Saltpetre "making practically no sense, and offering so very little by way of reason or justification for all manner of outlandish and 'engineered' provocations."

Quote me.
My comments are meticulously coherent, honest and realistic.

"you, Mr Shockadelic Sir, are very definitely no gentleman"

Yawn.

"trying their best not to deviate from acceptable cultural norms"

But what are the "norms" of 6000 different cultures?
Where is the "harmoniously" going to come from?

You could possibly have "harmony" with closely related peoples (although no guarantee. See Yugoslavia).

But you reject such reasonable limitations (White Australia policy).

Assimilation could also produce harmony.
People of many backgrounds, but all adopting a common culture.

But you reject that model too.

6000 cultures, most with unrelated histories, living side by side.
That's discordant, not harmonious.

Deviants, rogues, the lost? WTF?
You mean losers.

Well look at the countries immigrants are now coming from.
Winners or losers?

We used to take the winners (Whites/Europeans).
We could have expanded the range to others who have proven themselves winners (Japanese, South Koreans), but no, that would still mean mostly Whites.

Sensible, but "offensive", so now we take anything.
Kiss your civilised society goodbye.

I love how Foxy, et al. are always declaring threads finished.
Then return the next day.

Foxy,
No genuine Australian would disparage Australia by claiming 'facts' of racism with incorrect and unfounded items. So yes you are diametrically the opposite to what the essence of being Australian is.

No Australian would misrepresent his country that way.

Remember, you said, "People who are in denial about racism in this country are simply ignorant. Lets look at the facts - we imprison
brown asylum seekers, we once celebrated our national day
with a white racist riot. There were assaults on Indian
students, a little political organisation called
One Nation, and of course "the intervention" - the heraldic
beak on our long hawkish treatment of Indigenous Australians".
Foxy, OLO Friday 18-4-2014 12.18.35

Pity you do not have enough character to admit you stated that, and that it is wrong, and you were wrong to make such utterances.

Shocker,

>Assimilation could also produce harmony.
People of many backgrounds, but all adopting a common culture.<

Now you're getting the picture; assimilation through integration - in a supportive and welcoming 'environment' (read: culture).
Reservations? Sure, but no-one would sanely suggest that it would be easy.

Why bother? Look around; we (Oz) are now part of a global community, and it seems clear that we can neither stay a small and 'closed' community (for obvious security and economic reasons), nor are we realistically in a position to be absolutely 'pick and choosey' about who we might wish to join us in building our economy and our 'resilience' to withstand external shocks.

Who's to say that who we might otherwise 'pick' (from the seemingly preferred 'Anglo-sphere') would always ultimately prove to have the greatest potential to contribute to our economy and our culture?
Selecting only those most 'like' ourselves in all past immigration 'programs' would surely have restricted us to a much less dynamic, colourful and 'interesting' (and inherently 'capable') culture than we enjoy today.
In many respects we have evolved as a microcosmic community, incorporating beneficial elements of very many of the world's dynamic cultures - I suggest to our ultimate advantage.

The world is in disarray, with much population pressure. As a responsible member of the global community, we (Oz), being seen as having 'capacity', are expected to play our reasonable part in absorbing and integrating some of the mass of those displaced by innumerable conflicts not of their own making.

We have capacity, and we have a tested and proven integration model.
The rest is up to us.

Not that it would it be in our interest to just open the doors to a flood of uncontrolled immigration in a vain and ill-construed rush to 'big Australia', but neither can we sit back and turn a blind eye to so much human distress.

Plenty of problems 'at home', for which adequate solutions have proved elusive; we need some new 'vision'. Walking a few yards in someone else's shoes may help us to acquire that vision.

"assimilation through integration"

Two different things.
Which do you support?
Assimilation is them adopting our ways.
Integration is a blend or synthesis.

Both are not multiculturalism.

"we (Oz) are now part of a global community"

Always were.
We don't have to become "the world" to interact with it.

"nor are we realistically in a position to be absolutely 'pick and choosey'"

Yes we are.
If you want to steal other countries' nurses or miners, why not steal White ones?

There are plenty of Whites left behind in former colonies, and plenty in Europe getting sick to death of multiculturalism.

If they knew we were a pro-White nation, there'd be a queue half way around the world to get here.

Taking unrelated people from the Third World drains them of what little human resources they have (brain drain), and irreversibly changes our own demographics.
Lose, lose.

"restricted us to a much less dynamic, colourful and 'interesting' culture"

The "others" have no influence beyond our next meal.

Western civilisation in the past century has been overwhelmingly eclectic.
*Internally*.
No need for shock treatment to get the neurons firing.

This is the Information Age.
Google it, download it, fax it, duplicate it, add to cart.
No need to move people half way around the planet to get ideas.

"being seen as having 'capacity'"

Exasperated sigh.
But we don't!
This land is mostly desert!

We have already build upon much of the fertile land and our cities' infrastructure can't keep up with population growth.

"neither can we sit back and turn a blind eye to so much human distress."

If you want to help, address the problems as they exist in their homelands.

Taking a tiny fraction of their population does nothing but flatter your ego.

"Plenty of problems 'at home',"

Yes, like 700,000 unemployed and 100,000 homeless.
Where's their "better life"?

Our prime responsibility (if we do have such a thing) to "humanity" are those *already* living in our community.

No more immigration until all those people have jobs and homes, eh?

Shocker and Saltpetre,
You two blokes seem confused and both are putting the emphasis on the wrong criteria for immigrants/refugees.

Instead of 'white' versus 'Diversity', why not put more emphasis on the cultural practices that are detrimental to a cohesive society. Things like, imported hatreds of others, those that fight over religious differences, Those that persist in continuing alien practices like underage marriage, forced marriage, polygamy, FGM and continuing cockfighting.

Most immigrants integrate and there are only a few groups that persist in alien ways and practices.

Would it not be far easier to stop allowing in people from the groups that have shown us they have contempt for our laws and society, by continued alien practices.

If people are prepared to integrate and respect our laws/society it does not matter if they are physically different or have a different religion, if any. There is no need to have diversity just for the sake of it either. That does not earn us brownie points or improve our cohesion.

Banjo "Instead of 'white' versus 'Diversity', why not put more emphasis on the cultural practices that are detrimental to a cohesive society."

Whites are diverse!
Look at this language map of Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rectified_Languages_of_Europe_map.png

Every language has a people/culture. Some more than one people.

Only people who know nothing about history would say White immigration would be boringly monocultural.

How do we know which non-European *individuals* are going to engage in these behaviours?
Because they didn't tick the box?

We can safely presume that the Irish, Swedes and Latvians don't.

"it does not matter if they are physically different"

It matters to my amygdala and I'm getting a little tired (literally) of it thinking I need to "fight, flee or freeze" every two metres.

There's enough stress in modern life already.

It might matter to future generations who, like most people who've ever lived, want to feel connected to kin and historical continuity.

Human minds can't function in a vacuum (though Foxy is trying).

I can't look at ancient Chinese art, Aztec pictographs, Arabian mosques or African masks and think "My people".

I might think "Ooh, wow, interesting", but I don't think "I'm connected to that".

What are future Australians going to think when they look back at the photographs and statues of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries?: "WTF is that?"