Sunday, December 4, 2011

Labor of yesteryear

"Do the multi-racialists want Australia to consist of a small number of people from all the African and Asian nations, or do they want to admit millions of coloured migrants from those nations for permanent settlement in a continent that was first settled 184 years ago by Europeans while other, nearer nations passed it by as a useless, barren land? If Australians are ever foolish enough to open their gates in a significant way to people other than Europeans, they will soon find themselves fighting desperately to stop the nation from being flooded by hordes of non-integratables. Then we will also need a Race Relations Board. None is needed now. A Race Relations Board is necessary only where there are racial problems and racial tensions. We are currently spared this rather expensive luxury."

— Former Labor leader Arthur Calwell, in his 1972 memoirs.

Let them all in!

The Herald Sun reports:

LABOR has agreed to increase the refugee intake by almost 50 per cent - so long as they are processed overseas.

The proposal, put forward by Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, would increase the annual intake of 13,750 to 20,000, provided they are processed offshore.


Another brilliant Labor strategy.

Australia is being swamped by illegal immigrants masquerading as refugees? No problem, we'll just double our annual refugee intake!

And if doubling our annual refugee intake doesn't stem the asylum seeker flow? I guess we could always just double it again to 40,000 per annum.

Even then, why impose an arbitrary ceiling of 40,000 per annum?

After all, Australia has an obligation to help every poor, downtrodden (non-white) soul in need, not just a select few. There are myriad dissatisfied, hard done-by people all over the world who would simply love to move to wealthy, comfortable Australia and live off the generous welfare state that they and their abundant progeny will never contribute to. Why not just them all come in? The wishes and interests of the Australian people are obviously not relevant considerations when formulating refugee policy. Nor is the huge cost to Australia, both financial and social, of importing more people from dysfunctional, backwards countries a valid objection either. So why impose limits on the number of refugees Australia can take? Let all the huddled masses come and live the Australian dream!

Australia may already have the highest per capita refugee intake in the world, but we can take even more - courtesy of the Australian taxpayer - because everybody knows that Australia is not a real country with its own legitimate national interests but, merely, a "piece of good luck to be shared with the rest of the world." *

* A quote from Geoffrey Blainey's 1984 book on immigration, All For Australia.