It was a pleasant experience and the best meal I had in Singapore
david f,
many of us had pleasant experiences in Singapore. how many pleasant experiences have you had in Cabramatta lately ? Why not take some leftie OLOers for dinner in Lidcombe ? Let us know how you went walking home afterwards.

When my parents settled in Parramatta around the 1950s -
Foxy,
I don't think you're grasping the situation at hand. When your parents arrived in Australia they had to learn to converse with Australians just as I did in '70. But, we're not talking about that. We're talking about Australians being expected to converse with immigrants in the immigrants' language, not in Australian/English. Didn't you parents tell you that when you migrate to another country is is a pretty good idea to learn that country's language instead of expecting the country to learn your language ?

Dear Individual,

My parents did not have a language problem in their
ability to communicate with others no matter where they
lived and worked, and they did so all over the globe.
The problem arose only in this country in the 1950s - where they
were consistently reminded to "Speak English," by some.
Those were the days then - when the heritage of every
Australian was the right to be exactly the same as everybody
else. Most of us have evolved since those days.

It was not a language problem as such for my parents, it was a question
of "attitude" and it wasn't theirs but that of the locals.
Therein lay the problem.

Perhaps this following extract may help clarify things
for you and you will be reminded of those days.

"He said, "Fellow Australians, both old and new.
I'm glad to see yus all here for this important ceremony.
In welcomin' yus on behalf of Council though, I would
stress one point, important to all of yus who are wanting
to be nationalised. I would urge yus all to learn to speak
English properly. I know that, in my own particular line,
which is plumbin', I often have the greatest difficulty
in understandin' what some of yus are talking about when
you endeavour to describe what is wrong with your sinks,
baths or cisterns - as the case may be. Now, this is only
one instance of how important it is for reffos - er -
new citizens - to learn to speak English properly; I mean
ter say, if you can say "comment tallez vous" in your own
tongue, isn't it just as easy to say, "How are yus goin,"
in English? So listen to the old Aussies around yer, and in
next to no time, yus'll be spoutin' English left, right
and centre just like the best of us."

I trust that you see the humour and the irony in all of this.
And hopefully things have changed since way back then.

Cheers.

Dear Foxy,

Your post was amusing in pointing out the semi-literate patois that many Australians call English. eg 'Me and me brudder'. Gradations of approval disappear and get replaced by the all-purpose word, fantastic. Unique which meant one of a kind is used in the locutions, very unique and quite unique. If unique has gradations one needs another word to mean the absolute one-of-a-kind.

However, another reason this is is a meaningless election to me is the record of Kevin Rudd. We should be able to accept people from different linguistic backgrounds. We also should be able to accept people from any and no religious background. Kevin Rudd put chaplains in the public schools when he was in the Queensland government. Howard extended this to the nation and created the National School Chaplaincy Program. The NSCP is dominated by the primitive fundies of Scripture Union in Queensland and Access Ministries in Victoria. IMHO they have no business in the public schools. Yet Rudd is responsible for this.

I am happy that Rudd lost. I would have been happy if Abbott lost. Abbott is a buddy of the reactionary Cardinal Pell. To be a democracy in today's world I think it is necessary to have separation of religion and state. Neither party leader qualified in that area.

Dear David F.,

Australia has secular government and no official or
state religions. Religious laws have no legal status
in Australia. And yet, the li9ne between government
and religion is not always clearly drawn. The "wall
of separation" between church and state is largely a
myth. In practice, civic affairs and religion have
long been closely intertwined. Religion is an element
in oaths of office, party conventions, court-room
procedures and indeed nearly all formal public occasions.

Even the Boy Scouts give a "God and Country" award, a
phrase that implies, to say the least, a compatibility of
interest betwen the two. Political leaders always pay
at least lip service to religious beliefs. The opening of
Parliament takes place with a religious service.
Therefore the controversial issues involving the
relationship between church and state do seem likely to endure.
It will be interesting to see what Mr Abbott with his Jesuit
upbringing and his close relationship with Cardinal Pell
will bring to his role as PM. Will his disband the Royal
Commission that's looking into institutionalised child
sexual abuse? What legislation (if any) will be considered
regarding same-sex marriage, and what about issues such as -
abortion and euthanasia - to name just a few.

Friends all,
I think the election was full of meaning. It brought the humor of our mining giant, the actual depth of the big white hat, the caliber of some nitwits gun barrel and a whole host of underachieving minor runners all lined up on the fence to watch us squirm for the next three years.
Thank you Australia