The new New Australians

American physician Edmund Pribitkin after his encounter with Australia’s immigration policies.

Much attention has been given of late to immigration, with the bulk of that over the past few days focusing on Peter Dutton’s attempts to effect a modest reduction and the Prime Minister’s lawyerly avowal that such a proposal never came up in Cabinet. Why the PM felt obliged to mislead — the proposal was discussed, but not in Cabinet — is a behavioural quirk perhaps understood by his wife but few others. The uncharitable might posit that it was all a matter of origin. With Dutton emerging as the standard-bearer for what is left of the Liberal Party’s conservative wing, rejecting even the mere discussion of immigration reform was a cock-a-snook dismissal of its architect.

Meanwhile, out on the streets, the argument for immigration reform — who comes here, their qualifications, ability to assimilate and potential to contribute — has come into focus once again. In reporting the progress through the courts of a youth charged in regard to the bashing of an American doctor and his son during this year’s Australian Open, The Age notes:

The boy came to Australia from Afghanistan with his mother and siblings about four years ago, the court was told.

He stopped going to school in 2016, could not tell the time and had the reading abilities of a prep or year one student.

Mr Turnbull was quizzed briefly this morning on immigration and other matters by Neil Mitchell on 3AW. The audio of that performance can be heard via this link or the one below. Alas, there were no listener questions, as sources tell Quadrant Online the PM refused to interact with the voters on whom his hope of re-election depends.

What a pity.

It would have been interesting to hear an explanation of the benefits to the nation of importing an illiterate teenager and alleged thug who cannot make sense of the big hand and the little hand.

Not that the youth is alone in this deficiency. Others, including the glib, also have trouble comprehending that the time has come to go, just go.

— roger franklin

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