Did he just say it? At the AFR:
It’s not that the public are opposed outright to immigration. All but a handful of extremists know immigration is necessary and inevitable. All they ask for is for immigration to be properly managed.
Remember the old Howard slogan: we decide who comes to our country and the circumstances in which they come. Well, living in Europe for the last four years has reminded me of the wisdom of managed migration.
The public, wherever they are, don’t want tens of thousands of migrants overwhelming public facilities, creating ghettos, causing social tensions and disharmony. They want a degree of order. They want migrants who can integrate into their societies, respect the local law, get jobs, and engage in the social, artistic and sporting lives of their countries. They can’t do that if they don’t speak the local language, don’t take up jobs and abuse the generous welfare safety net, set up their own shops, schools and sports clubs in exclusive neighbourhoods.
I think the old drag queen just called for a cut in immigration but I can’t be sure. He seems equally to be calling for segregated immigration.
The issue is not migrants at all. It is standards of living. Immigration must be managed to improve locals standards of living. If it is, then the public will support it. If it isn’t, then they won’t. That’s the end of the issue.
In Australia it is very poorly managed, with wages tumbling, until recently house prices soaring and infrastructure as well as public services being crush-loaded.
Given our governments have proven themselves unable to keep pace with the intake, the public anger will keep growing until someone very popular cuts it back.
