i just want to add my personal opinions about immigration: just because you have the fortunate privilege of being born into a first world society like this one, does not mean you should feel a sense of entitlement to dismiss those who are trying to find a better life here -- it's blatantly selfish and inhumanitarian. we all exist here through an act of immigration, wether it is from yourself or your recent ancestry. why deny candidates and their future children (which are going to be people just like us) their human right? supporting (anti/reduced/moderated) immigration isn't even a christian value (good samaritan act, compassion, love thy neighbour as you love yourself, etc). i hate to draw a religious backup to this debate, but i do so only to demonstrate there are NO grounds, within any ideology (besides protectionist parties like one nation and cdp), behind anti/moderated immigration.
if people think australia can't handle the rate of immigration, consider that australia's rate of immigration uptake has currently been adjusted to be lower than the rate it has been since world war ii. federal projections are now set at 1.2% to make 36 million by 2050. it was at it's peak just after world war ii, and surely enough, it was also the most prosperous era in australian history (we're talking unemployment rates of 2%). we had a very high immigration rate a few years ago when australia's economy was also at its highest since the post wwii bubble. any suggestion immigrants reduce money and/or wealth distribution is completely wrong -- they create money and set up the country to be a bigger and more diversified mass market to trade in.
at some point in the last decade, australians have seemed to become less confident about having 'boundless plans to share,' even the desirability of being big. the rates of immigration have varied only a little for decades. yet in recent times political hysteria about a few boat refugees has threatened to overwhelm australia's successful population strategy: the populate or perish strategy -- a successful approach to multiculturalism, which promised and generally delivered inclusion, respect for diversity and equity, is forever constantly under theat. eastern europeans arriving here in the 50's, asians arriving here in the 80's and middle easterns/indians/africans coming here in the 00's -- all immigration waves are subject to racism and criticism about their value to australia -- yet we all get over our unfounded fears when we actually realize they're going to be just like us -- so stop worrying.
edit: unny for pm
edit 2: tibi, give me reasons why you don't like gillard. i'd prefer substantiated, non-superficial responses if possible c: also remember, you're not voting for her, but the member representing your seat. my advice would be to do some research on them since gillard/abbott/brown won't represent you directly.
