Quote:
Originally Posted by jjjnettie
Unless you can trace your bloodline back 40,000 years to the first boatload to Australia, I reckon we're all immigrants.  |
Hey Jeanette, great post.
Well I thought I might fly this flag and see where it leads. But first I need to get a few things out of the way so we dont have to waste time on them later. (i) I love living in Australia (ii) Yes I feel lucky to be an Australian citizen and (iii) no I don't particularly want to live anywhere else (though I sometimes love holidaying elswhere).
In my respectful opinion we are all citizens of the world and I have no right to tell anyone where they can live and no one has a right to tell me where I can live.
One thing thats clear to me from reading this thread is that we all have a very different notion of what makes a person "undesirable". Some people you wouldnt let into the country I might think would make great citizens and vice versa. Its silly really to have immigration rules because if we ever sat down to actually discuss who we should weed out and who we shouldnt we would never agree.
I can see you saying, what about criminals and terrorists etc, we would all agree to keep them out. OK, first the citizens of every country have their fair share of criminals and terrorists etc. Citizenship does not make us immune from that. Secondly your immigration laws may stop some "criminals etc" comming here but they will go elsewhere and some that are stopped elsewhere will get in here (the world goes round). When we find criminals and terrorists among us the right way to deal with them is to use the criminal law. Trying to screen them from comming in is hopeless, it doesnt work (the biggest and worst criminals get in easily) and it can be the worst thing because in the globalising world the most effective criminal acts are committed at arms length.
I remember a story from a few years back about "stateless people". "Stateless" it means you have no citizenship. That is, although you were born on this earth you do not have a right to live anywhere on earth. I think thats absurd.
OK, I think thats enough for starters. See what responses we get if any.
regards