Recent Australian attitudes to immigration

Australia has a long history of encouraging immigration and a consensus of long standing about that. The consensus arose out of the fact that Australia is quite "empty" comparted with the billions of people in lands to our North. It was felt that a bigger Australian population was needed for defence purposes. For that reason, approval of immigration is unusually high in Australia. Approval has been kept high by the fact that most immigrants to date have been from Europe and Asia -- bringing people to Australia who assimilate very successfully to Australian society. Recent arrivals of significant numbers of Muslims and Africans seem likely to fray that happy situation in the future, however. The famous Cronulla riots were a reaction to perceived Muslim arrogance and hostility. Some statistics below and thoughts about prosperity and immigration. The years under the recently deposed Howard government were ones of high and rising economic prosperity

The long economic boom probably does much to explain another paradox. Under Howard, our immigration program was built up to record levels. The more the economy boomed, the more migrants he let in. But while all this was happening, public disapproval of immigration was falling, not rising. In the middle of last year only 35 per cent of respondents considered the intake to be too high, half the proportion feeling that way in 1996. Almost half the respondents considered the balance of immigration from different countries to be "about right".

It's true that only a third of people approved of government assistance to ethnic minorities to maintain their customs and traditions. But such spending is never popular - it's seen as benefiting select minorities, not the nation - and, if anything, approval is up a bit. Overall, almost 70 per cent of people agreed with the proposition that "accepting immigrants from many different countries makes Australia stronger". But agreement was higher among men than women, varied significantly between states, was higher in state capitals than the rest of the state, and tended to decline with the rising age of the respondents.

Agreement rose with the respondents' level of education. Predictably, it was higher among those born overseas than those born in Australia, and highest among those overseas-born from a non-English speaking background.

Of course, the degree of actual contact with immigrants varies greatly between city and country, as well as between capital cities. Overall, just under a quarter of the population was born overseas. But the proportion ranges from 35 per cent in Sydney, 34 per cent in Perth and 31 per cent in Melbourne, to 25 per cent in Adelaide, 23 per cent in Brisbane and 13 per cent in Hobart.

Why did Howard's reign see us become so much more relaxed about high and rising levels of immigration? Predominantly, I guess, because of our rising economic security. Historically, we've been leery of migrants when we feared they'd take our jobs or drive down our wage rates. As part of that, people may have found the move to a much higher proportion of immigrants with scarce skills - and so a lot less family reunion - less threatening.

But I suspect the very fact that Howard seemed so suspicious of immigrants - so tough on asylum seekers, so insistent that we will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come - has reassured many people that the Government's in control and can be trusted to protect our interests. So the era of Pauline Hanson has passed - partly because Howard, seeing his voter base under threat, promptly donned some of her clothes.

Rudd, of course, fully intends to keep the high immigration program going, although he's likely to be somewhat less punitive in his treatment of unauthorised immigrants and a lot less punitive in his rhetoric. It will be interesting to see whether, with a slowing economy and without all the waving of sticks, he can preserve the present retreat from xenophobia.

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Hospital sits unused as man dies from lightning strike

The TV comedy "Yes Minister" comes to life -- tragically



A man struck by lightning in far north Queensland has died after he was unable to be treated in a hospital - which sits unmanned despite being built almost six months ago. The man, Joey Tamwoy, believed to be in his mid 30s, was on a crayfish expedition with a friend in waters off Darnley Island in the Torres Strait when he was struck by lightning about 3pm on Tuesday. Mr Tamwoy, a well known local man who worked as a garbage collector for the Torres Strait Island Regional Council, was alive when the small tinnie he was aboard returned to shore. However he died a short time later. It could not be confirmed whether he died before or after he was admitted to the island's existing medical centre.

Medical staff operate out of the condemned building, which locals say is rat infested and occasionally without running water, despite the completion last year of a $5.3 million hospital, just 200m away. But the new hospital is a virtual ghost facility despite being operational since December last year. A temporary generator was installed before Christmas that can power the entire hospital, except the morgue and doctor's quarters. Despite that, Queensland Health has refused to commission the hospital until full scale power is provided to the remaining areas.

A Torres Strait Islander, speaking on the condition he remain anonymous, said he and others on the island believed Mr Tomwoy's life could have been saved had the new hospital been staffed. ``They have stuffed us around for so long,'' he said. ``They finished it last year and it's just been sitting there doing nothing. ``Maybe it could have saved him. He had a pulse when he came to shore. ``Lots of people survive a lightning strike.''

The man said Mr Tamwoy, while ``no angel'', was a ``decent bloke'' who was much admired on volcanic Darnley Island, a tiny indigenous community of about 350 people, most of whom are in shock at his death. ``He didn't have to go out like that,'' he said. ``He was a good guy. ``No one can believe it. We're all just very sad and shocked.''

The island has been without a registered nurse since late March when the island's only nurse left amid concerns at the decrepit old medical centre. Beth Mohle, the assistant secretary with the Queensland Nurses Union, said the nurse was keen to return to the island when the new hospital opens. ``Our member has always been keen to get back to work on Darnley as soon as is practical but unfortunately the nurse's old facility is condemned and the new facility hasn't even been commissioned yet,'' she said.

Health Minister Stephen Robertson told state parliament yesterday the ``power supply issues (at the facility) should be resolved this week''. Ms Mohle said the hospital was probably closer to opening sometime in late May, a claim backed by Queensland Health's northern area general manager Roxanne Ramsey.

Ergon Energy declined to comment on when the hospital would be fully operational. Electrical infrastructure has already been delivered to the island but a native title and cultural heritage assessment of the area needs to be undertaken before construction work commences. ``It's a top priority project and we'll finalise it as soon as all other party's needs are satisfied,'' Mr Bowes said.

Mr Tamwoy's body was yesterday flown to Thursday Island for an autopsy. The scandal is yet another for Queensland Health in the Torres Strait. In May this year a nurse was raped while sleeping in her quarters on Mabauig Island. The alleged attack occurred despite forewarnings about safety from the nurse herself, 27, and others, in remote Queensland communities.

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Changes to Qld. spanking laws watered down

CONTROVERSIAL proposals to outlaw the smacking of children have been watered down. Under new proposals it will be impossible for parents to hide behind a legal defence that allows them to assault their kids under the guise of discipline. Section 280 of Queensland's Criminal Code at present allows a parent, guardian, or teacher to use "such force as is reasonable under the circumstances" when correcting, disciplining or managing a child. Former attorney-general Dean Wells had wanted a legislative ban on parents smacking their children. He said last year it was "unlawful to hit your next door neighbour with a stick, it ought to be unlawful to hit your kids with a stick".

Mr Wells told a public lecture in Brisbane last night that he now wanted to amend the legislation so it no longer operated as a defence to any kind of assault on a child - other than a common assault, such as a non-injuring smack. "The effect of this would be to allow parents to smack their children, but not to injure them, not to inflict on them an assault occasioning bodily harm, or grievous bodily harm," Mr Wells said.

Neither Premier Anna Bligh nor Attorney-General Kerry Shine responded to requests for comment on the push. But the Labor MPs for Ipswich, Redcliffe, Barron River and Cook (Jo-Ann Miller, Lillian Van Litsenburg, Stephen Wettenhall and Jason O'Brien) backed the proposal.

The New Zealand Parliament last year controversially legislated to make it a crime for parents to physically punish their children, with the decision to prosecute left to the discretion of police. The proposed Queensland amendments would not go that far. Ms Miller, one of those MPs who supported the push, said the change being sought was not about outlawing "short smacks" but punishments like beltings. "I think children should be protected from the use of excessive force," Ms Miller said.

Mr O'Brien - who said he would not support a complete ban on smacking even though he did not physically punish his own child - also said he expected wider support to be "tested over the coming months". Mr Wettenhall - a former lawyer - said: "Although I don't condone the use of physical force as an effective form of discipline for children, confining the defence to charges of common assault would be a reasonable compromise that acknowledges it is not in the public interest that parents be liable to criminal conviction for very minor acts of domestic discipline," he said.

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Homosexuals lose one

THE DECISION to ban students from escorting gay partners to the Anglican Church Grammar School formal next month has been fully endorsed by the school council. Up to eight students had wanted to take boyfriends and raised the issue with a senior staff member, who passed the request to Churchie headmaster Jonathan Hensman. At the time Mr Hensman said it was not appropriate for students to take a same-sex partner because escorting a young woman to a formal was part of the boys' education. But after reports in The Courier-Mail Mr Hensman referred the matter to the school council.

A brief statement posted on the Churchie website yesterday said the council "strongly supported the headmaster's position on the school's education programs in social settings". Council members also "thanked the headmaster for his leadership and his ongoing commitment to the highest standards of education for Churchie boys". The nine-member council is chaired by company director Barry Kelly and includes Mr Hensman. Anglican Archbishop Phillip Aspinall is the council president but a spokesman said he took no part in the discussions.

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The wonders of public transport again

Are they SERIOUSLY trying to get people out of their cars??



Commuters are concerned about the reliability of bus services around the suburb after a driver abandoned passengers 2km from their destination. The 376 bus, bound for Stafford City shopping centre, stopped at Thistle St, Gordon Park after the Brisbane City Council driver said he had been driving for five hours and needed a meal break. The 19 passengers were told to walk to Stafford City or wait half an hour for another bus.

"I was astounded. I had never encountered anything like that before. He just stopped the bus and said everyone had to get off,'' said a northwest resident who did not want to be named. A regular bus commuter, John Pimm, was not on the bus but believed the driver should have driven the extra time from Gordon Park to Stafford. "I have been on buses where they have driven past stops because they didn't have time,'' he said. "I heard the other day a bus was running late, so he piled everyone off the bus so he could get back to the depot on time.''

The 376 bus has three services per day on weekdays. Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary David Matters confirmed the incident involving the 376 service, but said the driver could have faced fines and lost demerit points from his licence if he continued driving beyond five hours. Mr Matters said the driver would also have been liable had an accident occurred. The five-hour driving limit is enforced under the Transport Operations Act. "There are problems with scheduling with this particular bus - the run needs to be timetabled,'' Mr Matters said. ``A lot of passengers say the bus is usually half an hour late or doesn't come at all.''

Mr Matters said bus drivers were frequently driving beyond the legal five hours because of traffic delays and because the BCC control centre was urging drivers to break road side. ``It occurs quite often where drivers take breaks beside the road,'' he said.

Chair of the transport committee Jane Prentice said the 376 bus driver thought he would have completed the route before he hit traffic. ``Usually we have arrangements in place, we would have a driver ready to step on to the bus,'' she said. ``On this occasion this didn't happen. I understand we had a back-up bus to pick up the passengers,'' Cr Prentice added.

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