Multiculturalism and mass immigration, Victoria’s thirst for ‘diversity’, has exacerbated the China virus problems in that state, where health warnings had to be sent out in 53 different languages (with police still having to door knock warnings) to migrant ghettos and high rise apartment blocks. Some people even came up with the idea it was against their religion to use sanitiser on their hands.

Cultural and language barriers are a real issue in Australia, now a country of tribes. One in twenty five people living in Australia have poor or no English language skills. Yet, the Morrison government, worried about the drop in immigration due to the China virus restrictions, is going to indulge itself in “partner immigration” for more people who will not have to be able to speak English before they come here.

Oh yes, they will have to learn English jolly soon after they arrive, Morrison says. But, once they are here, who is going to enforce that ‘requirement’, particularly with all the shrieks of ‘racism’ if anyone actually did try it.

ttbn,

Morrison is trying his hardest to get the states to open their borders so that he can justify opening the international border to mass migration of cashed up Chinese and low paid workers from the Asian mainland.

Why do we need everyone to speak English in what is now an Asian nation-state that is supposed to mirror the ethnic and cultural makeup (and in some ways the biogeographical spatiality) of Asia?

Otherwise what purpose has the Asianization process (aka Australian Multiculturalism) served throughout the Great Asianization Period (1980-2020) in Australian history.

A bit late to be turning back the clock Scotty!

justify opening the international border to mass migration of cashed up Chinese and low paid workers from the Asian mainland.
Mr Opinion,
Are you & hundreds of thousands of the likes of you of a standard that'd not require for Morrison to do that so that Australia can stand on its own feet ?

We've had outbreaks on cruise ships, from weddings in
the Barossa, people returning from Aspen, people flocking
on beaches in Victoria, family gatherings, parties, people
flaunting the rules, shopping center and abbatoir infections,
none of these involved only multicultural communities.

The corona virus does not discriminate. It has impacted a
wide range of communities, not just multicultural ones and
even the very rich (and white) celebrities like Tom Hanks
and Rita Wilson have tested positive to COVID-19 while
in Australia.

Blaming culturally diverse communities for spreading the
virus is not a rational thing to do. The clusters are not
just confined to or driven by multi-cultural communities
with multiple outbreaks occurring throughout the state of
Victoria including links to child-care centres and workplaces.

The spreading of misinformation is particularly dangerous
at a time when the state government of Victoria is focusing
on engaging with culturally and linguistically diverse
communities who may be less connected to mainstream media.

This should not be about blaming culturally and linguistically
diverse communities for any spike in cases. What this is
about - is abandoning a one-size fits
all approach. Because, we are not a one-size fits all country.

This is about acknowledging that this is about
ethnicity because ethnicity is a part of our national
identity and in working with our ethnic communities and
their leaders the Victorian state government is potentially
filling a gap in Australia's responsibility to a virus that
is not going away for some time.

Thanks for some sanity, Foxy :)

Of course, if a country has comprehensive immigration and refugee policies, the corollary is that it has to provide a thorough and compulsory English-language service, if only to discourage the pitch-forkers like Ttbn from dragging people to the stake.

Isn't it interesting that crises usually bring out the worst in some people ? Like those 'Proud Boys' scum in the US ?

Joe

pseudo-individual,

I haven't got a clue what you are talking about.

Pseudo-mouth,

You are wrong.

We are now an Asian nation-state that mirrors Greater Asia with disparate ethnic and linguistic groups.

You supported the Asianization process (aka Australian Multiculturalism) during the Great Asianization Period (1980-2020) in Australian history and now all of a sudden you want millions of migrants to shed their cultural heritage in order to be like you.

I don't think you know what you want.

Dear Joe,

Thank you for your kind words.

My parents spoke several languages. As did their
friends and colleagues. Sooner or later you learn
the language of the country in which you reside.
Universities have a high number of foreign students
who do extremely well and language does not seem to
be a problem. There were times in this country
when the numbers of foreign speaking students far exceeded
Australian students.

Also most people when they travel overseas make an effort
to learn the basics of the language of the country that
they are going to visit.

I can communicate with any body from any country. It's a
question of empathy (and sometimes - sign language).
A willingness to want to communicate gets results.
As does friendliness and a big smile.

That would be OK Loudmouth, if there was automatic, irrevocable deportation for any immigrant, particularly refugees, who can not speak at least fluently & read simple English after 2 years residency.

Please explain just why Ozzy tax payers should have to pay for English lessons for people who want to make a life in Oz. I would think such people would be happy to pay for such courses. Of course, those here to bludge forever on our welfare are unlikely to find a need for English. It is obviously such people who haven't bothered.

PHIL

You're back!

I was hoping you would tell just what planes you flew and the aircraft carrier you served on when you were in the navy.

Dear Hassie,

Some of the biggest bludgers in this country have
not been foreigners. And they didn't necessarily speak
the " King's English" either. Read "They're a Weird Mob",
it may remind you of a few things.

Hasbeen

An interesting suggestion: and if Australian-born people still cannot, after being given two years' notice at, say, seventeen, speak understandable English, then they should be sent back to the country of ancestral origin of their choice.

Wow, we could lose most of our young people that way :(

Okay, if they couldn't write a grammatical sentence in English - back to the Old Countrie. Hmmmm, no, we would lose a lot of OLO contributors that way. Oh hello, Ttbn, didn't see you there.

Joe

Pseudo-mouth,

See if you can get Phil to tell us what planes he flew and the aircraft carrier he served on and I'll believe (almost) anything you say.

Speaking of English comprehension:

The average reading age of adults in the US is 7-8 years of age; in the UK the reading age is 11 years of age. Because Australian authorities, elites - whatever you call the people mismanaging the country - are experts at covering up and hiding bad news - I can't find similar figures for Australia; but some years ago there were figures indicating that the average Australian's reading age was similar to other English speaking countries at 8-9 years. And education has slipped badly since that time.

This means the average adult can just about manage to read a newspaper with single sentence paragraphs, and no big words.

I suggest that the lefties who automatically rip into any poster not one of their own, just relying on their personal beliefs and political ideology, are not capable of reading to the standard required to find how wrong they (the lefties) are.

With locals like that, we certainly shouldn't be importing people who don't comprehend any English at all! Particularly when, as I suggest, the locals are not literate enough to know what the politicians are really up to

Here is a link that shows how Australia stood up
to Minister's Peter Dutton's "illiterate migrants"
comments:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-36321236

maybe the migrants are smarter than most others who realise that if the China virus can't lay a glove on a 74 year old overweight junk food loving President it is unlikely to hurt 99% plus of people. Andrews and his hopelessly out of depth bureacrats deserve to be defied. Not only like their democrat mayor cousins did their actions result in covid being sent into old people's home he is also responsible for keeping millions under home arrest and all the deaths that have gone with it.

I said read Loudmouth, I did not expect them to write.

I don't believe anyone who can not read English should ever be able to get a drivers licence, as they could not read road signs, or possibly pass a standard test.

runner,

I think that if Victorians were going to defy Andrews they would have done it by now. Not even the Liberal opposition is standing up to the dictator. Apathetic Australians don't seem to realise that the powers that Australian politicians have given themselves over the China virus will be used for more suppression of freedoms in the future. In the UK, they are now saying openly things like, 'now that the people have accepted restrictions on the China virus, we should be using restrictions in the area of climate change. And they will, because people are so lethargic and weak.

And let's not forget the fascists in the World Economic Forum who are hell bent on "resetting capitalism" in cahoots with the Left and big business.

Ttbn,

"I suggest that the lefties who automatically rip into any poster not one of their own, just relying on their personal beliefs and political ideology, are not capable of reading to the standard required to find how wrong they (the lefties) are.

"With locals like that, we certainly shouldn't be importing people who don't comprehend any English at all! Particularly when, as I suggest, the locals are not literate enough to know what the politicians are really up to"

Pot-kettle.

Joe

Secretary of Department of Premier and Cabinet, Chris Eccles has resigned because of his incompetence in the Victorian China virus/lockdown fiasco. Andrews should do likewise.

We should not allow ourselves to be fooled into thinking that mass immigration and multiculturalism are about anything but votes, suppressing wages, and identify politics, which is helpful to 'elites' wanting to change or annihilate Western culture and white people.

The labour-hungry days of the Snowy Moutains scheme and intense manufacturing are long gone. We are now a service and retail economy, requiring fewer people and those with good English and communication skills only.

I don't give two hoots about the welfare of unnecessary immigrants, but you lefty bleeding hearts and self-haters might like to think about how cynical, self-serving immigration schemes so loved by our our ghastly politicians are setting up for failure immigrants without English skills.

Slightly off thread but perhaps more related than we might think;
Many years ago someone told me that if you put a mixed number of
Ayrshire and Jersey cows into a paddock they would sort themselves out
into the two breeds and one corner would be they Ayrshire corner and
the other the Jersey corner.
Is there anyone here with enough experience of cattle who can say it is nonsense ?
If so, can cattle be racist ? Is racism natural ?

I think it is natural to fear difference, but differences can be overcome.

Some of my ancestors were Neanderthals, some were homo sapiens, but they eventually worked it out.

Bazz,

Since we are not cows, I'm happy to see kids coming home from high schools in all sorts of pairs, African boys with Asian girls, Anglo boys with African girls, etc., etc. As Darwin noted, mixed ancestry usually means healthier, more beautiful and more intelligent offspring. Us Anglos desperately need some improvement in the breed.

Joe

More bloody immigrants??

Seriously?

Immigrants bring new skills; after 60,000 years of Aboriginal development some immigrants came in 1788 and the locals finally learnt how to tan skins.

Chris Lewis,

You said: "Some of my ancestors were Neanderthals, some were homo sapiens, but they eventually worked it out."

1. If your ancestors come from Western Europe there is a very good chance you have Neanderthal genes.

2. They had to be Homo Sapien simply because you are Homo Sapien. Homo Sapien = Human. Unless of course you're not a human - Is that what you are trying to tell us?

Is Mise,

Why did the British exterminate the Tasmanians?

Why did they try to exterminate the Australian Aboriginals?

Opinion,

The British didn't exterminate the Tasmanians, they still seem to be around.
http://tacinc.com.au/
nor did they try to exterminate the Mainlanders.

Is Mise,

Oh yes they did!

There were six groups of Tasmanians and none of there cultures exist today having disappeared completely with Truganini.