There’s a real love/hate relationship with immigrants here. The national psyche with regards to newcomers from abroad is probably the most sophisticated subject of research a student of psychology could choose.
As we saw last week, they love the idea of millionaire Chinese flooding in to prop up property prices but feel it entirely appropriate to use Asian ethnicity as a derogatory adjective for non-swimmers.
We’re in election mode at present, which means the usual noises must be made by both sides of the political abyss. You could write them yourself without any real effort;
- Taxes
- State spending/middle class benefits
- Green bollocks
- Law and order
- Immigration
This week was all about the last subject on that list and there’s been a slight shifting of position.
One of the main visa categories used to get here is known as a “457”. This is the one you use if you’re a specialist flower arranger, dog-shampooer or recruitment consultant and an employer can’t fill the job with suitably-skilled Ockers. You get to come in, work for a few years, then apply for permanent residence and then another four years later, citizenship. It’s a long old road to the ultimate prize of a Mossad counterfeit true blue Aussie passport but still an attractive one for many people. Personally, I was just tricked into marrying an Aussie and was forced in here that way instead, but each to his own.
So, apropos no actual evidence to support the statement, La Gillard made a big ranty speech about clamping down on 457 visas. Apparently, they’ve been “rorted” recently and immigrants are coming here taking jobs which otherwise would have been filled by currently unemployed Australians.
Hang on, isn’t the unemployment rate at a record low? Well no actually, the 5ish percent is masking an increasing level of “underemployment” because the statistics are calculated on the premise that a couple of hours work a week equals “employed”, but Julia can’t refer to that as it would focus unwanted attention on her government’s record.
It was all a bit confusing then, really. On the one hand, we have a problem we never knew existed with immigrants taking jobs from Aussies, but on the other hand we’ve got practically full employment. Chuck in a boat full of illegal immigrants and the two parties differing attitudes to this immigration and you’ve got a logical minefield to navigate. Especially when you have characters like La Gillard (born in Wales) and Doug Cameron (Scotland) discussing controls to immigration, huh?
Difficult, isn’t it? That’s why I’m going to try to sum up the immigration and race issues for you in case you need help with a wavering pen situation on election day;
That’s that cleared up then.
Probably the last word on the immigration issue is this; if you think you’re getting shite service in your dealings with the retail and food industries, imagine how it’s going to feel when they drop the gate shut and stop the cleaners and waitresses from arriving.