You want in, speak the lingo.

Political Correctness has never been a big part of Australian culture,
which is very refreshing in this "fer christs sake don't upset anyone"
country of ours.
There seems to be a strong wind of common sense blowing through the Oz
parliament.

Any comments from the antipodean contingent?

Tyke...

I am all for a strong migration policy here.

I have been through the process and support it wholeheartedly - even though
it was a tough,2 year wait.
I certainly think it is a good thing that new arrivals should speak at least
basic english - think of all the difficulties involved in buying a house/car
etc.
Asking for directions/an accident??? - I wanna be speaking the local lingo.

I'm not sure that "true Aussie values" should be rammed down people's
throats but certainly people who are going to contribute to this country
should be made *very* welcome.

We became full citizens and are very proud of the fact.

BoyPete...

Am I right? I was under the impression that the only people allowed into
Australia were those with pots of money, or a skill the Country needs?

cramerj58...

This seems to assume that:
(1)migrants are eager and poor poor
(2) that they will want to stay as Australia is such a big bargain.
(3) that other countries will let people abandon their birth
citizenship.

datasmog...

You're assuming too much. If people want to migrate and live and work
permanently in a country and benefit from the opportunities available,
then they should accept the same terms and conditions as the indiginous
population and not expect any preferential treatment above normal
freedoms available to everyone in that country. And that includes
speaking the same language fluently enough to get by in normal life
without the aid of an interpreter. If they don't want to do that then it
must be assumed they are not really serious about contributing to
society.

And that 'assimilation' is now back on the agenda (except for
aborigines)
After all remenber that Australians don't seem to own Australia.

Bigbazza...

Aboriginals have the same rights as all Australians..There's no difference
between them and any other in this country....But for some reason they get
more help than any other as well.!!

datasmog...

That's not unusual here either. The vociferous minorites seem to think
they should get some kind of preferential treatment, and crumbs we don't
want to upset them do we.

I was amused by the news yesterday. They are rioting in Hungary because
they say their prime minister lied to the people.
I think we have a pretty good case for similar action here. But we're
British, we don't do that kind of thing.

datasmog...

There are very few countries on this planet that actually belong to the
people who live in them. Get back to where your ancestors came from.

Bram...

So very true!!!

Bram...

That little bit of Africa where it all happened, just like the rest of us.
All that three sons of Noah stuff is probably just a red herring and a
cause of much of the grief in the world.