, we have prophets who write rules. These Rules, were made paramount in 1970, in New South Wales when the Ayatollahs took over. We are now called to prayer in the House of Blasphemy, they still call the Supreme Court, but we cannot get justice there. We cannot get justice, because justice is now sold as it was in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, and still is in many of the countries where our foreign students come from, to the highest bidder.

The English took the New Testament to heart and decided on Christian Government in 1215. The Magna Carta became binding law, in 1297. It is the passage of Matthew 18 Verses 15 -20, expressed in Statute law, and it was overruled in New South Wales in 1970.

If we want to make a real difference to the World, before we criticize it, we should take the plank out of our own eye

Thanks Pericles and Bugsy. I've been trying to point out the economic importance to Australia of overseas students in general, and Indian students in particular, since the last mostly xenophobic thread inspired by violence towards Indian students [ http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2827#64373 ]. However, most OLO commenters haven't wanted to know.

What I find interesting in this thread is the insinuation that our provision of fee-paying education to foreign students is somehow responsible for deficiencies in Australian education systems in general. As I've also been suggesting, if those who make such insinuations actually bothered to do a modicum of research on the subject, they'd find that Australian universities and students have been increasingly subsidised by fee-paying overseas students.

The situations in primary, secondary and VET education are somewhat different, but I think to try and associate poor literacy and numeracy in schools, and the decline of industry-based training, on the export tertiary education sector is misdirected at best, and malicious at worst.

There are certainly issues with quality control in all educational enterprises, but as Pericles says the tendency by some to "...view such a clear export success as being a problem can only indicate a knee-jerk fear of dem furriners", and that's not only an indictment of those who hold such xenophobic views, but also quite literally a threat to Australia's economic well-being.

As a member of Australian Union movement, member of AMWU- Printing Division - South Australia I call the secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Jeff Lawrence and the National Secretary of Australian Manufacturing Workers Union , Dave Oliver to ask the government, the soonest posible, for the following :
1) cansel immediatly working permision for all foreign students with visas before 26 April 2008.
2) stop giving permision for work to any new foreign student.
3) decrease the working time of foreign students with visas after 26 April 2008 from 20 hours a week during academic semesters TO 10 HOURS PER WEEK and decrease the full-time during vacation periods TO 20 HOURS PER WEEK.
In these difficult days for Australian labours and their families we Must protect the basic benefits of our members and all Australian labours.
Antonios Symeonakis
Member of Australian Union Movement
Adelaide

If you are really serious about that Antonios, I would suggest that you contact the NTEU and the NUS before going much further.

I think Antonios may have misunderstood what is going on here.

The clue comes from these remarks of his:

>>Undouptly there is a cost of the high number of foreign students in Australia. Undouptly many billion dollars go to business's hands.<<

As I think we have managed to uncover quite explicitly, there is no "cost" involved in the use of our education system by overseas students. Only revenue.

The "many billions", as the report makes abundantly clear, goes into the Australian economy principally in three ways: fees, paid to the education establishment, accommodation, which goes to predominantly private landlords, and food, which - if students haven't changed much over the years - goes mainly to the corner milk bar.

The report even takes a stab at quantifying the additional revenues that come from visiting friends and relatives, so tourism gets a slice of the action too.

All of which makes Antonios' next sentence very difficult to understand:

>>While we do not know what they do all this money and I do not trust them I know who pay the cost for the big number of foreign students!<<

Actually, we do know specifically what they do with all this money. And they themselves "pay the cost", by bringing truckloads of money into Australia.

I sense his gripe is that they are allowed to do a limited amount of part-time work. I think this issue should be viewed against the significant number of jobs their presence creates.

Comment 1.
The importance of addressing your concerns is where they need to be addressed. I would state this should be government policy.
Do not lay blame against foreign students, who are trying to gain the best qualification to find a better life. Their own country is probably unable to provide sufficient places in their system, or that a "foreign qualification has a greater credence in their own country.
However, I do recognise the need and the right to address the Australian citizens’ concerns to government and not let political PR machine “flim flam” the public with its spin doctoring.
While the government has approved employing of foreign students, (adding to the competition for job vacancies), one has to question what rate of pay and how is this monitored?
I have spoken to many students door knocking sales for web services, power utilities and even telephone contracts.
You would be horrified how industry exploits these students. One student I spoke to had worked all day door knocking and earned approximately $10 for his efforts.
At the same time government and industry combined together to exploit or discriminate against Australians. These Australians are exploited through a system of part time or casual employment at minimum wages. Employed part time, etc, it is difficult to get out of the minimum wage pattern. Under the present Industrial Relations system and commercial job placement, each new employer is entitled to employ them at this rate.
Regards
professori_au