There are hidden benefits to our migration policy.

Last time that I was in Sydney I was able to save quite a bit of money, I'd been planning a trip to a Muslim country to savor the culture and cuisine but I went to Belmore on my pensioners' day ticket and I was transported to the Middle East.

I'm told that had I had the time and some remaining inclination I could have visited simulations of other Arab countries by catching the next train.

Fascinating.

Is Mise,
We have Epping, Dandenong and Broadmeadows as our multicultural theme parks, the Liberals and Leftists love their ethnic themed nights out but it's much safer and nicer to get your Kibbeh,Rogan Josh or Laksa in Fitzroy, Williamstown or South Yarra. That's one thing outer suburban ethnic restaurants and local pubs have in common, no twittering ninnies like Suse and Foxy at the next table swilling white burgundy and boasting about their multicultural credentials, people go there because the food is cheap, the servings are generous and the service prompt and efficient.

Dear Jay,

My goodness, the things that you see - "a few white
kids wearing headphones, with their eyes downcast"
How dramatic!
Then you tell us all about Preston Girls Secondary
College and your reasons for its closure. Lebanese
Muslims. Really?
I suggest
you Google the real reasons for the closure - and also
read the speeches made by seniors of the school at
their last school assembly. As well as the many comments
from parents of the girls. You might get a totally
different picture to the one you're presenting to us
here. It's all very well to accuse others of bias,
strawmen arguments, et cetera, when you seem to have
mastered that art so well yourself.

Dear Banjo,

Years ago assimilation sounded like a noble political
idea, but in practice it smacked of cultural genocide.
Surely it would have been better to give our ethnic
minorities a choice between the invisibility of assimilation
and the drama of separateness. A choice of the extremes
or of any point between.

As I stated earlier they had
a right to be different, to protect their traditions (providing
they didn't break our laws), and to remember their languages.

Yes, this would have caused problems in a society that
saw homogeneity as not only desirable but mandatory. There
would have been tensions between the etnic groups and "us."
not to mention between and within the ethnic groups
themselves. And sadly, many of the problems that would have
developed would have impinged on the children of the
communities as they'd fight their disapproving parents for
the right to go to a dance, for the right to choose a
partner "outside."

Yes, it would have been difficult - and we would have wanted
to intervene when we saw those children subjected to
extreme authoritarianism. But hey, we would have ended up
in the process with a more vigorous, exciting, Australia, and in
the end, through interaction and discussion, we would have
sorted the problems out.

Oh wait, that's exactly what we did.

You can't go back to the past. Try contributing
positively to the future.

Foxy,
In the last 40 years or so many immigrants have came from countries with cultures completely divorced from, and nothing like the Westminster system. To encourage these people to keep their traditional cultural practices is folly and works against the basis of our society. They openly show contempt for us, our laws, standards and community involvement.

History is valuable because it teaches us lessons. People who do not value history will go on and make the same mistakes over again. It is important to recognise when something is not working. Such as the integration of some groups.

Australia really needs to modify its immigration policies.

Dear Jay,

In the past you had to travel the globe
(which, thanks to multi-cultral marketing,
media and technology was suffering from
galloping homogeneity) to see worlds that
contrasted with our own. Today, in a
multi-cultural society, as even you
have noticed (thanks to the wide variety
of now available foods that differ greatly
from skewered corned beef awash in tomato
sauce, mashed potatoes strained with two slices
of beetroot), such experiences are within
walking distance, or over the back fence, (or
in restaurants, as you point out). Good heaven,
you could even risk inviting people inside.

You could even abandon your racist bodgie-isms
and become a multi-cultural mod.
You might even try to see a film with
writing-on-the-bottom - that might be educational.
Perhaps then you'd realise that the world doesn't
end sharply a few miles beyond St Kilda beach.

Foxy,
It's all about the food isn't it? That's because the expanded range of dining options for middle class Whites is the only tangible artifact of 40 years of Third World immigration.
Let's skip the obvious points about how unhealthy commercially prepared ethnic foodstuffs are and examine the economics.
Foxy how do you think an ethnic restauranteur can serve up a bowl of Pho or a plate of Pakoras for $6? I personally don't care if the waiters and kitchen workers are being paid $5 an hour or that the owners are mostly trading while insolvent, free of state intervention the market decides the price.
You however profess a social conscience, don't you think it's a little hypocritical that you'd be a party to the exploitation of workers?
Maybe you'd be be a better citizen if, like my old mum you invested in some cook books and prepared all that yummy ethnic food yourself?
Be truthful, when you eat home cooked food with people of other ethnic backgrounds on a regular basis you get some variation of meat and three veg plus carbohydrates and fruit day in, day out. Why? Because the old diets are nutritious, contain plenty of fibre, protein and vitamins and the commercially available "ethnic" foods are full of salt, sugar and fat.
Foods go in and out of fashion, because of advances in transportation and expanded global tourism there would have been ethnic food crazes here regardless of whether we had Third World immigration or not. Furthermore wouldn't it be better for our people to aspire to travel the world and experience other societies rather than take the lazy route and try to create facsimiles and theme park suburban strips at home?