It does not take long to discover that we all have a streak of prejudice within us which, at times, seems a compulsion. While we all like to think of ourselves as tolerant people, even passionate in our belief that all are equal, it's apparent that we all have a continuing obligation to work on our attitudes. We regularly hear of grievances in connection with which ethnic background, or some similarly irrelevant difference, is blamed. It is of course, the height of arrogance to believe that we are superior to others yet this attitude is hard to eradicate. Sometimes our suspicious approach to those who seem different appears to be heightened by media presentations that distort and aggravate incidents. And at times this almost appears malicious.

We should remember that every group that has come to Australia has faced a lot of intolerance and whoever are the last group to come in will be copping the intolerance now.

PP I neglected to address the ticking time bomb.

The ticking time bombs are the enclaves of unemployed immigrants who are over represented in the unemployment statistics. This dependence on the State keeps the community insular but that has a value to them as a community support mechanism, but it defines them, both to themselves and the wider community.

If we could give the second wave of migrants the opportunity that awaited the post war immigrants we would not be having this discussion. Nor a discussion on ethnic youth crime.

Most of the above is also pertinent to the Aussie of several generations in regard to unemployment and the crime that stems from that. All our kids, no matter what State they live in face an official unemployment rate of 30%, but in reality it is markedly higher. The youth of today are not morally corrupt, they are unemployed. Ethnic youth are not anti Australian, they are unemployed.

PP my point is not the sanctity of a bygone Australia; it is about bringing migrants with no skills into a workforce with no work. The only ones to gain from a higher population and no further economic output is the corporate’s that own and control everything we eat drink wear etc, they are pro more consumers, productive or not, the government will support the ones with no work, they still consume.

Otokonoko, what many of these people speak as english may be fine for you with a multi-lingual background, but it doesn't work for me.

I have stopped dealing with a number of companies who have connected me to call centers in the subcontinent, or the Philippines, when I tried to contact them. May be you would have found what the people in these centers were speaking was some sort of English, but it sure wasn't what I can recognise as such.

I suppose you class Australia as an English speaking country. If so you are kidding yourself. My recent experience in Parramatta for example was 100% non English speaking. I approached 12 people, asking for directions, & not one spoke English.

My experience in Fairfield was little different. It was the eighth person I asked for direction who could answer me. They did observe that it was unusual to hear English spoken in the district.

Lexi, it is your arrogance that is breath taking. Thankfully not all of us aim quite as low as you, in their aspirations.

With attitudes like yours this country is lost to those who built it. It is unlikely today that with the current population, we could ever defend it, & perhaps it is no longer worth defending.

Otokonoko the point to the thread is that we cannot support a higher population base; the infrastructure is failing and abysmal right now in every capital and regional city in Australia due to neglect and successive governments waste and short sightedness. But to answer your question on English speakers

"2001 census: Australians with English as a first language 15,013,965, out of 21,394,309." Otokonoko that is a quarter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population

I haven’t faced intolerance Lexi – unless jokes about sheep are the way locals express that, or merely an odd sense of humor. One young male here thought he was abusing me by calling me a pakeha. Which what I have always called myself on NZ govt forms etc.

Cheers Gloin, I am practicing the “ee” sounds. My 18 year old sounds more Aussie than anyone I’ve met here after three… nearly 4 years. Her most recent job she got because she looked and sounded so classically Australian and that is why her Asian boss wanted her front of shop. Funny eh.

Is English particularly hard to learn?

These people are in the world already, they just need spreading round a bit.

I know water comes up in these threads but then other threads point out how that could be managed better.

So this thread is more about managing people as they arrive and that isn’t being done?

Don’t people create employment as they consume, build, travel, and become educated?

Are the resources all here just not good plans in place? Or do you think it just is not and will not be workable?

You failed to highlight one simple statistic, sonofgloin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population

97.03% of Australians speak English.

Admittedly, that's not quite as high a percentage as exist among the 67,000 people of American Samoa, or the 3,500 of the Chagos Islands, or the 80,000 folk in the Isle of Man, or the 280,000 in Barbados.

But it's a pretty impressive proportion, nevertheless.

What exactly are you scared of?