The left-wing and immigration.
I just don't understand some left-wing people. (Note: I also consider myself to be left-wing). I can't help but question why they go on and on so hyper-enthusiastically about how wonderful multiculturalism in Australia is, but at the same time are incapable of questioning Australia's very high level of immigration.
It seems that by extolling the virtues of multiculturalism or 'diversity' or whatever you want to call it, these lefties hope to convince us that they are tolerant and sophisticated. Conversely, they hope that by refusing to address the issue of immigration they can avoid being branded intolerant, or even worse, unsophisticated.
(note: This is not an article about global population growth. It is about rapid population growth in Australia, and other first-world, industrial economies where per capita greenhouse gas emissions are very high).
Critics of the 'Baby Bonus'.
It is this fear of being seen as intolerant and unsophisticated that causes lefties to shy away from accepting the fact that immigration is Australia's number one contributor to population growth, despite the fact that they'll criticise other measures that contribute far less to Australia's population growth, such as the Australian government's 'baby bonus' policy.1
Lefties criticise the 'baby bonus' because they see a relationship between the average Australian's high level of material consumption and the negative impact it has on the natural environment. They are also aware that Australia's per capita greenhouse gas emissions are, if not the highest in the world, very close to it. Therefore, given the possibility that the 'baby bonus' may in fact increase the number of Australians living this lifestyle, it receives nothing but scorn from the left-wing.
However, if you were to inform them that Australia's immigration is greater than natural population growth, (the latter at 1.78 children per woman being below the replacement rate of 2.082)2 you will probably be met with silence and a holier-than-thou stare whose sole aim is, ironically, to unjustly imply that you are intolerant and unsophisticated!
High immigration and environmental degradation.
By refusing to address the issue of immigration, lefties merely bolster the Australian business lobby's agenda to keep immigration at a very high and ever-increasing level primarily to maximise the profits of property developers, shopping centres, supermarket chains, etc., etc.
So, in trying to appear sophisticated, left-wing people are willing to be unsophisticated in their support for a system that promotes supermarket chains and shopping centres at the expense of our primary producers and our small, local shopping strips.
It also makes them complicit in supporting property developers that make large profits from construction projects that leave the lion's share of the infrastructure costs, (sewerage, roads, power, gas, etc.) to the tax payer. It also means ever more of the natural environment is buried under ever expanding suburbs.
More people in Australia also means more imports, which in turn puts ever more pressure on our export industries to earn enough money to get anywhere near eradicating the nation's current account deficit. One of these export industries is agriculture, and the more we put it under pressure, the more we undermine the natural environment.
Furthermore, claiming that Australia's very high immigration program does not contribute to global warming is sheer bloody mindedness in view of the fact that we have possibly the world's highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions.
In short, the lefties are inadvertantly supporting an undemocratic, globalised economic model that respects nothing but money and where tax-payers and the natural environment get milked by entrenched business interests.
References:
1. The Baby Bonus explained.
http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/maternity.htm
2. Demographics and immigration.
http://www.population.org.au/index.php/population/the-issues/35-the-issues/54-demographics-and-immigration
Related links:
Policy switch to sprawl ends far-sighted 2030 vision The Age, June 19, 2009
Rudd's immigration policy doesn't add up abc.net.au, August 12, 2008
