<< When we talk about numbers can we ignore where the numbers are coming from – their circumstances of departure would impact arrival and any costs associated with them. >>

Jewely, yes there are very different costs associated with immigrants from England and Ethiopia, for example. But the difference in this sort of cost is just completely overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of our immigration intake.

I have strongly argued for years that we should greatly reduce our immigration rate to about net zero and within this, double the refugee component. We would then be accommodating something like 25 000 of the world’s most needy people per annum within a total immigration intake of about 30 000.

The per-capita costs of setting these people up as ‘normal’ Australian citizens would be high, but the overall costs compared to those associated with out current immigration program would be much less…….. and we’d be greatly improving our national humanitarian effort on the world stage. Oh, and we’d be able to stabilise our population and have some hope of living sustainably!

<< Whine Swan is pleading poverty in spite of having the greatest revenue stream ever. >>

Yes, Shadow Minister, it’s absolutely crackers, isn’t it!

How can the whining goose be saying this?? What he’s really saying is that Labor’s economic management is just hopeless. He’s also very strongly implying that all the massive amount of economic growth generated by record-high immigration isn’t helping at all!!

<< …the difficulty in creating a surplus is more to do with Labor's lavish spending on failed policies public servants and pork barrelling than a lack of fiscal income. >>

I’m not sure it is. There is certainly mismanagement here, on a grand scale, but by far the most important thing is surely the ever-rapidly-increasing demand for everything and ever-rapidly-increasing pressure on infrastructure and services, generated by humungus population growth, most of which is due to record-high immigration.

Our daft economists and politicians can only see one side of this – the economic growth or supply side of the equation, and are just about blind to the economic demand side or to the non-existent average per-capita economic growth factor.

In the decades following WWII, there were strong economies of scale associated with immigration. But now the diseconomies of scale far outweigh them.

This absurd locked-into-very-rapid-growth syndrome is by far the worst aspect of Labor’s fiscal mismanagement. And alas, the Libs are just as bad.

I don’t get it Ludwig, I pottered about and read some stuff and although on OLO I see immigrants, boat people, asylum seekers, and refugees being talked about similar to locust invasions I can’t find why they are talked about in this way.

As at 11 March 2011, there were 6819 people in immigration detention, including 4304 in immigration detention on the mainland and 2515 in immigration detention on Christmas Island.

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/research/_pdf/csam-results-2010.pdf
How new migrants fare:
Analysis of the Continuous Survey of Australia’s Migrants

http://www.hreoc.gov.au/human_rights/immigration/asylum_seekers.html
Asylum seekers and refugees

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/BN/sp/Asylumfacts.htm#_Toc280780944
Asylum seekers and refugees: what are the facts?
“While only about 20 developed nations, including Australia, participate formally in the UNHCR’s refugee resettlement program, the vast majority of asylum seekers and refugees are hosted in developing countries. “

In 2009, Australia received 6170 asylum applications, just 1.6 per cent of the 377 160 applications received across 44 industrialised nations ... Of the 44 nations; Australia was ranked 16th overall and was 21st on a per capita basis.
http://www.asrc.org.au/media/documents/how-we-compare-internationally.pdf

http://news.overseas.com.au/9231814.html
Wednesday 27th of April 2011
Australian Government Says No to Plea for 20,000 Refugees
“The current Humanitarian Program quota translates as 10 refugees for every 10,000 Australians and is not spectacularly generous.”

Well .....wont this be a nice show-down:) Its a game of how, out of the 2&3 worlds will chase the firsts up the tree:) NOW! Where is Paul-en Hanson?...lol....Jokes a side:)

If you dont qualified for mutuality......well....good by.

Dont bring your ill feelings here mate! Apparently we all have work to go to.

LEAP