Letter to the Hypothetical Editor

Dear Editor,


RE: Hygiene lessons will help migrants integrate: Coalition 


Too often we look outward on our problems in society without second-guessing why we do it.  The problem must always be the 'other' or the 'outsider'.  It couldn't possibly be us.
Gambaro's comments and the subsequent controversial debates demonstrate the complexity of immigration and the effort to "manage" the diversity arriving into "our" borders - which at the best of times aren't necessarily fixed!  Commentators then become so focused on what's "out there" rather than looking at what is going on "in here".  I, on the other hand, am intrigued about what's happening - on the inside.


Tolerance and acceptance are concepts Australians often struggle with - as an immigration nation, one might say that's expected.  However, the blame seems to fall back on the perceived lack of integration - on the lifestyle and hygiene habits of the newly immigrated.  These often reduced into layman's terms as: "that smelly person on the train doesn't wear deodorant, has funny shaped eyes and coloured skin, those migrants need culture awareness training".  This hardly solves the social reproduction of xenophobia and general resistance towards these immigrants who will soon be contributing to the sustainability of our social welfare system - especially the pension.  Australia's ageing population means that people are retiring from the workforce (who pay the taxes that fund the pension) at a greater rate than there are people entering the workforce (because of a lower birth rate and longer life expectancy).  


A visual of this phenomenon can be seen in the Population Pyramid - Australia - I highly recommend moving the dial towards 2030.  As you can see, it doesn't quite look like a pyramid, in fact, the trend is almost heading towards an upside down pyramid shape.  This is a common visual representation of most developed countries' population projections.  


So how do we sustain our social welfare system? We either  increase taxes (which judging by reactions to the little carbon tax is very unpopular) or increase immigration because Australians have become so dependent on the welfare state that it must be former or the latter.  Among other member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Australia is among the countries with the lowest household saving rates (-2.2%) (ABS 2003 Data).


The alternative might be of course, that we get a little -personal finance- savvy. Don't panic! I'll leave that seed to germinate in your minds for a little more...


Right now, I'm perplexed by this developed-country-mentality that the perceived contributors to social dysfunction are the people coming from "the outside".  I think that very little attention is focused on the problems created by the lack of acceptance and tolerance within our own society.  Such self righteous behaviour by those looking outward on social problems, subsequently impacts on the behaviour of those coming into our society.  Which is understandable! If I recently moved into a new town and people weren't being very nice, I probably wouldn't care less what they thought and wouldn't go out of my way at all to please them.  As Dr. Seuss says: "those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind".  Some simple words of wisdom in my books.


So, I agree with Teresa Gambaro in that there is certainly a need for education. I think it's the only way to go.  But maybe it's the Australian population that need a broader education for such a dynamic society.
Population statistics change at least yearly.  Our education system has taught the same standardised subjects in schools for centuries - society is a little more complex than maths, english and science.