Shutting the door on racial extremists
Philip Ruddock
March 16, 2011
Comments 110
Extreme views on immigrants are not a winning political strategy, says Philip Ruddock.
Pauline Hanson has re-emerged on the political stage as she seeks a seat in the NSW Legislative Council at the state election on March 26.
This is not a reprise. She has always had unacceptable views to the great majority of Australians on asylum seekers, multiculturalism and indigenous Australians.
Because of her relatively early success many believe that she represented the opinions of many ordinary Australians. Nothing could be further from the truth.
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The reason for her message resonating was because people were concerned about the integrity of our immigration program under the former Hawke and Keating Labor governments. The abuse of the family reunion program and lack of control of our borders was not meeting the expectations of the Australian public. Voting for Hanson was thought to be the best way to voice frustration that their concerns were not being heard.
In the House of Representatives on February 22 this year, the government moved a matter of public importance on ''the urgent need for leadership to re-affirm our commitment to a non-discriminatory immigration policy for Australia's future". Clearly, this was a cynical attempt to paint the Coalition as not being supportive of such a policy despite our long and distinguished record of having done so.
In my address to the House on the debate I pointed out that the Coalition has an absolutely non-discriminatory immigration policy in relation to race, religion, culture, and country of origin. The former prime minister John Howard stated in A new agenda for multicultural Australia in December 1999 that:
“We are an open and tolerant society that promotes the celebration of diversity within the context of a unifying commitment to Australia. Our diversity is a source of competitive advantage, cultural enrichment and social stability.”
Hanson, in her maiden speech in federal parliament on September 10, 1996, argued for the abolishing of multiculturalism. Nothing that Hanson has said since suggests that she has changed her views.
The Howard government instead worked to rebuild confidence in our immigration program by focusing on our skill requirements and the protection of our borders. The fact that Australia has remained united in the 15 years since the terror outrages in the US on September 11, 2001 and in Bali on October 12, 2002, as well as the Cronulla riots, shows the lack of substance in her views.
The strength of our economy under the Howard government was largely supported by our balanced and well-managed immigration program, which was designed to meet the national interest, through filling skill shortages and business migration. It helped this country become more competitive internationally in world markets. The Howard government demonstrated that Australians will lend strong community support to an immigration program, including a generous refugee intake, so long as its integrity and objectives are met.
The Rudd and Gillard governments have pursued a misguided belief that they could be more ''compassionate'' towards asylum seekers without being taken advantage of by cunning people smugglers.
Since Labor wound back the Coalition's effective policies in August 2008, more than 200 boats with more than 10,000 asylum seekers have arrived unlawfully. The expensive detention network has also been stretched beyond capacity as evidenced by recent mass breakouts.
The recent Christmas Island boat tragedy was a graphic example of the lengths some people will go to make it to our shores without following our legitimate legal processes for refugee settlement. The shocking loss of 50 asylum seekers underlined the fact that Labor has lost control of our borders and not delivered any more ''compassion''.
A future Abbott government would restore and enhance the strong border protection measures introduced by the Howard government. At the same time, we would restore integrity to our immigration system.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott told the United Israel Appeal Victoria function on March 8: ''And let me for the record rededicate the Coalition to a multicultural Australia and to a non-discriminatory immigration policy because I believe that this country of ours, Australia, is the world's most successful immigrant society.''
He further spoke from the heart when he said: ''A Coalition government would never support policies which made decent Australians feel like strangers in their own country because we are all in this together. In all our diversity, from all of our different backgrounds, of faith, of ethnicity, of gender, of sexuality, we are all in this together in this great Australian enterprise.''
There is much that the rest of the world can learn from the Howard government's immigration reforms.
We should not forget the lessons of the past.
Philip Ruddock is the Liberal member for Berowra and served as minister for immigration and multicultural affairs from 1996 until 2003.
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Comments
110 comments
"We should not forget the lessons of the past."
Does this mean we're not to repeat the "get some dodgy qualification in some dodgy college in Australia and get resident status" lurk that gave us a heap of hairdressers who ended up cleaning offices (if they were lucky) and made our skilled migration scheme an absolute farce?...
Yep, I agree - we should never forget the lessons of the past. If we do, we're doomed to repeat them.......
David | Leongatha - March 17, 2011, 7:23AM
Does Phillip Ruddock really think that the "Ordinary Australian" belives n multiculraism - maybe he should go out ans speak to some "Ordinary Australians" and find out what they really think - as we have heard from Overseas "Multiculralism" is not working and a strong Leader eg The German Leader has come out and stated so.
milly - March 17, 2011, 7:41AM
yes let's not forget - That the Coalition's policies encouraged thousands of women and children to get on boats because they could not reunite with their hu*****ands and fathers, potentially forever, under Ruddock's policies. Families were not considered important under Ruddock.
let's not forget - the damage done to so many people under the Pacific Solution
let's not forget - Ruddock's treatment of the little boy who stopped eating and speaking in detention.
let's not forget - children overboard and the use of people arriving on boats for political gain by Ruddock and his party.
There is so much more and not enough time or space to list....
Ruddock is trying to change history so he is not remembered in the same category of Hanson, as the man who sold his soul to rise in his career. But we will remember even if you cannot admit what you have done.
Gary - March 17, 2011, 7:59AM
Let's be clear about this. Accepting people of other colours and creeds from overseas is not I believe what Pauline Hanson is against. She is, like France, Germany, Britain and an ever growing number of developed nations leaders rightly concerned, as are many Australians, of the encouragement of those of other faiths, colours and beliefs, to spurn their host countries values and practices in favour of their own. This is known as multiculturalism, and it does nothing but entrench cultural difference, in most instances with disastrous effects on the host nations. This is thy is is a failed experiment that must cease. Australia is an arid country that is already supporting perhaps twice the number of humans it could should fossil fuels become scarce as they surely will, so it's not like we need further mass immigration of our long term survival, so why shocking to insist those who come adopt our ways? After all it's those ways that have made this nation attractive to outsiders and the lack of those ways that has their countries places they want to flee. We have every justification to expect immigrants to comply with our laws and standards of behaviour. I simply say that we allow them to retain their ways privately and as communities, simply don't encourage and legislate difference as it the case with 'multiculturalism' and that, I'm sure is what Hanson, me and many other Australians' including recent immigrants, also feel.
Greg Graham | Artarmon NSW - March 17, 2011, 8:04AM
Phillip Ruddock, come out from under the log and have a look around there is more anti immigration feeling than you imagine and the "in your face" migrants fueling it.
wummi | Varsity Lakes - March 17, 2011, 8:05AM
What a self-serving revisionist piece.
Indeed, let us not for get the lessons of the past.
Tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees arrived here in boats, were housed in the community while having their status verified, and have gone on to become valued and valuable members in every walk of Australian society.
Lesson - mandatory detention does not confer any benefit on Australian society whatsoever, and is merely the government whoring itself out for the vote of the lowest racist denominator.
What is the purpose of mandatory detention?
Unlike the US or Europe, it's pretty hard to live 'under the radar' in Australia. Australian born-and-bred prison escapees rarely last long.
For undocumented ESL fugitives, the chances of surviving undetected would be small enough as to present a non-problem.
If mandatory detention for an arbitrary period is supposed to make would-be refugees think about applying somewhere else - if that is a motive, I am sure it contradicts the UN convention on refugees we signed, and it obviously is not proving a very effective deterrent. It's also childishly spiteful and racist in the eyes of the world.
If the objective is that somehow refugees must spend some time in a bureaucratic purgatory before they are worthy of refugee status in Australia, that is seriously dysfunctional and despicable.
If Australia spurns Pauline Hanson so much, why does our treatment of refugees resemble her style of policy so closely?
tafkao | Over the Rainbow - March 17, 2011, 8:12AM
Political football agian Mr Ruddock? Get real!!
Don't make things up. Your view of events is clearly misguided and it shows just how incompetent, yoou really were as immigration and multicultural minister for all those years.
I don't kknow how you live with yourself, you must have a very poor attitude to the world and human beings in general.
Your time is up sir, please get out of the spotlight and let some people with reasonable sense to continue in the parliament, those of which actually represent the greater good and the society as a whole, not a few with invested interests, its not a boys club anymore!
michi | melbourne - March 17, 2011, 8:25AM
What about Siev X Mr Ruddock? Remind me again - how many lives were lost there because of your disgraceful policy? This government may seek to operate from a more compassionate base - yours came from a position of politically opportunistic cruelty that sought to maximize votes by appealing to the baser instincts of voters - not the most noble ones.
Boris | Melbourne - March 17, 2011, 8:25AM
Pauline Hanson's "early success" had nothing to do with her or success. The media found a new naive powerless independent Member in a House of 150 people where the Government had a huge majority and made a big star out of her.
Then extreme freedom-hating lefty-fascists gave her more publicity by trying to prevent her speaking at meetings. Tony Abbott helped her publicity by his efforts to get her prosecuted. Now people are bringing up her name and helping her electoral chances in NSW.
I almost hope the sincere but not overly brilliant woman wins a seat just to spite the screamers.
David Morrison | Springwood NSW - March 17, 2011, 8:38AM
Mr Ruddock must be completely out of touch with ordinary Australians.
What a holier-than-thou attitude he has! He's used all the cheapest tricks in the book to take the high moral ground against Ms Hanson - that: "She has always had unacceptable views... " and "...she represented the opinions of many ordinary Australians. Nothing could be further from the truth." It's the old "university tests prove" and "nine out of ten scientists agree" rubbish to try to make out you're with an overwhelming majority.
If her views are "unacceptable" (to whom, by the way?) then so must also be the views of David Cameron and Angela Merkel. She certainly represents the opinions of many ordinary Australians around here - and that is the truth!
Perhaps Mr Ruddock should pull his head out of the sand and actually have a look around this country next time he's here for a visit.
I'll be voting for Pauline. She says what I think - unlike our two latest self-appointed sermonising and moralising Saints, Rudd and Ruddock.
Jack Richards | Snowy Mountains - March 17, 2011, 8:38AM
@tafcao has forfeited and right to comment on this issue.
Tens of thousands, eh?
"The first boat arrived in Darwin in April 1976 carrying five Indochinese men. Over the next five years there were 2059 Vietnamese boat arrivals with the last arriving in August 1981."
http://www.apo.org.au/research/boat-arrivals-australia-1976-january-2010-update
Get your facts right and maybe your opinions will carry some weight.
The signing of conventions in this country is a joke and needs to be overhauled. Half of them are thoroughly deserving of being rescinded.
"We" signed?
These conventions don't even have to be ratified by the parliament.
Patrick Kelly | NSW - March 17, 2011, 8:44AM
To Greg Graham from Artarmon - agree with what you are saying especially "We have every justification to expect immigrants to comply with our laws and standards of behaviour." and the failed experiment "multiculturalism" must cease in this country or we could end up with riots as they have had overseas which apart from the extremists wwould not want in this country
milly - March 17, 2011, 8:53AM
Whatever you think about Hanson's policies, at least she's up front about them. Compare that with Howard's record of presiding over record high immigration levels while distracting the public with tough talk on 'border protection' and stopping the boats..
jingelic | tumut - March 17, 2011, 8:56AM
Yes those were the days when we were fooled into thinking that skilled immigration was good for the country and not some dodge for business to not take on aprentices and governement not to train tradesmen. This helped keep the unemplyment pool large enough to supress wages and the queues for services long enough to degrade the quality of services and not care about the environment one iota. Skilled immigration does not improve the participation rate and reduces the viable options of the less skilled to be trained into more skilled jobs in society or to remain unemplyed on welfare and tempted by crime.
bill | sydney - March 17, 2011, 9:00AM
Ah Phillip Ruddock - still dog whistling the same old tune - appealing to and doing your very best to kindle the mean spiritedness of exclusion based on fear of difference.
Tony Abbott wants us to know that "a coalition government would never make 'decent' Australians feels like strangers in their own country' because we are all in this together."
So what constitutes 'feeling like a stranger'? Seeing people of different color or faith in your street? Hearing different languages spoken at your school? What makes one 'decent'? Keeping things 'nice' by avoiding engaging with difference and the complex social issues it brings?
Thanks though, Phil - I won't forget the lessons of the past, especially the misery and fear you and your government so consistently fostered in your pursuit of power.
whatev | Melbourne - March 17, 2011, 9:00AM
There is nothing humane about policies that encourage asylum seekers to pay people smugglers US$5000/head to risk their lives in search of permanent residency in Australia.
Yet this is exactly the outcome the Rudd/Gillard Labor government's deliberate policies have created, and continue to encourage, to Australia's great shame.
This is more than the just usual Labor policy failure stemming from incompetence and bungling, with the resultant waste and cover-ups. The AFP warned Labor of the likely outcomes of closing Nauru and they continued anyway, with the resultant arrival of over 10,000 boat people.
The only racist immigration policies we have seen have been from Rudd/Gillard Labor. They froze the processing of applications from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in a desperate attempt to "do something," to stop the huge flow of illegal boats.
One of Gillard's other election lies besides the carbon tax, was the promise that Labor or would not expand onshore detention. They are now building another 4900 to cope with their ongoing policy failure.
There was also Gillard's promise of the East Timor Regional Detention Centre. There isn't one. There won't ever be one. It's just another Labor lie.
The taxpayer is being slugged with the Gillard Flood Tax when Labor's refugee failure has seen the costs blow out by over $1bn...and growing.
Despite all this...despite the deaths, the riots, the self harm and the 600 kids behind razor wire, Labor refuse to do anything to stop the boats.
Only the Coalition have the courage and the proven policies to stop the boats and to stop people risking their, and their families lives.
Another Labor failure and yet another broken promise.
New election now!
CJ | NSW - March 17, 2011, 9:04AM
Yes lets not forget the days of racist/theocratic Nationalism, during the coalitions reign. With the community fear produced by the war mongering religious right.
This nationalism is still within the people of the evangelized outer suburbs. Moronic youths draped in their made in China flags adorned with tattoos of the southern cross, causing trouble with their gang mentality. I hate to have to tell you Mr Ruddock but its going to take a long time to solve the problems that your gangs form of Nationalism has caused. One of the problems you produced was a following for Pauline Hanson.
Lonerider | Dandenong Ranges - March 17, 2011, 9:07AM
Disregarding for the moment the fallacy that there is a pull-factor which drags desperate people thousands of miles across the open oceans in unseaworthy vessels to the land of milk and honey, Hanson's re-birth is hardly unexpected in an environment where the wanna-be PM panders to red-neck radio for a vote and takes every given opportunity to scare-monger about the evils of asylum seekers. Between the moderates and the far-right within today's Liberal party, Hanson would feel comfortably at home - probably somewhere to the left of the likes of Cory Bernardi.
jofek - March 17, 2011, 9:17AM
Shutting the door on racial extremists
What about Shutting the door on extremists lies and deceptions
What about Shutting the door on extremists behaves a la Kaddafi by imposing what the party in power thinks we ought to have without any democratic debate.
What about Shutting the door on illegal boat people.
What about Shutting the door to feel like strangers in our own country with a one way anti-discrimination law.
What about Shutting the door on assets test for the battlers etc....
What about Shutting the door on autocracy and open the door on true democracy.
What about Shutting the door insulting democracy
Rick | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 9:19AM
Well said, Boris and Tafkao
Poorly said, CJ. "There is nothing humane about policies that encourage asylum seekers to pay people smugglers US$5000/head to risk their lives in search of permanent residency in Australia"
Rather - there is nothing humane about incarcerating innocent people who are not in breach of international law.
There is nothing humane about preventing people from fleeing persecution.
There is nothing humane about insisting that they go, or stay somewhere else.
Ross | MALLABULA - March 17, 2011, 9:19AM
An important point that seems to be neglected by the "Howard hater," bloggers here is that this is all about Labor's policy failure, not about John Howard and the Coalitions proven and effective policies.
Labor came to power on 24 November 2008 with only 4 people who had arrived by boat in detention. There are now more than 6500 and more than 600 children behind "razor wire," as the Lefty bleaters like to say.
There seems to be a group of people from the Left who are still trying to fight some long lost battle against John Howard. Wake up morons, this has nothing to do with the Coalition then or now.
This asylum seeker disaster is all about Labor and their pandering to the Left and the Green vote, and that is precisely what has created this mess.
This isn't about "push factors," as Gillard and Bowen like to say. This is about the "pull factors," that Labor's policy has created.
So why don't you focus on the party that is actually in government and can do something about it, instead of living in the past like some sort of "yesterdays hero's?"
CJ | NSW - March 17, 2011, 9:20AM
Funny how the coalition suddenly found good money in poor quality education for overseas students while filling the lowest end of the job market and keeping it there. A rich country is about bringing the lowest paid to a higher level not filling it with the third world (and making it lower) who are posing as students.
djimh | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 9:23AM
"Get your facts right and maybe your opinions will carry some weight...These conventions don't even have to be ratified by the parliament." @Patrick Kelly | NSW - March 17, 2011, 8:44AM
Wrong. No instrument of international law is part of Australian domestic law unless implemented by the Commonwealth parliament.
Get your facts right and maybe your opinions will carry some weight.
mick | brighton - March 17, 2011, 9:30AM
Concerned about immigration? Maybe take a look at the hordes of "skilled migrants" driving down wages or those on investment visas who come "invest" in your local take away shop while buying up all the real estate. Asylum seekers are a far smaller issue that has been completely blown out of proportion by all sides of politics to allow them to appeal to our inner xenophobes while still appeasing their business overlords.
SL - March 17, 2011, 9:31AM
The comments on this page suggest to me that many people have replaced the zealotry and bigotry of the religious adherance of bygone days with that of their chosen political Party. Labor's best. No it's not! Liberal's best. No it's not! Mine's bigger than yours. No it's not! Dunces.
fredblogs - March 17, 2011, 9:37AM
Just who has he been speaking to? Probably his inner circle of ivory tower of yes men who will agree with everything he says as though their jobs depended on it. Wait a minute they do!! Get out and about. Talk to "ordinary" Australians. The majority feel multiculturalism is a dismal failure, as do many overseas countries, and needs to be stopped. Other who come here, and seek to maintain their own medieval customs and laws, and not embrace ours, are really not welcomed and should be asked to leave. One would have thought they came here to leave all that behind, not as protagonists of the "peaceful religion".
befuddled - March 17, 2011, 9:38AM
David Morrison | Springwood NSW - March 17, 2011, 8:38AM
"Then extreme freedom-hating lefty-fascists gave her more publicity by trying to prevent her speaking at meetings".
Lefty-fascists? How does that work? If you ever needed prove that the left or right tag gets abused beyond belief then here it is. I fail to see how you can be labelled left or right regardless of what side of the fence you sit on in the immigration debate. Does it make you a socialist/communist if you support accepting asylum seekers or a capitalist/fascist if you do not? Everyone should stick to the facts instead of using this inane name calling to justify their beliefs.
MPS | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 9:40AM
While Pauline Hanson's running in the NSW election on March 26 has unsurprisingly captured a bit of attention and brought the issue of racism and politics - real or perceived - to the forefront in some discussions, it is worth noting that there is another candidate that should face scrutiny.
That person is in the running, some would say favourite, for the seat of Marrickville and is the Green's candidate and Mayor Fiona Byrne.
Ms Byrne, supported by Labor councillors, successfully pushed last year for the council to ban commercial, cultural and sporting exchanges with Israel at a cost of millions of dollars in administration for local ratepayers.
Specifically targeting Israel with this boycott - which Byrne has publicly said she wants NSW wide if elected - certainly seems to be a racist position as it is based on a person's ethnicity and religion.
Why is this not talked about publicly in the same way as the views of Pauline Hanson?
While she has every right to run, I have no time for Hanson or her views and wish she would just quietly fade away.
But the fact that she is targeted where the Green's Fiona Byrne is not I find quite disgraceful. I guess they don't call it the "Inner West Bank," for nothing.
CJ | NSW - March 17, 2011, 9:40AM
Oh right... i had thought for some reason that the title "Shutting the door on racial extremists" meant not letting racial extremists into Australia... silly me, that would be naive wouldn't it? We can't possibly lock out people who hate us, now, can we? That want to destroy our easy living way of life cos we are infidels? That wouldn't be fair at all, would it?
Bend over Australia, we will never have a decent vetting process for letting people in, cos doing things properly with a bit of forethought is basically unAustralian isn't it....
cat | sydney - March 17, 2011, 9:41AM
While I am angry with Ruddock for being selective with the truth, Gary & Tafkao above have refuted him well. I'm even more angry, though, about the constant demonising of multiculturalism by some commentators here. An example:
@Greg Graham "She is, like France, Germany, Britain ... rightly concerned, as are many Australians, of the encouragement of those of other faiths, colours and beliefs, to spurn their host countries values and practices in favour of their own. This is known as multiculturalism, and it does nothing but entrench cultural difference, in most instances with disastrous effects on the host nations."
The critics of multiculturalism never point to specific Government programs or legislation that is at fault. Instead, they invent mythical policies like those above. No details, no supporting evidence. Just a straw opponent.
In reality, it is assimilation policies that produce ghettos, when the State demands that migrants conform to the established culture to have access to government services (e.g. speaking English only). It's an impossible demand for newly arrived immigrants, so they fall back on more established migrants from their own country as intermediaries, or even an alternative support network. So the social structures from the old country are reproduced in the new.
France & Germany have acquired migrant ghetto cultures not because of multiculturalism, but because of racism, which locks people from Muslim-majority countries out of mainstream society. The solution, further, is the reverse of those promoted by the Sarkozys and Merkels of the world.
Freedom and tolerance are infectious. Let them corrode the oppressive and patriarchal aspects of immigrant cultures, like they have done for previous immigrants into Australia and also for the locally born. The advocates for assimilation would achieve precisely the opposite of their stated intentions.
Greg Platt | Brunswick - March 17, 2011, 9:42AM
So, CJ - what are you saying? Asylum seekers research the policies of the governments in power and then choose to be 'lured to their deaths' by leftie greenie panderers or decide to stay at home when the Coalition is in?
That sounds a little simplistic, really.
And when you feel the need to start calling people who disagree with you 'bleaters' or 'morons', remember what Tony Abbott said - we are all in this together - so I'm sure he would want you to be civil.
whatev | Melbourne - March 17, 2011, 9:42AM
Switzerland is the only country in the world who practice true democracy in which only the people are sovereign and have the right via a petition to modify their constitution and to repeal or modify any laws offer to the citizen without imposing like in Australia.
Are all the swiss citizens a bunch of "racial extremists" ?????????
Is the policy of true democracy a "racial extremists" system ???
Time to stand up and respect what is true democracy and not
deprave it with twisted words for "Shutting the door on the democratic rights of the people and their sovereignty."
Rick | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 9:43AM
@PatrickKelly "Get your facts right..."
"Up until 1975 there were fewer than 2,000 Vietnam-born people in Australia.[1] Following the takeover of South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese communist government in April 1975, Australia, being a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees agreed to resettle its share of Vietnam-born refugees under a refugee resettlement plan between 1975 and 1985. After the initial intake of refugees in the late 1970s, there was a second immigration peak in 1983-84, most likely a result of the 1982 agreement between the Australian and Vietnamese governments (the Orderly Departure Program) which allowed relatives of Vietnamese Australians to leave Viet Nam and migrate to Australia. A third immigration peak in the late 1980s seems to have been mainly due to Australia's family reunion scheme.[2] Over 90,000 refugees were processed and entered Australia during this time.[citation needed]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_Australian#History_in_Australia
"The signing of conventions in this country is a joke and needs to be overhauled. Half of them are thoroughly deserving of being rescinded."
I would politely email your local member with your concerns, if I were you. I know I do (with my concerns, not yours).
""We" signed?
These conventions don't even have to be ratified by the parliament."
I can't locate who actually did the signing. Was signing immoral?
Who signed it on behalf of the Australian government, and what was their pretext for signing?
What reasons disqualify that signatory/signatories?
It would be courteous to provide links that verify your claims.
tafkao | Over the Rainbow - March 17, 2011, 9:44AM
What an invidious position Australia is in; the people theoretically leading this country are also leading the parade for the emperor and his new clothes. Politicians are terrified of giving a voice to the people on the disaster that is multiculturalism. There is an existing culture in Australia and it should be non-negotiable. Multi-racial? That's an altogether different matter. Pauline Hanson is a first-rate example of how the Lord (no religious intent, just quoting) gives - and then takes away. What she said in effect is true and resonates with the majority of Australians, if not publicly, due to howls of racism by the left, then certainly privately; how she said it damaged any service to the message. And for not the first time, I cite the basic definition of "racist" - minus the pejorative emotion and stigmatised sensationalism attached to it to silence the truth - is "one who prefers their own kind", something I think we are all guilty of.
It'll all come out in the wash | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 9:46AM
So the Liberal party doesn't support Pauline Hanson, but will happily put Fred Nile first on their preference list.
For any one who doesn't know, Vile Nile is so homophobic it's disgusting, using hate speeches and "god hates fags" style propaganda with arguments based on lies and misinformation.
Oh and he wants to ban the burka too. Double standards much?
Jayness | Newtown - March 17, 2011, 9:48AM
CJ, yeah right - they're not fleeing persecution, starvation and death, they're coming all this way across the ocean in dangerous vessels because we look like such a welcoming nation.
What do you think this huge welcome mat looks like CJ? What was it that was so clever about what Howard and Ruddock did? They locked people up offshore, they issued temporary protection visas and then at the end of the day they let everybody in anyway because they were actually genuine refugees. You really think that if a pull factor actually existed, this "deterrent" would amount to a hill of beans?
jofek - March 17, 2011, 9:49AM
@CJ | NSW - March 17, 2011, 9:20AM
Where are these asylum seekers mostly coming from. "Um lett me think Afghanistan and possibly Iraq.
One by product of War is refugees, and who went along with this illegal crusade in Iraq? The theocratic nationalist John Howard, and his gang.
The con of the War on Drugs was perpetuated by none other than John Howard and the fear mongering coalition. With Afganistan producing 80% of the world opium supply it was a good excuse to use monotheist extremists as a scapegoat. Turning the war on drugs into an acceptable crusade against the evil opposing Abrahamic extremists. To bad they were always in Pakistan not Afghanistan. But the richious west will blame the opium produces.
The reason why only 4 boats made it to Australia at the end of the Nationalist coalitions reign, was bacause the rest were towed to Narue and other pacific islands.
Lonerider | Dandenong Ranges - March 17, 2011, 9:50AM
@CJ 9.20
Refer fredblogs 9.37
rext - March 17, 2011, 9:58AM
@CJ "Labor came to power on 24 November 2008 with only 4 people who had arrived by boat in detention. There are now more than 6500 and more than 600 children behind "razor wire,""
A post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_hoc_ergo_propter_hoc
To make your case, you must provide some positive evidence that the increase in boat arrival was caused by Labor policy, and also that it was not caused by other factors, rather than presenting your conjecture as a proven fact. Good luck with that.
"Specifically targeting Israel with this boycott...certainly seems to be a racist position as it is based on a person's ethnicity and religion."
No more than the widespread boycotts of South Africa last century were based on the ethnicity and religion of the Apartheid regime.
@GregPlatt "France & Germany have acquired migrant ghetto cultures not because of multiculturalism, but because of racism, which locks people from Muslim-majority countries out of mainstream society."
That's what I've thought about the places claiming that "multiculturalism doesn't work".
It has worked extremely well in the histories of Australia and the USA. Each 'wave' of immigration is resented by some, but within a generation is being widely accepted and putting down multicultural roots.
In Europe, many of the people open to new ideas, cultures and people migrate to places like Australia and the USA, leaving their more insular-minded fellows behind. No wonder *they* have integration issues with their immigrants.
Australia is altogether different and more accommodating.
tafkao | Over the Rainbow - March 17, 2011, 10:08AM
Maybe some of the current politicians both coalition and labor should get out into the real world and talk to people who have experienced racism. My wife has been abused twice in the last six months for no other reason than the color of her skin, both times by boorish anglo males. The language used was loud, racist, disgusting and threatening one time was in a shopping centre car park and another time outside a banks atm during daytime hours. On both occasions the general public and even bank staff walked by heard and saw what was going on and did not saying a word. Common manners, decency, respect, courtesy in Australia are no longer a norm. Boorish behaviour, racism and foul language is the new Australia.
Alan | Wollongong - March 17, 2011, 10:09AM
CJ | NSW - March 17, 2011, 9:40AM
- I guess they don't call it the "Inner West Bank," for nothing.
Good to see that you are not joining in on the racists comments like "Hanson the persecuted" or Fiona "I'm not a racist but" Byrne. Hilarious.
MPS | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 10:11AM
Whatev: your model is too simple and requires more roles such as advocates, activists, lawyers, Media, family members and or a community already existent in Australia. The poor orphan boy already had relatives here who may have paid smugglers via community contacts to get them on the boat they are informed of the possibility of rejection by advocates and the possibility of changes in law by activists and lawyers. The weighing up of all of the risks obviously leads to a decision by the payer and so they gambled with their own family members lives. They no doubt find it more convenient to blame factors other than their decision to pay the smugglers in the death of their family members it does not make it true though.
bill | sydney - March 17, 2011, 10:15AM
The reason Pauline Hanson offended me (and the reason why those in power were and are so comfortable with her) is that, like Hitler, she deflected the anger of the aggrieved away from those who had power to fix things, and directed it towards the powerless who were not responsible.
With Hitler it was Jews, gypsys, communists and homosexuals.
With Pauline, it was (and is) Asians, Muslims, aborigines, and single mothers.
And she divided Australians into the 'real' (those who agreed with her) and the others.
Ross | MALLABULA - March 17, 2011, 10:21AM
This is the biggest re-write of history since the search for weapons of mass destruction morphed into an operation to liberate the Iraqi people from tyranny. Ruddock neatly sidesteps the role his party played in unleashing the destruction and turmoil that led to a massive wave of asylum seekers in the first place.
Hanson's electoral success showed Howard the way to wedge the ALP support base and Phil Ruddock was his attack dog. A role that was later passed on to Abbott and now Morrison.
Cee Bee | Templestowe - March 17, 2011, 10:23AM
That the Lib's have a non-discriminatory policy on immigration is news to me.
I know from a friend whose nephew migrated to AUS last year that it took him about 12 moths to get accepted. He had engineering qualification accepted here, speaks the language, organised a job during the period of his application process and had his friend as a sponsor.
It is therefore not surprising that it takes time to process asylum seekers before they are accepted.
Ruddock's "ordinary Australians" probably know very little how the processing of immigration applications works.
The Libs were in power for 13 years and immigration increased from year to year over this period. Labor has only been in for 3 years and as I understand there is has been a slowing of the intake.
Perhaps more asylum seekers have arrived over the last 3 years but their number is insignificant in the overall scheme of things.
What P. Hanson concerns, she is running for the NSW parliament and even if she gets in will have no influence on immigration matters because it is a Federal decision process.
There are already enough fruit cakes in the NSW parliament or standing for it one more isn't going to make matters worse.
IMO the number of fruitcakes in parliament reflects the number of fruitcakes among voters.
Who said the world was a perfect place? NSW is certainly far from perfect.
nilton | sydney - March 17, 2011, 10:23AM
Pot calling Kettle Black?
Pardon me Mr Ruddock but you are the very definition of a racist, your government humiliated that good Emergency Doctor ,who put so many hours into saving our lives. You employed all of government to persecute a man on the basis of his race, and while this Doctor rotted in your jail, you spoke putting twisted spin to the media, when this poor man could not even speak to his solicitor and ask for help, as you denied it. Our new government just spent millions because of your contempt for humanity.
So please do not lecture others.
Dave | Melb - March 17, 2011, 10:24AM
@ Alan | Wollongong 10:09AM . I regret the actions directed towards your wife. But to add to this was an incident shown on the news last night at a train station here in Melbourne called St Albans. A father of 2 young children was slashed on the face by a group of youths simply for asking them to stop swearing in front of his wife. The group of youths was filmed on CTV running away and I hope they catch the scum. I agree that society norms are in a decline for our youth.
Average Josephine | Melbourne - March 17, 2011, 10:26AM
Oh for goodness sakes! Abbott has still not come out and formally reprimanded Scott Morrison for his behaviour around the Christmas Island funerals. What a joke. The Libs have clearly been appealing to the racist and xenophobic fears that simmer under the radar here (and in just about any country). They have NOT led on this issue but have used the race card to divide the country. This article is absolute rubbish!!
Jara | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 10:33AM
I know a lot of people who think like Hanson. They are good people who, like me, want the best for this country. In my experience most of them want a discriminatory immigration policy - some would even like more Chinese and Vietnamese but none of them want people from Muslim or African countries (or in the case of one bloke, Russians). Some of them are plain racist but many are not, but they object to the politically correct discourse of 'human rights' which demands that you can't discriminate. They want to be able to discriminate on cultural and especially religious grounds. If we don't agree we should argue each point on its merits, not call everyone who agrees with some of Hanson's views a racist.
I think the best policy is skills based as Ruddock says and I hated his government's refugee policy because, whatever the practical merits of some aspects it had a very dark side - the imprisonment of children, the vilification of refugees, the brutal treatment of them by private companies and government officials who could operate outside of the law and the constant exaggeration of the problem. But there is no doubt that such a policy did pacify the worst aspects of the gun toting racist minority. My preference would be a version of the Ruddock policy which included a commitment to treating people with humanity and care within the constraints of that policy.
dumb guy | suburbia - March 17, 2011, 10:35AM
@It'll...wash "I cite the basic definition of "racist"[which]...is "one who prefers their own kind""
Oxford dictionaries online does not concur:
"the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race , especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.
prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior"
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/racism
@CJ "Labor's policy failure,"
Labor's policy failure was Paul Keating introducing mandatory detention in 1992. It was blatantly trawling for the gutter vote then and Labor/Coalition refugee policy still is today.
@Nilton "IMO the number of fruitcakes in parliament reflects the number of fruitcakes among voters.
Who said the world was a perfect place? NSW is certainly far from perfect."
But NSW voters have a world-class sense of humour.
tafkao | Over the Rainbow - March 17, 2011, 10:38AM
I'm no fan of Pauline Hanson, but we NEED a discriminatory immigration policy.
We cannot just judge a potential migrant on their work skills alone! This is madness. We have to also ascertain how a potential migrant will view women or other cultures and races. If they believe in the secular state, the rule of law and democracy.
Strangely enough, not all people do. How diverse is that?
I'm sure many will criticise Ruddock for some of his decisions as Immigration Minister, but this piece (presumably intended to reassure the ethnic lobby after the Morris/Bernardi comments) is full of motherhood statements advancing diversity and the greater multicultural ideologies.
Where does the concerned voter turn to if both Labor and Liberals support this ideology?
Shaun | .... - March 17, 2011, 10:42AM
Current Liberal policy is very straightforward and understandable. Retain those racist voters they lost to One Nation and then won back.
After all One Nation wasn't formed with disillusioned Labor supporters was it?
enoughbs - March 17, 2011, 10:48AM
Mr Ruddock has to be grateful to Pauline Hanson. Howard adopted her suggestions of rascism and won an election. We have not forgotten 'Tampa'. That racsim 'cancer' introduced by Howard is still growing with neither party being able to act reasonably without bias due to fear of losing votes.
Not forgotten | Narre Warren - March 17, 2011, 10:49AM
It's a little disheartening to see someone like Ruddock, with his lawlerly demeanor and steadiness, espousing the tired received wisdoms of multiculturalism and diversity.
There must be some style sheet they hand around to various pollies and media types. 'They' being some academics and other pointy heads. Perhaps Ruddock has finally succumbed to the constant bashing?
It illustrates the depth to which the Left has owned immigration policy - for, if they are able to flood a nation with enough people of differing values and identities, then surely a revolution may follow. The centre won't hold and if your own proletariat won't revolt, why, just import one.
Partly explains why alot of the refugee advocates are far left activists from the various socialist parties in Australia.
SH | .... - March 17, 2011, 10:53AM
@ SL
You seem to be worried about the "hordes of skilled migrants"and foreign investors.
To feel less threatened all you have to do is have good skills yourself and save money so that you can invest as well.
As a local you should know the ropes here and thus be in a better position to succeed than any migrant who still has to learn the ropes.
IMO only insecure people are afraid of migrants.
PS. I am in favour of a proper immigration process on the basis of the needs of the nation.
nilton | sydney - March 17, 2011, 10:56AM
Asylum seekers are a very small part of the overall immigrant intake and even though it has been decades since we had a white Australia policy, politicians still fall over themselves to claim how non-discriminatory they are, usually while labeling someone else a racist. These are both political posturing, non-issues in terms of their effects on most Australians.
The real issue is population growth, this is what is having the greatest negative effects on livability of our cities and the environment.
Politicians will claim that the high immigration rate is to address 'skills shortages' this is an arbitrary concept, the price of labour has always been determined by demand. Just because business wants to pay less for labor doesn't mean we have a skills shortage.
High immigration keeps wages down, it improves the profits of business at the expense of workers wages. This has very much been the trend in recent years, a greater division between the rich and poor. The extent to which lower wages improve our international competitiveness is minimal. To start with 80% of our goods and services are consumed within Australia. Wages in neighboring countries are so much lower that we can't compete on labor costs anyway.
If high immigration is about skills shortages why are all the recent immigrants I meet driving taxis and working in convenience stores? it's not like we don't have high youth unemployment in the suburbs.
Politicians have swallowed business lobby bulldust.
High immigration does not improve the lot of ordinary Australians it just gives a short term boost to business profits.
Andrew | Reservoir - March 17, 2011, 11:08AM
MPS-
I made up the term "leftyy-fascist" because it's mainly the extreme left and right people who oppose freeedom of assembly, freedom of speech and other normally accepted freedoms in a democracy (or any enlightened system). Sometimes it's hard to distinguish between left and right because their extreme bullying gets in the way.
David Morrison | Springwood NSW - March 17, 2011, 11:16AM
I see the usual I-love-asylum-seekers-but-I-wouldn't-have-them-in-my-house posters are out in force again.
It's quite simple really - any law-abiding person from any country is welcome in Australia as long as they enter through legitimate channels and go through due process. Trying to get around them by boat is not acceptable, and they should be sent back without access to any government officials or lawyers.
It is our country, they are our borders; WE say who does and who does not come to live here.
Welcome to those who have done the right thing, I hope you have a happy life here.
Send them back | Bri*****ane - March 17, 2011, 11:18AM
@Average Josephine. Yes I certainly agree Australian society norms have been in decline for a very long time. Something needs to be done to teach common manners, decency, courtesy and respect by both parents and teachers to young people and just the general public these days.
Alan | Wollongong - March 17, 2011, 11:18AM
@tafkao - Given the Oxofrd dictionary's in-no-uncertain-terms definition of "racist" the end result can really only be one who prefers their own kind.
It'll all come out in the wash | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 11:18AM
Jayness-
"Vile Nile is so homohobic"
The way Mr Nile takes on homosexual ideas shows that he is not homophobic He is not "scared of sameness", which is what "homophobic" should mean.
Actually, your comment is typical of the vilification that is poured out on those who believe that homosexual behaviour is wrong. Vile Nile? Be serious.
David Morrison | Springwood NSW - March 17, 2011, 11:24AM
Multiculturalism does not work here and has not worked in France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Holland etc. The insane insistence of politicians like Mr Ruddock to use feel good language to cover up failure simply allows the problem to get worse, instead of taking steps to try to fix it.
bruce | central coast - March 17, 2011, 11:30AM
Pauline and people who agree her are always harping on about the lack of integration by immigrants, blah! blah!
MOST immigrants INTEGRATE. MOST immigrants are law abiding contributors. MOST immigrants respect Australian way of life.
Perhaps what Pauline means by integration is to have red hair, pale skin and bogan accent. If so, then MOST immigrants DO NOT integrate.
sfx - March 17, 2011, 11:42AM
Mr Ruddock - three words spring to mind - Pot Kettle Black.
I won't forget the part you played in the Howard Government and no mea culpa will change that.
krose | Melbourne - March 17, 2011, 11:43AM
People like Merkel, Cameron and Sakorzy realise the mayhem left by their predecessors but feel caged in and unable to do anything abou tit. Most of that dates back to World War II and the Civil Rights Movement, and the subsequent brainwashing and guilt inducement which followed, along with support for Israel.
Europe have experienced ethnic conflict in living memory, in the Balkans and the Caucaus, and many ethnic issues elsewhere remaining unresolved presenting a powder keg situation.
David V. | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 11:54AM
If high immigration is about skills shortages why are all the recent immigrants I meet driving taxis and working in convenience stores?@Andrew
I would add security guards, dish washers and cleaners to the jobs taken by profesionals migrants.
In the weekend Australian was boosting the success of immigration with the story of 45 years old engineer that just migrated here. Well, we take migrants in their fifties and sixties and they work a decade in Australia and he have to support them later for a few decades is not very smart for the Lucky country.
We even take 10,000 pensioners from overseas every year?!? I thought we have enough old people here and with aging society this is bordering to stupidity.
With migration there is shott term benefit but long term costs for the taxpayers. The polies and business boost about the benefits but no mentioning of the pension, health, education and infrastructure costs. Well the Productivity Commission had a study few years ago and the benefits according to her were few hundred dollars after 30 years.
Sargent Soapie - March 17, 2011, 11:54AM
@ CJ | NSW - March 17, 2011, 9:04AM
"Only the Coalition have the courage and the proven policies to stop the boats and to stop people risking their, and their families lives."
So,CJ, tell us what those policies are. I've heard plenty of 3-word slogans from the cons, but no actual policy. Please enlighten us.
BillR - March 17, 2011, 12:17PM
@It'll...wash "Given the Oxofrd dictionary's in-no-uncertain-terms definition of "racist" the end result can really only be one who prefers their own kind."
and invent their own definitions for words as well, obviously.
My guess would be that the word signifying "one who prefers 'their' own kind" would be 'homophile', meaning "loving sameness", and by association, liking people who are like you.
I hope you don't find that uncomfortable.
I myself am a blatant heterophile.
tafkao | Over the Rainbow - March 17, 2011, 12:18PM
@nilton
If I were lacking in skills, I'd be worried about genuinely skilled migrants rather than the unskilled ones posing as skilled. My experience with them is that a good number either add nothing to or even decrease productivity. If we're going to have unproductive workers, we might as well use unemployed locals and reduce the welfare bill a bit. I think we should be more stringent and ensure that only the better skilled migrants get in.
As for investors, my gripe again is that we're not getting any value. Current rules allow them to get away with simply running a bottle shop or take away for a few years, which in my eyes does not amount to a meaningful investment. Meanwhile, they have the wealth and incentive to pour money into housing, making it harder for locals to purchase homes.
I too believe in an immigration policy based on needs, and while we do have a need for genuine skilled and investor migrants, our current policy isn't providing that.
SL - March 17, 2011, 12:23PM
Not only should we learn from past mistakes, but we should learn from the experiences of other western nations. Instead we have our current Minister for Immigration stating that somehow we are unique thereby rendering us immune from the problems now faced in the UK and western Europe.
Governments who arrogantly ignore community concerns over aspects of their respective immigration programs do so at their own peril. Unfortunately, it makes the dogma of right-wing anti-immigration groups and individuals more attractive, because nobody is listening. Hence the initial rise of Pauline Hanson, and why she is trying again at the present time.
Is it unreasonable to expect that people accepted into Australia under our immigration program embrace Australian values and share in its benefits by developing the skills of full citizenry? When groups who are hostile to Australian values are encouraged to express their "cultural differences" in the guise of multiculturalism a dangerous precedent is set.
Basking in the success of our immigration program to date will not protect us from the problems which have been occurring overseas. Successful immigrants integrate into mainstream Australian society. This does not mean abandoning cultural practices from their country of origin. It means joining in the expression of Australian values in the way you live your daily life. Those groups who refuse to do this and actively resist integration are also those groups which end up as socially and culturally disadvantaged.
Is the host society to blame for this? It is if it encourages these groups to believe that it is their right to hold on to cultural beliefs and practices which are at odds with mainstream Australian values regardless of the disadvantage this causes them.
ten pound pom | Melbourne - March 17, 2011, 12:26PM
@ CJ | NSW - March 17, 2011, 9:40AM
"Ms Byrne, supported by Labor councillors, successfully pushed last year for the council to ban commercial, cultural and sporting exchanges with Israel at a cost of millions of dollars in administration for local ratepayers."
Please give us the references so we can check on the details, specifically the "millions of dollars" spent. If you can prove that contention, you'll have my agreement that it shouldn't have been done.
"Specifically targeting Israel with this boycott - which Byrne has publicly said she wants NSW wide if elected - certainly seems to be a racist position as it is based on a person's ethnicity and religion."
Israel is not a race nor is it an ethnicity - it is a sovereign country.
"Why is this not talked about publicly in the same way as the views of Pauline Hanson?"
The facts of it have been, but not your particular version,
"While she has every right to run, I have no time for Hanson or her views and wish she would just quietly fade away."
Agreed.
"But the fact that she is targeted where the Green's Fiona Byrne is not I find quite disgraceful. I guess they don't call it the "Inner West Bank," for nothing."
Fiona Byrne has been under scrutiny, it's just that it's old news, Hanson's running is new.
BillR - March 17, 2011, 12:28PM
Whatev: To further explain the model all of the reasons going into making the decision to pay the people smuggler can correctly be called FACTORS. If any of the factors have changed in their attributes such as it making the desired outcome more likely then it makes the payment of the smuggler more likely. If the factor that has changed favorably is within the destination country it could be called a PULL factor and if the factor that has changed unfavorably in the country of origin it could be called a PUSH factor. Since we have only little influence on the policies of other countries we cant influence push factors much. The only factors we can influence would be government policy and law in this country. If the laws have become more benign or welcoming under the ALP then you can say that they have generated some PULL FACTORS.
It is the way of the inane socialist left to declare war on the language used by any opponent as invalid or biased in some way pushing the words into the land of the politically incorrect and dumbing down the argument until they have a chance to win in idiotic idealistic grounds backed up by their flawed socialist paradigm. I am keeping my vocabulary thanks.
bill | sydney - March 17, 2011, 12:36PM
I have friends who have migrated to Australia in the last 5 to 10 years, highly trained overseas as Engineers who even after applying for hundreds of jobs cant even get a job as a trades assistant. Australian companies HR are stuck in a 1950s time warp, if you dont have a anglo sounding name, gone to a Australian or European University or TAFE, they dont want to know you. Also companies do not want to train anyone.
Barry - March 17, 2011, 12:36PM
Remember the past!!!!!!!
Only too well Ruddock. I remember a "premeditated act" that never happened, your sharks, Cornelia Rau,Vivien Solon, water cannon and electrified fences. I remember refugees waiting more than FIVE YEARS for release. A man in the Torres Strait alone with his cat costing millions. I remember Tampa. I remember the psychological damage, the lies about what was going on in your vile detention centres, the trauma still being lived out by refugee friends. Lest we forget!
And I couldn't bring myself to read a thing you may write. You have no credibility whatsoever. You make Julia Gillard look like a saint.
And ironically my security code for this message is "carked"! How appropriate!
Cliff G | Adelaide - March 17, 2011, 12:41PM
If I am not mistaken, Pauline Hanson has moved from a "White only" migration to a policy where she wants no migrants at all. Or to understand her correctly no foreign workers at all.
I am sure there are many "simple Australians" who agree with her and also want this to be a policy adopted by the Govt.
My question to the fish chips lady and to all people who share her ideals is this.
Are you aware of the number of American / Australian workers are employed in Asian countries? How many Australians have gone to "teach" english to the Japanese? How about having Japanese versions of Pauline asking the Aussie teachers to go back. Surely they can find Japanese people who speak and write good English.
Grow up you people. The world is becoming a smaller place. There is simply no way, any 1 lady or even one large party can prevent what the internet and telecommunications have already done.
Skilled Migrant | Melbourne - March 17, 2011, 12:41PM
What do you expect from a country that had the a white only policy up until the 1960s and was pretty much on parr with aparthied South Africa in regards to the Aboriginal population.
Barry | Mortdale - March 17, 2011, 12:50PM
Not once in your text did I find any examples of Hanson policies that you disagree with and what you would do better.
If the only way you can counter Hanson is by smears, labelling and personal attacks, then I don't think you should be a politician in a democracy at all. Same goes for most mainstream media I'm afraid.
What is it about Hanson that you so dislike? She's been proved right on most issues. Most European leaders and intellectuals are coming to the exact same conclusion as she did a long time ago.
Declare your own views instead of accusing others of having unacceptable ones Ruddock! This text that you've published tells me more about your own democratic principles than it does of Hanson's. Shame.
Chiara | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 12:54PM
I certainly won't forget the lessons of the past Phillip Ruddock. The Howard government made me ashamed to be an Australian - I will never forget, nor forgive.
Dan | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 1:03PM
@BillR "So,CJ, tell us what those policies are. I've heard plenty of 3-word slogans...?"
It was "Stop the Great Big New Taxi Boats" what more do you need?
@Bill "Since we have only little influence on the policies of other countries we cant influence push factors much. "
We helped "influence" Afghanistan and Iraq.
Whatever the rights or wrongs of either voluntary invasion, we cannot say we did not contribute to ongoing push factors'.
We aren't discernibly 'pushing' Tamil refugees, but if the prospect of slightly less racist, slightly more humane treatment for Tamil refugees makes them more willing to apply to us, that's evidence of a slight retreat from mendacious, racist victimising of refugees.
Ditto the ones we have 'pushed'.
Australia should be proud of any retreat back to the days of compassionate and respectful treatment of refugees.
tafkao | Over the Rainbow - March 17, 2011, 1:08PM
The saturnine Phillip Ruddock has emerged, only to begin parroting the same old Howard policies that helped him and Abbot into opposition. This dissertation has really shown that leopards can't change their spots
Pete | Leeton - March 17, 2011, 1:08PM
I find Pauline Hanson to be a populist fraud who constantly contradicts herself about race/immigration issues amongst other things and I don't think she even knows what she is on about at times. However to be fair she did make it clear in a recent radio interview that matters of immigration are a federal issue and that she is concentrating on issues that affect her electorate such as roads and health. So as long as she doesn't campaign on Federal issues then what she has said in the past is largely irrelevant to this election and I hate state candidates who campaign on federal issues so at least that is something. It may well be that people will either vote for her or against her based on the past and that is fine but I fail to see how this article by Philip Ruddock serves any worthwhile purpose. After all Philip Ruddock was the one that put up the argument that the Asylum seekers arriving during his time were not poor as they had paid people smugglers $10,000 US (as if being rich or poor had anything to do with it) while at the same time insisting on always wearing his Amnesty International badge. Gee they could have bought a second hand car with that money. Philip Ruddock why are you stepping into this debate now just prior to an election with your track record? If you feel so strongly about what Pauline Hanson has said in the past then why doesn't the Liberal party urge people with similar views who have abandoned One Nation to not vote for your party? Just look at the comments here to see who the anti-multiculturists support or don't support.
MPS | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 1:10PM
@ Dan
Is Julia making you feel proud Dan?
SteveH. - March 17, 2011, 1:12PM
"The fact that Australia has remained united in the 15 years since the terror outrages in the US on September 11, 2001 and in Bali on October 12, 2002, as well as the Cronulla riots, shows the lack of substance in her views."
Is my math deserting me or are we coming up to 10 years since 9/11 WTF everyone here is pretty spot on successive govts from both sides of the house have been totally ignorant to public feeling on this issue for nigh on 30 years yet they still continue to tot out this same old line.
We need a new breed of leader in this country one who is in touch with the mood and emotion of the nation and who can make strong policy decisions accordingly. This current bunch of amateurs are simply not up to the task perhaps if we can ditch this pathetic gillard abbott circus and allow a new switched on breed of leader to emerge then country will continue to atrophy.
I've always had a soft spot for the term "Military Strongman"
Cezanne | Transnestria - March 17, 2011, 1:21PM
Build a bridge and get over it people. Last time I checked we lived in a capitalist society - noone will ever stop the boats.
Get over it! - March 17, 2011, 1:24PM
@sfx
Could you please explain the "Australian way of life" to me.
I have lived 43 years here and I lived my way of life all the time so far.
That Australian way of life stuff is a mystery to me as are Australian values.
I live according to my values and so far have not felt the need to tell others to live according to my way of life or according to my values.
I also take no notice of others way of life or values.
If I don't like them I avoid such people.
nilton | sydney - March 17, 2011, 1:25PM
Gosh bill -
you can argue with yourself all day about who is trying to take your vocabulary from you! But please - do heed Tony Abbott and try to keep yourself nice - people can debate issues and tolerate different opinions without resorting to name calling, can't they?
I am genuinely interested in any stats you might have about how effective your pull FACTORS have been in influencing asylum seeker choices - do let me know.
whatev | Melbourne - March 17, 2011, 1:25PM
@cj - your comments about Fiona Byrne are factually incorrect and potentially defamation. You should consider revising them.
http://nsw.greens.org.au/content/no-plan-or-intent-push-gbds-state-parliament
thebigriboldi | Marrickville - March 17, 2011, 1:29PM
Mr Ruddock, why is the Liberal party supporting multiculturalism? Most Australians, like myself, support a multiracial Australia but i will never support a multicultural one. And why should i? If immigrants do not like Australia's culture and do not wish to be a part of it, then they should seek to live elsewhere. If they wish to contribute to Australia and embrace our culture, then i welcome them with open arms. If Pauline Hanson is the only politician supporting an Australian culture, then i will be looking for her on the ballot paper. The rest of your article was politically correct hogwash.
Mitch | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 1:32PM
Some of the comments are laughable - Here we have 5th or 6th generation migrants whinging about 1st or 2nd generation migrants arriving and not fitting in with the "culture". I would advise the 5th or 6th generation migrants to have a discussion with the Aborigines about how they must feel and read a few books from their local primary school to get educated. Then if they still feel strongly that migrants shouldn't come here and retain some of their culture they can either conform with indigineous culture or go back to their ancestral gaol captain cook took them from. This is absurd, migrants will always retain remanants of their heritage, and you seriously can't expect them to suddenly chuck it all away - look at what happened to the stolen generation when they tried it on them. Why do you think we are all writing our comments in English, its derived from England, the place where a lot of these "aussies" are actually from.
KETTLE.POT.BLACK.
PS - Ruddock looks like Darth Sidious from Star Wars!
nathan | sydney - March 17, 2011, 1:32PM
There is never any shortage of people who play semantics with definitions, but sometimes a definition does resonate, and you know that it's true.
In the case of a "racist", it is defined as anybody who is winning an argument against a liberal.
Greg - March 17, 2011, 1:34PM
Have those people, who quote Cameron and Merkel on multiculturalism, considered that Cameron and Merkel may be shit-stirring in the same way that Hanson is.
The riots and murders in Germany tend to have Turkish immigrants as their victims, and not the other way around.
Ross | MALLABULA - March 17, 2011, 1:38PM
It'll all come out in the wash | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 11:18AM
If you mean by 'you own kind' as being Australian, then I should remind you that Dolly Dunn, Chopper Read, Carl Williams and Ival Milat are all aussies too. However, if you mean those with whom with you share common core values, then there is, in all likelyhood, many people in detention who are closer, in kind, to you than the aussies I mentioned.
Caligula | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 1:43PM
Mr Ruddock, given your party's support of multiculturalism, please explain why Tony Abbott tell the United Israel Appeal Victoria function that he is dedicated to a multicultural Israel and to a non-discriminatory Israeli immigration policy?
Why does the Coaltion and the ALP support ethnocentrism and the Jewish state of Israel, but nothing similar for any country with a majority European population?
Or in other words, why do both of our major political parties believe that multiculturalism is bad for Israel but good for Australia?
Greg - March 17, 2011, 1:43PM
@ Gary - March 17, 2011, 7:59AM Yes we will remember Ruddock. We will remember his 12 years in senior Government, getting voted back in for 11 years due to his Governments record.
Less people risking the boats under Howard ment less boats and believe me the voters will remember this at the next election. Howards policies avoided hundreds of kids in detention (unlike Gillard) because refugees would'nt risk coming anymore. Gillard has embarressed this country, while also being cruel.
So keep crying to yourself GARY, Ozzys backed this man up and voted his Government in for 11 years. So remember what you want!
paul | Bri*****ane - March 17, 2011, 1:52PM
Ruddock's right about one thing - we need to shut the door on racial extremists. Here's the mainstream solution to the other extremists - LibLabs who push policies of high population growth against the will of the people: STABLE POPULATION PARTY www.populationparty.com
New choice - March 17, 2011, 1:53PM
It is self-evident that diversity is divisive, and that multiculturalism has damaged social cohesion and destroyed the unifying Australian identity.
No great nation has ever arisen from multicultural origins, on the contrary, it is a sign of a nation in decline, and has been since the fall of Rome. Look at what multiculturalism has done to the Soviet Union, Rwanda, India/Pakistan, Czechoslavakia, Yugoslavia, & Somalia. Look at how it destroyed the Spanish Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire and now the American Empire.
And the fact that the ALP & Greens are even worse than the Coalition, is no reason to vote for the Coalition. The lesser or two evils is still evil. I will be proudly voting for Hanson.
Greg - March 17, 2011, 1:53PM
A decent education system would mean people such as Hanson simply would not exist. Thus, we wouldn't be having these endless circular arguments.
Matt | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 1:57PM
To CJ, milly, etc of the anti-multicultural brigade, I'd love a response to this:
Saying multiculturalism has failed is akin to saying australians are rascist don't you agree. A few tools make it bad for the majority of the rest. Saying it has "failed" is an insult to hardworking immigrants like my parents and first geners like me. We assimilate, have friends from all walks, races and ethinicities. We do significant charity work to help all Aussies, all give our time to actively help other Aussies (my parents are teachers and lecturers who do extensive free teaching to lesser advantaged, I provide free healthcare to this who can't afford it).
What do YOU do for your fellow aussies? This behaviour is true for the vast majority of hard working immigrants and australians per se. My parents came here with the clothes on their backs, have never had welfare, yet are self sufficient retirees through hard work and graft. You say migrants take all the jobs, welfare etc - this isn't true and there are facts and figures to prove it - no self respecting migrant wants welfare. Perhaps you can explain why I regulalry see 4th generation welfare recipietns who never have "any money because of the migrants" - but never look for work, smoke a couple of packs of cigs/day, drink copiously, smoke weed and take speed. Are all Aussies lazy, rascist dole-bludgers? No, not at all, they are in the minority, just like non-assimilating migrants.
Stop the sensationalistic drivel
SPR | Brisvegas - March 17, 2011, 1:58PM
Who reactivated Davros? I thought he'd been unplugged for good?
The orthodox Liberal Party argument seems to be this:
Decent God fearing folk dont resort to the fish and chip shop language of Pauline Hanson. Rather, they win over Pauline's brain damaged suburban consituency using more neutral, calculating bureaucratic devices - or sociopathic media stunts on the eve of an election like, the Children Overboard Affair. (In his defence, I doubt Davros was actually behind that particular stunt - It had honest John Howard's fingerprints all over it).
mint slice | sydney - March 17, 2011, 1:59PM
@Ross of Mallabula, you're clearly totally clueless. Do you know anything about the dire situation in Europe at all? Turks in Germany are so underrepresented in the workforce and overrepresented in crime statistics and welfare dependence that we can actually talk of parallel societies. What happens when the welfare money runs out is anyone's guess. What we do know is that the demographics are changing very quickly and that increasing number of Turks identify with a pan-Islamic ideal rather than a secular Turkish one, which they largely used to.
The situation in France is ever worse. So is the Netherlands and Sweden.
All those who rage against "White only" policies, has it ever occurred to you that this is the norm around the world apart from in Western countries? India has a ethnic Indian first policy where foreign born ethnic Indians are welcome in India but others not so much. Most Chinese majority countries have a formal preference for ethnic chinese immigrants. Japan only accepts large immigration from other japanese ex-emigrants to Brazil. Non ethnic Japanese are not welcome apart from very small numbers if they need a particular skill. It's virtually impossible to emigrate to Korea, even short time workpermits are restricted. While muslims are welcome in Saudi Arabia, non muslims are not welcome apart for on short term work contracts. Israel has a clearly stated Jews-first policy.
There's nothing abnormal about this. Every ethnicity in the world puts their own kind first. Except of course for the Western world where such a natural thing has all of a sudden become "racist". It's all part of the liberal dogma we've been force fed for the last couple of decades.
Chiara | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 2:02PM
Ah Phil, as your career comes to a close are you living in a world of remorse? Do you still have your Amnesty International membership? That's good. Must make you feel so much better; and help you forget that part of your career when you adopted the mantle of racial extremist - manufacturing policies that discriminated against the most oppressed and desperate of all people. And then, to blame those victims with "Children Overboard". Many of us won't forget, Phil. And neither should you. I hope in your last days you are haunted by the darker moments of your public life. Good riddance!
Lynchpin | Bri*****ane - March 17, 2011, 2:25PM
Chiara | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 2:02PM
That has been the damage done to the West by the prevailing dogma since World War II. Ethnocentricity is taught as being wrong, even though every other country is allowed to practice it.
David V. | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 2:35PM
I've often wondered what the basis for the psychological shortcoming of inherent disapproval of other cultures is?
rext - March 17, 2011, 2:42PM
So all those who want to keep "Australian Culture & Values" constant - has any nation or people ever achieved that in history leave aside this globalised age? The problem this country has is we have an over-representation of these regressive types and the politicians, for obvious reasons, pander to this segment in direct or indirect ways. Starting with the aboriginals every people in this country has seen change introduced by the 'migrants'. That infact is the only constant Australian value!
Sooty Grunta | All At Sea - March 17, 2011, 2:55PM
Too late. There's a reason demonisation of boatpeople, Muslims and Indians works in this Country. Aussies are inherently racist.
All you have to do is look at the number of posts on forums like this that start with "I'm not a racist, BUT"
Tony Abbott knows it, Pauline Hanson knows it and they both use it very effectively.
Now sit back and watch all the "non-racists" flame away. Deep down they know the truth too.
vic | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 3:10PM
The racist,sexist and homophobic undercurrent that is so prevalent in Australia will only contribute to the economic decline of this country because young educated people like myself will take our taxpayer funded education and move to progressive countries where
minorities are respected and not vilified.
PD | Melbourne - March 17, 2011, 3:11PM
Chiara - "@Ross of Mallabula, you're clearly totally clueless."
No I am not. Turks in Germany have been the targets of racial crime, including the burning of Turkish dormitories and houses by neo-Nazi groups. They are the victims of racism.
As to unemployment and crime - they generally do go together, but remember that the Turks were brought or encouraged to come to Germany to do the jobs that Germans did not want.
And the Turks did not cause the current GFC that has left most western countries with big pools of unemployed. It was whites like you and me - monocultural or otherwise.
Are the Turks unemployed because they cannot speak the language (unlikely) or because they have not received equal education and opportunity (probable) or because German employers prefer to employ ethnic Germans (possible - showing anti-multiculturalism rather than multiculturalism to be at fault.)
Ross | MALLABULA - March 17, 2011, 3:12PM
nilton | sydney - March 17, 2011, 1:25PM says "Could you please explain the "Australian way of life" to me....That Australian way of life stuff is a mystery to me as are Australian values." Yes Nilton, of course we have an 'Australian way of life' it encompasses: freedom of speech; democracy; separation between church and state; equality for women; tolerance/acceptance of gays etc. If you haven't figured this out after 43 years, then you are not very clever. I am sick to death of Lefties pretending that the only Australian values that we have is drinking beer and getting drunk. If you don't believe we have an Australian way of life then go and live in Iran, China or some other totalitarian hole. I'm sure they'll respect your freedom of speech there.
Anna C - March 17, 2011, 3:18PM
'CJ, yeah right - they're not fleeing persecution, starvation and death, they're coming all this way across the ocean in dangerous vessels because we look like such a welcoming nation.'
jofek - March 17, 2011, 9:49AM
I think that's partly true. We like to tell the world that we're "the lucky country", that our cities are the most livable and our way of life is enviable. As the largest Western democracy in the region, it's therefore no wonder that many people would believe the hype and want to come here, especially if they're fleeing persecution or war in their own country. Of course, the reality is far different.
But my question to those who feel that multiculturalism has failed:
What Do You Want?
Do you just want to look out and view a sea of white faces?
Do you want all the immigrants to forsake their language, only speaking English not only in public, but also at home?
Do you want them to forget their culture, religion and history as well?
Please enlighten me.
Brendan | Melbourne - March 17, 2011, 3:26PM
Ross it's amusing to read your naivety. I don't think you've ever read up on or experienced the situation on the ground, because the ideological world-view that you carry wouldn't hold up if the facts were known to you. Anyway, that's your choice. If you want to continue to see the world in this way then do so, but I'm sure that sooner or later that world-view will fall apart. We will be getting to that point in the next decade.
Why don't you go to Europe to see how things have worked out for them? Massimmigration and multiculturalism have compromised everything they once held dear: democracy, a good economy, freedom of speech, personal safety, equality before the law, safety for women, safety for gays, safety for jews. It's all in jeopardy.
Chiara | Sydney - March 17, 2011, 3:37PM
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