MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Conservative landslide victory in Australia: pledge to cut mining taxes and end to Asian boat-people
Australia's opposition has crushed the governing Labour party in a general election that has returned the Liberal-National coalition to power for the first time in six years. The coalition was on course to win 88 seats, compared with 57 for Labour. Liberal leader Tony Abbott said he looked forward to forming a competent and trustworthy government. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules“and to end Asian boat-people”
Sep 08th, 2013 - 01:08 am - Link - Report abuse 0How nice, 2014 I guess marks the return of the White Australia Policy.
The caption on the picture is wrong though. The correct one is:
“Sig Heil!”
The boats are indeed coming from Asia - Indonesia specifically - but the refugees themselves are from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Iran. The 'boat-people' are dying in large numbers because most of these boats are unseaworthy and frequently sink. And for the record the largest number of migrants last year came from India.
Sep 08th, 2013 - 03:54 am - Link - Report abuse 0@2 You weren't expecting an intelligent comment from the “Lying Troll” were you? Not a chance!
Sep 08th, 2013 - 04:56 am - Link - Report abuse 0#1
Sep 08th, 2013 - 05:01 am - Link - Report abuse 0Your country has millions of hectares going spare. Why do you not offer them sanctuary ? Is that because YOU are a racist society ?
@3
Sep 08th, 2013 - 05:21 am - Link - Report abuse 0You have a point although, to be fair, that headline is misleading to say the least.
And while I'm at it I might add that Australia also has accepted plenty of refugees from West and East Africa ( Sierra Lione, Liberia, Somalia and Sudan ), the difference being they didn't arrive in rickety boats.
Australia is very accepting of immigrants AND refugees. What we don't accept is some human trafficker in Indonesia taking money to send people on unseaworthy boats in Australia's direction so they can jump the queue.
Sep 08th, 2013 - 06:26 am - Link - Report abuse 0Every country has an expectation its government will control its borders. Australians are no different.
At the end of WW2 90% of Australia's 7 million people were born here.
Now?
25% of Australia's 23 million people are born overseas.
50% of Australians were either born in another country or their parents were.
Australia has taken in about 6.5 million immigrants since 1945 and 750,000 refugees.
SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND REFUGEES!
Current annual refugee intake: 13,700
Number of immigrants:
1.6 million between October 1945 and June 1960
about 1.3 million in the 1960s
about 960 000 in the 1970s
about 1.1 million in the 1980s
over 900 000 in the 1990s
over 1.2 million between 2000 and 2010.
Highest immigration intake in a year: 185 099 in 1969–70.
Lowest immigration intake in a year: 52 752 in 1975–76.
Settlers arriving in Australia between July 2010 and June 2011: 127 460.
Source: More than 200 countries.
I'll let the statistics speak for themselves.
As a comparison, Argentina lets in 50 refugees per year through the UNHCR.
http://www.unhcr.org/4b7bc3a19.html
As per usual Nostril, you can't argue and you have a Google sense of knowledge. Can't wait for you to criticise your country's paltry 50 UNHCR annual intake. So generous NOT!
I saw something yesterday on Bloomberg IIRC to the effect that Australia is in economic crisis and is the next Greece.
Sep 08th, 2013 - 08:02 am - Link - Report abuse 0Thanks for proving how little you understand of the world to see Hepatia.
Sep 08th, 2013 - 08:32 am - Link - Report abuse 0Perhaps we should wait 25 years and see?
Anglotino, there is other reasons RGlands immigration is so low:
Sep 08th, 2013 - 10:16 am - Link - Report abuse 0As a banana republic no-one wants to go there except Paraguayans
Stinking living conditions in the drug and crime ridden villas
Few vacancies for cartoneros.
Only boring pass the parcel type football to watch and no access to English Premier League broadcasts.
Cultural desert
Poor dental services with a proliferation of second hand false teeth.
While place run by corrupt nutters and being police
Who wants to live in a laughing stock country?
http://en.mercopress.com/2013/09/08/conservative-landslide-victory-in-australia-pledge-to-cut-mining-taxes-and-end-to-asian-boat-people#comment274158: I think you mean how little Bloomberg understands. I'm only repeating what was said.
Sep 08th, 2013 - 10:28 am - Link - Report abuse 0@9
Sep 08th, 2013 - 11:07 am - Link - Report abuse 01 million immigrants period 1810-1870
7 million immigrants period 1870-1950
4 million immigrants (from South America/Asia mainly) since 1950
2nd most accepting nation in human history of foreigners, and 1st in world history per capita
Slums decreasing in Argentina, rising in Britain do to lack of housing
No one in Argentina knows what the Premier league is... I happen to know it is by far the most b0ring league in Europe, nothing but air passes into the goal box seeking a header. Why England never wins anything, since their brand of football is so monotonous and predictable
More cuisine, theater, music and history in one Buenos Aires neighborhood than in all of Wales and Northern England combined
A british talking about teeth, now that's a funny one
Police state with cameras everywhere, no right to protest, where the poor subdidize the rich, and the government calles their citiznery “fuck faces”.
Who wants to live in Britain?
@ 10 Hepatia
Sep 08th, 2013 - 12:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0”I'm only repeating what was said (written).”
As I thought, you just repeat all sorts of obvious nonsense without spending 10 minutes checking the facts.
You are a pathetic disgrace to the name of Hepatia, the daughter of Theo of Alexandria, who eclipsed her father in mathematics by developing a new approach to the explanation into what we now call cones and other such objects that have been sectioned by planes AND teaching neoplatonic philosophy to Pagans AND Christians.
In a world dominated by men with NO other women teaching at Alexandria (or anywhere else really) she had the unique experience at the time of having men travel from all over the “world” to listen to her talk.
If you have ANY regard for this original feminist with a brilliant mind you would not continue to defile her name by using it yourself.
You have consistently demonstrated on MP your total disregard for established facts in favour of “what you have HEARD or what you THINK, not what you JUDGE to be the case and willing to support your thoughts by reason. This is NOT the same as experienced by you, researched or deduced by comparing related authoritative works.
Your claim that the “Malvinas” will be given “back” to The Dark Country in 25 years is a perfect example. There are NO Malvinas and the Falklands was NEVER the property of Argentina which was not even formed when the British commenced ownership of the Islands.
Still living in the USA are you?
@11
Sep 08th, 2013 - 12:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“2nd most accepting nation in human history of foreigners,”
Except black people.
“Who wants to live in Britain?”
Twenty million more people than do in Argentina, apparently.
“No one in Argentina knows what the Premier league is”
Carlos Tevez does.
Something about Bougainville and Anglo-Australian governments and mining companies job there and how they ruined it all for the Bougainvilleans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esCIiYc6uZk
Sep 08th, 2013 - 01:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@13
Sep 08th, 2013 - 01:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0For the moment, yes, more people want to live in Britain. For most history, people would DIE to leave it. You know it, I know it. Heck even in bananaland Argieland there are more British immigrants than Argies in Britain. Why is that if Britain has ALWAYS been better?
#15
Sep 08th, 2013 - 02:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Come here and find out...mainly it's our innate superiority to your joke of a country ! As to Argies in Britain, the ones coming here probably have high qualifications and jobs to come to we don't want your riff-raff. They also prefer to live in a civilised tolerant land ...unlike the one they quit.
No one in Argentina knows what the Premier league is... I happen to know it is by far the most b0ring league in Europe, nothing but air passes into the goal box seeking a header. Why England never wins anything, since their brand of football is so monotonous and predictable.
Well the TV rights have been sold for £5.5 billion worldwide...even Brazil is included. You happen to know sod all about the subject.
As to immigrants, you started from next to nothing. The USA has about 9 times the population from a standing start. Why do Mexicans want to go there instead of a fellow Latino country...I wonder why !!
Yes the UK has slums but nothing like the dumps you have !
Hepatia
Sep 08th, 2013 - 05:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Link please to the article. Shouldn't be difficult.
Nostrils
Link please to your statistical facts regarding Argentina please. Or did you make them up?
Gonzo.... Oh I've already messaged you in the line above.
@15
Sep 08th, 2013 - 07:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“here are more British immigrants than Argies in Britain. Why is that if Britain has ALWAYS been better?”
They prefer lower wages and fuel shortages?
It's called “legacy”. For most of its history (except some recent years), Argentina was a place were people came in. For most of its history, England was a place people left.
Sep 08th, 2013 - 07:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Or are you going to call me a liar?
The Argentina you talk of is in the past Nostrils.
Sep 08th, 2013 - 09:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Australia is currently more multicultural and more accepting of immigrants and refugees than Argentina is. Indeed Argentina is now a nation of emigrants not immigrants as more leave than arrive.
For some reason you think Australia is returning to the White Australia Policy and yet you quote immigration statistics from the 1800s as proof?
“2nd most accepting nation in human history of foreigners, and 1st in world history per capita”
I'd love to see the links to these claims. How Argentina can be more accepting of foreigners on a per capita basis than places like Australia and the US is beyond me.
As for slums..... Australians and Britons have a very different definition to slums than Argentineans.
But I await your reply with some suitable links so that I can perhaps be persuaded or proven wrong.
@18 Pete Bog
If you could wait a little before replying so Nostrils doesn't get confused or distracted from supporting his accusations and claims.
We need to act quick before he conveniently forgets to come back and reply.
“Indeed Argentina is now a nation of emigrants not immigrants as more leave than arrive.”
Sep 08th, 2013 - 09:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Speaking of unsubstantiated asseverations.
@6 wow, Anglotino
Sep 09th, 2013 - 01:43 am - Link - Report abuse 0@21 Nostrils
Sep 09th, 2013 - 02:03 am - Link - Report abuse 0In a lecture at the moment so will find that reference tonight when I get home.
I naturally expect you will be providing yours!
Especially for these gems:
“2nd most accepting nation in human history of foreigners”
“1st in world history per capita”
“Slums decreasing in Argentina”
@22 Ayayay
Am thinking that wow is because the facts are surprising after the media beat up of how Australia treats asylum seekers?
I'm still waiting on the results hereabouts.... the chief may have been kicked out by the indi-ans
Sep 09th, 2013 - 02:39 am - Link - Report abuse 0Anglolatino
Sep 09th, 2013 - 04:13 am - Link - Report abuse 0Here's a little jewel shared to me from an Australian friend. He's aboriginal by the way...
Not his words, but his feelings too, according to him.
“I’ve decide that I’m all for stopping the boats.
The big boats.
Not the little boats.
I’m alright with the little boats.
But I’m all for stopping the big boats.
I’m all for stopping the big boats from taking our country away.
I don’t’ mind the little boats.
I don’t mind sharing a bit of our country here.
But I don’t like sharing it over there.
And the more big boats that go, the less room there is here for people on little boats.
I don’t mind human beings with hearts coming to this country.
I do mind the heart of the country being ripped out and taken away.
I think it’s awesome that people want to come here and bring their stories, their hopes and their dreams. I think that’s great.
But for every story that arrives on a little boat, a big boat is taking ten away.
They’re are digging up our hopes and our dreams and selling them off cheap.
It’s not just the land that’s being destroyed. It’s people’s lives. People’s lives now and in the future.
And it’s the stories.
The ancient stories of the land.
And the chance for all the stories that have gathered in this place to be continued.
I love this country and I love its generosity and it’s capacity to hold people and their dreams.
I want that to continue.
I want there to be a space for the children that come. Those that are born here, and those that arrive on boats.
I want there to be land for them to grow food on, water for them to drink, and a place to keep their stories.
So let’s stop the boats. Let’s stop the big boats from leaving.”
- Kendra Naderi
@24 Frank
Sep 09th, 2013 - 07:35 am - Link - Report abuse 0Yes I hear there is someone that no longer sees something beautiful when she looks in the mirror.
@25 Stevie
Thanks for those beautiful words. I'm so glad I live in a country where someone can speak out like that and not get shouted down.
Both Kevin & Julia were highly intelligent and hard-working, ambitious politicians, but neither of them had the strength of their convictions and in the concentrated spotlight that exists when you become P.M. they were unable to transcend their flaws.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 07:53 am - Link - Report abuse 0It's a shame - they've squandered most of the good will the electorate gave them in '07 and achieved something I never believed was possible: enabled Tony Abbot to become Prime Minister. It will take many years before they regain the public's trust.
@25 Stevie
Where does your friend come from Stevie?
“Now?
Sep 09th, 2013 - 07:55 am - Link - Report abuse 025% of Australia's 23 million people are born overseas.
50% of Australians were either born in another country or their parents were.
Australia has taken in about 6.5 million immigrants since 1945 and 750,000 refugees.”
- these numbers please me. An Australian republic is inevitable in the short-mid term.
I'd expect most of us here will see it.
http://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/library/pubs/rp/1998-99/99rp25-1.gif
Vestige
Sep 09th, 2013 - 09:32 am - Link - Report abuse 0You show an little knowledge about Australia.
You assume that immigrants and settlers to Australia are republicans.
You probably base this on a belief that everyone in Australia sees the monarchy as a purely British or foreign institution.
It isn't so.
Perhaps you believe that immigrants prefer a republican model when there is a high chance that they left a republic for a better life living under a constitutional monarchy. They may indeed be better informed than many Australian-born Australians.
We voted in 1999 and said no. Everyone says the failure was because of the model on offer. However we are 14 years later and there is even less support now. 1999 was a different world. It was only 8 years after the fall of the Soviet Union and republican governments were popping up everywhere and America had won the Cold War.
Now we have perspective. We've seen Florida and the hanging chad. We've seen another Bush presidency. We've seen what happened to freedoms in Russia and we've watched the Royal Family reinvent itself with a Jubilee and the next generation gain prominence.
We've also seen how well our system works.
“An Australian republic is inevitable in the short-mid term. I'd expect most of us here will see it.”
With Australia now thankfully lead by the Coalition again, there will be no move to a republic for the next three terms they will more than likely rule for.
I don't envisage another referendum until sometime from about 2025 onwards.
I'm not sure what your definition of “short-mid term” is, but showing a 14 year old graph really doesn't support your theory.
Here's some more recent polls:
http://goo.gl/wK3Ra
http://goo.gl/wK3Ra
The current Queen of Australia will not be our last monarch. Indeed there's every reason to believe that William will modernise the monarchy further and abdicate at a suitable time, so we might just see George the Seventh, King of Australia.
Guess you're not so pleased now?
But I am!
I'd expect those 'non white anglo saxon protestants' immigrants to be from a 'non conservative' background. Not the upper classes which are associated with pro-monarchy voting in Australia.
Sep 09th, 2013 - 11:49 am - Link - Report abuse 0(also the monarchist old guard are dying off)
The modern world is dominated by republics. Practically all countries that wield significant power today are republics. USA, Germany, India as a tiny sample.
Interesting that on your own second link under the article is a poll re; time to talk about the monarchy? 65% saying yes :)
(note- total votes -4816)
On your second link (note- 1200 voters). We see the poll was taken about the time of the royal wedding. Might bias it a bit.
I wonder how many pr events the royals have left in their arsenal. In 12 or so years they will likely be out of births and weddings.
The likes of this though interest me “45 per cent of respondents said they would be in favor of a republic if William became king”.
6% boost for republicanism coming up soon enough then it would seem by this poll.
The Queen will not be the last Aus monarch, but she will be the 2nd last.
Charlie or Willy being graciously voted out.
Maybe 12 years would be pretty good timing for the next referendum.
Out of births and weddings and the queen gone.
1999 should not be cited by monarchists as an epic win. Seriously.
A change from status quo, with the help of complacency, and a split in the ranks of the opposition, and still 45% voted for change.
Thats called panic stations.
Also, republicans plan for an initial single plebiscite for the next time - avoiding the previous error, avoid those lost votes that saved the monarchy.
The graph is relevant in the sense of the trend plainly seen, 1 consistent direction seen - pro-republic.
I've every reason to be pleased.
Looking forward to it.
(oh and btw - If the monarchy is seen to be removed in Australia and all remains well there, expect Canada to follow, or vice-versa. House of cards :) )
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