The Hidden Side of Skilled Migration and the Student Visa Scam

Part I of Nationalist Alternative’s Migration Series –

The Hidden Side of Skilled Migration and the Student Visa Scam


By Carla O’Hara

Nationalist Alternative explores the link between Australia’s unemployment rate and the current skilled immigration intake, as the driving force for economic salvation and damnation, with no regard for the social impacts.

It is often represented to the public that Australia’s migration program stimulates the economy, and as such we are informed that Australia is in a “skills shortage” and that to overcome this workforce shortage, we must ensure a high rate of immigration. This article focuses on debunking the skilled component of the migration program.

Econtech, a subsidiary of global corporate KPMG, provides business and government advisory services based on economic modelling. They published a report in 2005 (on behalf of the Australian Federal Government), which claimed that the NSW Government would stand to benefit most from migration. The report claimed that the NSW economy would grow by $60 billion a year and each citizen, $703 a year better off by 2022, according to their economic model. The report states that NSW alone would gain an extra 744,000 people which would create 512,000 jobs. The report also suggested that migrants are on average younger than Australian residents and therefore have longer working lives, and would offset issues associated with Australia’s ageing population.

Another report published by Econtech in 2006, makes clear that the standard of living decreases with an increase in immigration, but claims that the standard of living improves after 12 years based on the concept of a share in the Gross Domestic Product or GDP. This implies that as the labour force in Australia increases, so does the GDP. While the Econtech report states that certain resources are in fixed supply such as water, and should be taken into consideration into the model, it is quite clear that the model fails to acknowledge non financial aspects to population growth.

“The main focus of research, are on the economic effects of migration, i.e., the effects on the supply of labour or human wealth.”

Simply put, the report fails to take into account non economic social impacts of large scale migration such as social cohesion, increased traffic, urban congestion, pollution, the economic impact of water and other scarce environmental resources and a decrease in available recreational areas. Noting that the report makes clear it only uses fiscal variables in its migration model, it is even more damning that the first 12 years of high volume high skilled migration creates a decade long decrease in the average wealth of Australian citizens. It becomes clear that those benefiting from high levels of migration most are the Australian Government Taxation Department and Land Developers rather than the Australian public.

This makes Australians bear costs (additional financial and non financial) which are involved with bringing in overseas employment to employers.  While certain industries may stand to financially benefit from such immigration, the cost is socialised and borne by unrelated parties.  The economic and social impacts which are overlooked in this report result are the costly infrastructure upgrades, including construction of desalination plants and upgrades to major traffic thoroughfares.  Despite these factors, voters have little recourse to change government policy significantly on such issues.

The report by Econtech suggests that the Government’s focus on skilled migration ahead of humanitarian and family migrants would also help raise the nation’s skill levels, and recommends increasing skilled migration by 50%.

“The average skill for migrants in total under the current migration intake is higher than the average skill level for existing residents. This means that by 2021-22 the migration intake will cause a steady rise in average skill level of the Australian workforce.”

Yet, the evidence of skilled migration and increasing the skill level in Australia is quite the contrary.
There are two types of migrants capable of coming to Australia under the skilled migration program discussed in this article. The first is the 457 guest worker visa, while the second is the skilled migrant visa for the tertiary educated or trade certified, either sponsored or non sponsored.

The 457 subclass skilled migration VISA

Contrary to the belief that skilled migration increases the skill level of the workforce, the 457 guest worker scheme facilitates a lowering of the living standards and working conditions of Australian workers. Since the inception of temporary visas, cheap foreign workers have been preferentially employed as a type of slave labour.

In May 2009, Tieman industries in Reservoir, Victoria sacked long term employees in favour of 457 Visa holders. Australian Manufacturers Workers Union organiser Tony Mavromatis claimed;

“The company is pushing out people who gave up to 18 years of service in favour of guest workers who only started 18 months ago.”

When asked why the company would prefer newly arrived foreign workers over locals, Mr Mavromatis stated;

“They shut up, do what they are told or they will be on the first plane out.”

In 2008, Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union secretary John Sutton said there had been ”widespread exploitation” of 457 visa workers.


While, in 2007, an expert on 457 skilled migrant visas and former public servant, Bob Kinnaird, of R.T. Kinnaird and Associates, said the 457 guest worker scheme had set up a “race to the bottom in working conditions”,

“the dangerous aspect of the 457 visa is that people from low-wage countries, even if they are being underpaid by Australian standards, are still earning more than at home, so they will be tempted to put up with anything to stay here,” he said.

In 2006, the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union South Australian secretary Graham Smith said;

“We told the Minister in very clear terms our concerns in relation to the 457 foreign worker visas. We explained that the visas were being taken advantage of by some unscrupulous employers to bring in cheap labour from overseas, denying careers to locals.”

For perspective, the Immigration Department has only 65 case officers to police more than 100,000 visa holders living across Australia.


The Skilled 457 VISA minimum wage has been increased as is now set at $43,500 pa which is higher than minimum award wages. So, there are other factors which make visa holders more desirable in the workforce than simply economics. In particular 457 workers are preferred as a means of breaking a particular workplace culture, and using non-unionised labour.

International Student Permanent Residency 

The 457 subclass Temporary Working Visa is only part of the problem with the skilled migration program. The jack-in-the-box is Australia’s third largest export; Higher Education, which is now estimated to be worth $15 billion annually. Many migrants come to Australia under the guise of obtaining a tertiary degree for the sole aim of securing Permanent Residency. To an international student in Australia, “PR” is a glittering prize of a new life in a new country.

Professor Paul Rodan, the Director from Melbourne-based Central Queensland University International Education Research Centre said that many overseas students came from such dire circumstances that the overwhelming motivation was to secure permanent residency.

“For some, it is vital to secure work and send money back home to their families. It’s no condemnation to observe that desperate people will often ‘do whatever it takes. Indeed, it may not be over-dramatic to describe a small element of the international numbers as de-facto economic refugees.”

In 2007 there were 455 000 enrolments by international students at educational institutions across Australia, including 5000 funded under Australian Government scholarships. The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not include the number of International students who have gained PR; however, it was noted that in 2005–06, 77% of the 180,000 Permanent Residents entered through the migration program, presumably the other 23% are former overseas students. The foreign student PR figures are in addition to the Government’s annual migration intake figures.

The problem is compounded when some of the foreign graduates come from what industry observers describe as false flag “visa factories”.

A private college owner or a migration agent (either registered, suspended or unregistered) acting on behalf of a college owner takes money from a student for fake certificates showing the student attended classes and passed courses, when the student rarely if ever turned up. The migration agent will supply bogus work experience documents via suburban employers who also get a cut.

Since 2001 the number of private colleges has risen from 664 to 4892. Industry insiders suggest Australia is nothing but a Visa mill, as comparable countries don’t offer residency at the end of their tertiary qualifications.
While universities and TAFEs pay about 25 per cent commission on first semester fees, equivalent to about $1200-$1500 per student, private institutes will pay up to 30 per cent of the entire course fee, providing a clear financial incentive for immigration agents to channel students to private colleges, even into courses in which International students have no interest.

Karl Konrad, a former Victorian police officer, said a trade in fraudulent documents had evolved with employers and agents selling students verification they had completed their 900 hours. One university-educated overseas student spent $22,000 and two years doing a hairdressing course she will never use, just to secure her residency. She did her 900 hours work experience in a salon closely linked to the college, where students are required to pay a $1000 non-refundable bond to use the equipment.
Foreign students pay the owner for the paperwork, and because they want to stay here, they will do anything, including 900 hours free labour.

One has to wonder what benefits there are to the skilled migration program, when the skills attained by foreign students in skills shortage industries are manipulated purely for Australian residency. It is well known to Industry insiders that every time a new critical skills list comes out, education providers start introducing those courses. And despite the successful business model of high turnover rates of foreign fee paying students for the tertiary institutes, Central Queensland University, who heavily depended on the backdoor visa program, forecasts cash for general operations to be overdrawn by almost $5 million by the end of the 2011 financial year.

The decline after record growth in overseas student numbers in the 2007 and 2008 financial years, was a change in the Federal Government rules, where International students could get permanent residency more quickly and cheaply through vocational roles and private colleges, rather than public Tertiary Institutes, and high commission fees to immigration agents for private colleges.


Skilled migration and its effect on the job market


Australia’s reliance on skilled migration in any form, whether it be the 457 Visa, Permanent Residency via foreign students or the skilled migrant Visa, all facilitate a decrease in the average job competency level of the local Australian market, whilst putting unnecessary pressure on services and infrastructure.
Skilled guest workers are not necessarily competing with unskilled workers, but Australian workers who have invested in their education and skills in order to obtain a higher salary.  Skilled positions requiring tertiary education have often attracted higher salaries, which not only made education worthwhile, but also provided an incentive for skilled citizens to remain in Australia.  The erosion of these wages to below the national average is leading to many skilled and educated Australians, facing increasing housing and living costs, leaving for higher salaries abroad.  This creates a ‘brain drain’ which ironically exacerbates any ’skills crisis’.
Skilled migration also creates an employer market where Australians without skills or in the midst of developing their skills, will be over looked by already skilled (degree or trade certification holding) migrants through the business sponsored skilled migration program. What this implies is that as the job market becomes tighter, employers will look for workers who have the skills they need, rather than paying for the time required to up-skill workers. Effectively, we will say goodbye to “on the job training” and white collar mentor programs. It also suggests that International students who gain Permanent Residency from third world conditions, will generate a race to the bottom in working conditions (as seen by the “slave trade” of International students needing their 900 hours for course completion).
Dr Bob Birrell from Monash University’s Centre for Population Research believes that there is too high a dependence on overseas skilled migration, for the reasons as outlined above.

“We’re not training enough of our own people, and given that there are about half of young people in Australia in their twenties don’t have any post-school education qualifications at all I think we’ve got a great deal to do amongst our own people. And this reliance on overseas skills is excessive.”

“Some 29,000 professionals, that’s equivalent to about two and a half per cent of the stock of employed professionals in Australia. That’s a very large increment in just one year. Of the order of a third of the growth in our skilled workforce is now coming from overseas sources each year.”

A report published in 2008 by Dr Birrell and Lesleyanne Hawthorne titled “Immigrants and the Professionals” raised a number of questions about Australia’s current immigration policies. One issue of concern raised in the report was that Australia might “be scraping the bottom of the barrel” in regards to taking skilled migrants regardless if those skills are what are needed in Australia.

Currently, the skilled migration program is a points based system with a large list of so called ‘skilled shortage professions’ rather than a system designed to fill actual skills shortages in the workforce. For example, there are a lot of visa points attached to cookery, hairdressing or hospitality management, and there are also no requirements of skilled migrants once in Australia to be employed in the field in which they claimed to have studied. This has been empirically observed with the International Student phenomena. This ‘laissez-faire’ policy can cause a glut in white collar occupations for semi-qualified commercial roles, when skilled migrants abandon their skilled profession once in Australia, or post course completion.

The report by Dr Birrells and Lesleyanne Hawthorns states:

“This point can be illustrated through the fields of mechanical engineering and computing. Australia accepted an additional 3,719 mechanical engineers between 1986-1991, yet according to the respective Census counts in 1986 and 1991 there was a reduction in the number of all persons employed as professional mechanical engineers from 11,706 to 6,773. The inevitable consequence was acute unemployment amongst recent arrivals.”

Even in 1991 it was clear from the statistics that skilled migration to a “critical skills shortage industry”, did not translate to higher employment in that field.

However, even with the obvious short comings in the skilled migration program, and the economic forecast models, the Federal Government in the 2008-2009 budget increased the number of skilled migrants by 31,000 entrants based on the advice of business lobby groups including Econtech. This figure is an increase in 30% of 2007 figures. The Family stream increased by 6500 places to 56,500.

The total migrant intake for the year was set to a total 190,000; composed of 133,500 skilled migrants, which did not include the International students who gained Permanent Residency, which in 2007 is estimated at 50,000.


Government budget cuts

In January 2009, Australia’s intake of skilled workers was cut by 18,500 in order to prevent what the Government described as “an oversupply of labour” and ease the jobless rate during the economic down turn. It was the first cut to the skilled migration program for more than ten years and reduced skilled migrant numbers from 133,500 to 115,000.

The cuts made to the skilled migration intake were sold to the Australian public as a means to increase job security; however, no cut was made to the skilled migration program in 2009 at all, rather, there was still an overall ‘net’ increase in skilled migration of 12,500, or a total migrant intake of 160,000.
To put these figures in context, the current jobless rate reported for June 2009 was 5.8 per cent, (its highest level since August 2003), which equates to over 20,000 people to have lost their jobs in the month of June alone.

ICAP senior economist Adam Carr said the unemployment rate is reflected by the number of people looking for work (the participation rate) and the number of job vacancies.

“The reality is that the unemployment rate is higher because the participation rate rose and that means there are more people looking for jobs and there are less jobs available.” said Mr Carr.

What is also of great concern, is that during an economic downturn, younger migrants will be preferentially employed over older local experienced workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S, workers aged 45 and over form a disproportionate share of the long-term unemployed or out of work for six months or longer.  On average, laid-off workers aged 45 and over were out of work 22.2 weeks in 2008, compared with 16.2 weeks for younger workers.

Tim Toohey, the chief economist at Goldman Sachs JBWere, said he expected unemployment to reach 7.5 per cent by December before peaking at 7.8 per cent in early 2010, while the Federal Government is warning of more job loses to come, with an estimated unemployment rate of 8.25 per cent by the middle of 2010.

“We are seeing the number of job seekers increase at a pretty rapid rate. That’s largely a function of the strength in the population growth rate which is being driven, in part, by migrants,” said Mr Toohey.

The Econtech report clearly states that migrants are the cause of high participation rates.

“Extra skilled migration intake lifts participation rates and this is due to differences in the age-gender mixes of the migrants versus the existing population.”

The skilled migration program does not benefit Australians during an economic downturn, nor does skilled migration increase the overall job skills of the local market, or improve the standard of living. The evidence points to the contrary, between the 457 cheap labour, International students working for nothing, the backdoor residency of International students blowing out skilled migration intake numbers by 30%, and the preferential employment of younger already skilled workers leaves the average local Australian high and dry.

Even the Econtech report which goes so far as to suggest a 50% increase in skilled migration, does not take into account non fiscal factors into its economic model, an economic model which also confirms that Australian’s would be financially worse off in the first 10 years of such high levels of immigration.
Monash University Demographer Dr Birrell, when asked about the Government’s $42 billion economic stimulus package said;

”If the migration program is not cut sharply, the growth in migrant job-seekers will exceed the number of jobs the plan proposes to protect.”

Dr Birrell is correct, Australia needs to completely rethink its skilled migration program, starting with significant cuts and true reporting of our annual migration intake.


References

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25784268-601,00.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25782678-12332,00.html
http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/pdf/Econtech_Comparison_Report.pdf
http://www.theage.com.au/national/foreign-students-slave-trade-20090714-dk6d.html
http://www.migrationnews.com/index.cfm/Australia/Home

Yellow Polka Dot Burkini

By Michael Kennedy

Controversy regarding Muslim dress standards has again arisen in Europe. With Europe’s significant and growing Muslim population, we could probably expect this issue to become more and more prevalent.

In a similar vein to the proposal to ban head-scarves in France, Gianluca Buonanno, the mayor of Varallo Sesia has banned the burkini, a ‘cover-all’ swimsuit which allows strict Muslims to bathe while keeping the rather strict standards of modesty, that their interpretation of this religion requires.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,28318,25955595-5014090,00.html

As predictable as always, such an issue has caught the attention of both the Politically Correct liberal left, ever keen to display their tolerance to the world, and others who see this as minorities encroaching on their freedoms. Gianluca Buonanno states

“We don’t have to be tolerant all the time, imagine a Western woman bathing in a bikini in a Muslim country. The consequences could be decapitation, prison or deportation. We are merely prohibiting the use of the burkini.”

For many commenters on the news.com.au site, their comments reflect this sentiment. A double standard? Are we in the West overly tolerant? The PC brigade has little to say on the issue. They largely state that a woman should be free to wear what they like. They are actually right, in a superficial sense. In the Western world, we have come a long way since ‘cover-all’ swimwear was required, though strict remnants remain, such as the Amish; a historical curiosity to the Western world, rather than an emerging phenomenon.

Theocracy is not part of the governmental process, with the modern Western world slowly following the example of the USA, a new nation created specifically keeping the oppressive Christian churches separate from the state and keeping their power under control and one that does not define the nation.

Now women are free to choose their clothing, as to what suits them best, and what is most comfortable. Perhaps the women walking around Friday nights in stilettos and short skirts during blustery winter weather have not made the most intelligent choice, but the choice nevertheless is there. Much in the same way political activists may want to freely adopt the ‘black block’ look because they desire to remain anonymous. There is no religious or cultural requirement to cover up excessively, to wear clothing which has no room to breath or ventilation in hot days or to hides one visage. One is free to choose appropriate attire in public, free from having to bend to irrational superstitions, religion and the wishes of theocrats. Granted one cannot choose to wear nothing, or clothing functionally close to nothing, nevertheless, the freedom is there.

The superficial similarities of the burkini to those worn by divers and the Australian Olympic swimming team are also pointed out, often as a rather desperate means of normalising the burkini and make one believe that it is really no different. However one would then have to ignore the vast difference in being able to choose cover-all swimwear for practicality, and one being used because no other is permitted. The issue is further complicated by Muslims who do not believe the religion forces such clothing requirements and that a ban on the burkini is a direct attack on Islam in general.

The dress requirements are debatable as the Koran does not specifically prescribe any particular garments, though does command:

“They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is necessary.” (verse 31 of sura 24).

It’s interpretation is open to abuse, something common to all religions. The interpretation however reflects the morality of the people, perhaps even more than morality is a reflection of the teachings of the Koran, with people taking from holy texts that which supports their moral world-view, and ignoring that which doesn’t. A corollary can be seen with various Christian denominations, with various denominations using a pre-existing moral compass to determine which scriptures to accept, which to reject, and how to interpret that which is open to subjective interpretation. The stricter Islamic denominations would be influenced more by an existing cultural view, than the Koran itself. As with all three of the Abrahamic monotheistic faiths, the religious teachings and cultural adaptation of them are intertwined and inseperable.

Our western values respects individual choice on what clothes they wear, a choice which is made by and large, free from theocracy, from cultural coercion and from potential retribution. This is in stark contrast to some of the more extreme Muslim nations, where such expressions of freedom would involve corporal punishment, or even worse.

However, the multiculturalists preaching tolerance are missing one vital point. Do many of the women who wear the burkini, or the burqa really HAVE A CHOICE?? While they might mention correctly, that women are free to choose appropriate clothing, the statement completely overlooks the important point, that these women aren’t necessarily free to exercise such choice! There are some Muslim women, who through respect for their religion, culture and relatives, might choose to wear such clothing, such as the hijab though they could prefer not to. But this wouldn’t represent all Muslim women. It certainly wouldn’t be representative of women living under strict Muslim theocracies, who must wear body covering clothing revealing only the eyes, under threat of corporal punishment for disobeying this edict. Does a woman who walks the streets of Melbourne or Sydney in a ‘black ninja outfit’ also have this choice? Is she free to wake up on a warm balmy morning and think “Sod it, it’s a warm day today, I think I will wear shorts and a T-Shirt”. Is she free to decide to walk around in public, and allow people to see her face, to see her facial expressions, her distress, joy or troubles? Is she really free to make a decision to enjoy the cool breezes at the end of a warm day, and make true face to face contact with people outside of her house? Not only this, the clothing must impede movement and make certain physical activities more troublesome. There is much debate amongst Muslims as to whether such clothing is necessary, with a large number believing it unnecessary.

Our laws don’t prohibit this, but are we really supposed to believe that her husband or father or other male relatives would be perfectly OK with this? Are we supposed to believe that religious upbringing and inculcation of beliefs doesn’t result in coercion? Instead, it’s made out as if this is purely free choice, made without coercion, without indoctrination, made rationally and for the benefit of the individual making the decision. We are led to believe that we are oppressive, in taking freedom away by banning clothing which has become symbolic of oppression of women. Some liberals will even try to argue there are no “Australian” or “Western” values. A position of such stupendous ignorance, that it is almost impossible to conceive how one could entertain such beliefs without being completely oblivious of British and European history.

For those who seek to fight any perceived ‘racism’ to fuel their own moral righteousness, in order to promote their belaboured viewpoint, twist this issue into one of a woman’s ‘right’ to wear the burkini, thereby distorting the issue at hand, from one of allowing foreign and oppressive cultures in which to practice ideals contrary to western ideals within our nation. They, by sleight of hand, turn it into the WEST imposing dress standards on others. This trickery makes those who oppose misogynistic practices appear to be the ‘bigots’! The real issue is far from this. However many have not recognised this, and even Mr Buonanno uses the simplistic double standard argument, though perhaps he framed his argument in a manner which might be more acceptable to liberalism.

The Politically Correct Heirarchy

The fact that the Burqa which is a visible representation of Islamic control of women is neglected, is quite telling. In the religious doctrine of leftist Political Correctness, there is a distinct hierarchy. As they often have values which contradict each other, there is need of a hierarchy where some leftist causes take precedence over others. This way when two leftist causes contradict, they just support the one higher up on the hierarchy. For instance, the “ethnic discrimination” cause trumps both “sexism” and “environmentalism”. So where a conflict of interest arises, such as the environmental damage done to Australia due to rapid population growth, the “left wing” simply consult their hierarchy and determine that their environmental causes must be ignored if the solution involves something they would jump on as ‘racist’, (such as a sensible immigration policy). In this simplistic view ‘ethnicity’ and ‘religion’ are one and the same.

In this instance, ‘religious tolerance’ overrides ‘feminism’, as it’s higher on the hierarchy, therefore ‘tolerating’ the importation of misogynistic practices trumps women’s rights. The rights of the women to enjoy the freedom that Western culture brings and liberation from irrational beliefs and theocracy don’t rate highly enough. The ‘tolerance’ card trumps them, so quite ironically, we are asked to tolerate and condone behaviour which is contrary to our values. Worse still, we are supposed to accept this as part of our culture and nation. Should Australia decide to implement anti-blasphemy laws such as those the UN is proposing, it would make it law to tolerate practices.[1] This non-binding resolution titled “Combating the Defamation of Religion” was designed to address speech which criticises religion. However religious groups wish to make this a binding resolution. It seeks to combat defamation of religion and incitement to hatred, however defamation laws are often misused and can be used as a form of protection. It further undermines free speech by making legitimate concerns and observations punishable.

Tolerance isn’t always a virtue.

Appeasing to Political Correctness breeds failure

Mr Buonanno’s comments didn’t address these issues, but rather seemed more like a low rent justification appearing to make a point against the Burkini, and therefore Islam, without addressing the real issue head on. Mr Buonanno says

“The sight of a ‘masked woman’ could disturb small children, not to mention problems of hygiene”.

Perhaps this is true, but it doesn’t address the inevitable cultural regression that would occur in ‘tolerating’ cultural practices which contradict ours. The fact children could be scared sounds like some kind of weak mask for a different underlying motivation. It would be more honest to simply state there is a conflict between Islamic and Western values, and that being a European nation, by default the Western values should triumph. Perhaps to take such a position is to be too politically incorrect, as it would be too exclusive, too Eurocentric. But this watered down position is logically untenable. Perhaps this is what Mr Buonanno really believes, but it is clear that attempts to avoid being politically incorrect can make ones position logically weak, by not stating the real, underlying issues.

The Nationalist Alternative Position

It is not necessarily minorities who ‘impose’ their beliefs on we westerners which causes this division, but the tolerance of many of the vocal liberal minority who allow this assault on our culture and silence those who object. While many, including the media, will frame the argument as one of whether a women should be ‘allowed’ to wear these clothes, this is completely beside the point. The danger here comes from endorsing the establishment and propagation of cultural and religious practices which are clearly contrary to those which make Australia, the rest of the Anglo-sphere and Europe enviable societies. Countries which ironically, many followers of Islam want to move to!

Women are not necessarily free to wear the Burqa/Burkini or not, they have little choice and it’s a requirement based on ungrounded centuries old beliefs. It certainty wouldn’t be true that every case of a women wearing a Burqa in a western nation is purely of free will with no coercion or indoctrination involved. To frame the argument as one of ‘choice’ is dishonest and misleading. The real issue is not the dress, but the acceptance of a greater diversity of unenlightened religious practices into our society. To accept this as part of our nation is to accept this as part of a modern western country, something that Australians, as well as the rest of Europe and European built nations must consider carefully. Such double standards, where one culture within our nation is somehow exempt from the cultural norms of the rest of the nation can only lead to division and conflict and a degradation of our cultural conventions.

There is also the double standard of people being allowed to wear in certain places concealing clothing because of their religion, which other people from a different religion or ethnic group, would not be allowed to wear in such places. It also completely goes against one of the main tenets of western thought and western society, the idea that one law, and one law only, applies to all citizens.

[1] http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=9b8e3a6d-795d-440f-a5de-6ff6e78c78d5

A Consideration of Value and Money in Society

Part I of Nationalist Alternative's Economics Series
"A Consideration of Value and Money in Society"

by Michael Kennedy

On what ‘Value’ means

Money can be seen as a representation of the inherit value of human labour, thought and of raw materials. Money itself is a conceptual tool created in order to quantify the value of goods and services which are traded. Currency can be considered as the form that money takes, whether dollars, pounds, beads, gold or poker chips.

Understanding the relationship between money and conceptions of value is vital in understanding broader economic trends, and the impact that those trends have on society.

Monetary value exists quite simply because there is a desire or a need for something that is not freely available. This object or service can only come about through labour, manipulating materials or from the minds creative process. Food has value to us because it is useful to us, it sustains life, stops hunger and is enjoyable. Its monetary value however comes from the fact that food is not freely available. It must be grown, transported, picked, cooked, stored etc. That is, in order for food to be available someone must use their intellect, labour and their materials. Air on the other hand, is so freely available and abundant, that nothing at all needs to be done to have it. Therefore, despite the fact that one would die faster without air than without food, air might have value to life, but monetarily it is worthless. A portion of air does not represent any labour or thought and the materials are too abundant to require any labour or thought to acquire. Though the gases that air comprises of do have value, you cannot sell air. The only air that is sold, is air that has been manipulated, either filtered air or compressed air and the value is increased because of the processing and addition of a storage container.

The three sources of value:

There are three common sources of value. Intellect, labour and materials. Intellect is the thought processes which either create new tools or objects, new structures, or the process by which materials are manipulated to create objects which are useful to people. Labour is the manipulation of matter and energy to provide goods and services of value, and materials is the matter and energy used and the final products.

Money is a means of exchange, essentially an intermediary between objects of value. While bartering goods is essentially identical to paying for goods with money, bartering has limitations. Namely that it is harder to value objects and services consistently and fairly and that bartering requires one to store the goods they are bartering with, and hope the providers of goods and services they require will accept their goods as payment. A child care worker for instance, would not be able to barter his or her services with a plumber who has no children. A farmer who grows fruit seasonally would come across difficulties because essentially he or she only has wealth so long as the fruit keeps.

Money becomes the intermediate storage of value, and it becomes the promise of goods and labour in the future. The farmer with seasonal fruit can offload the fruit, acquire money which essentially is a store of value, and then exchange that value stored in the money for goods and services at a future point in time, at his discretion. In these simplistic scenarios, we highlight that money, or more specifically, the currency, has a fixed value and that money is a tool used to encapsulate that value by representing value in a specific quantity of currency. So a shirt sells for $60 because $60 is the quantity of money (in dollars) which the seller believes represents the value of the materials, the labour put into the materials and the intellectual effort expended in order to create the shirt. The profit margin is really nothing more than an over valuation of the labour and intellectual effort behind the product or service. This is an over valuation which the customer is willing to accept and which the seller can use to expand their wealth and their business capabilities.

To go back to the barter example to make this point clearer, if a farmer with oranges was to trade his fruit with an apple farmer who for some reason REALLY wanted an orange, the orange farmer would be able to get more apples than usual for the trade. This might seem irrational but is in fact perfectly logical because valuation is a personal judgement that varies from person to person. As we by nature will seek the most desirable outcome, we are willing to spend large quantities on drugs if we are addicted to them, because the 'cost' of not having the next fix is greater than the cost of getting the drugs. Someone with an expensive drug habit, even if it is alcohol has made the decision that the experience of drinking, or avoiding abstinence is worth a large portion of their labour.

The example mentioned previously regarding the shirt shows an idealistic scenario where the buyer is aware of the true value of the shirt and is free to make the decision. In reality, this is rarely the case, as corporations collude to restrict choice, as they obscure knowledge about the product and monopolies arise which can essentially create a scenario where the customer cannot have any say in judging the worth of the product or service being supplied by the monopoly. Microsoft for instance, by engaging in monopolistic practices, has managed to dominate the PC market by making sure it is the ONLY software company distributing operating systems pre-installed on PC's. Ignorance of alternatives leaves people with the false conclusion that the prices charged are necessary, and Microsoft's advertising and PR statements, by creating fear, uncertainty and doubt about other products create in peoples minds a distorted and incorrect framework by which they judge the value or the worth of the product. This can occur at smaller levels too, with small businesses, agents and independent sellers taking advantage of the poorer bargaining position the buyer is in. There are many examples as such, i.e., any product advertised by creating fear in the customer that choosing a competitors product will lead to undesirable outcomes or any product sold at extraordinarily high prices because it is in shortage. A housing market bubble created due to shortages, or perceived impending shortages is another clear example.

The issuing of money

Much has been said about how central banks can seemingly issue money from thin air. Many point to this as some form of global scam, or sleight of hand. While the conditions by which the money is issued, and the quantity issued is certainly open to criticism, the fact that the money supply is increasing and that money comes seemingly from thin air is perfectly logical.

In any growing society, valuable goods and services are created. People are born, and with them come the capacity for labour, invention and the creation of new goods and services. Materials are extracted from the earth, processed and used to manufacture goods which are of greater use than the raw materials that comprise them. Human labour combined with materials creates useful products and services of value where none existed before. The fact is, the vast quantities of food produced, cities, technology, knives, clothes, automobiles, roads, statues, toothbrushes, art, and music all seemingly came out of thin air. Settlements were built where little else existed. A deposit of copper ore has limited value to people because of its limited usefulness, but processing that copper ore can create electrical cabling which is of far greater use. This ore is dug from the ground, turned into wire, and this copper wire enters the economy. This wire which did not exist as part of the economy is introduced into the economy.

As money is a representation of value and wealth, as the wealth increases, extra money must be issued into the economy to be used as an intermediary. The money is backed by the goods and services within the economy, which theoretically can increase indefinitely. Therefore, the mental tool used to represent the value within the economy, money, must be able to keep up. Currency appears to be issued from thin air because from casual observation, items enter the economy from thin air. Having currency backed by gold only backs one object with theoretical value, with another object of theoretical value of which there is a finite amount. The confusion comes from a lack of distinction between money and currency. Money is an intellectual construct whereby value can be quantified and where a trade can be carried out in two stages, where an employee provides labour for the economy, receives money which is a promise of access to future goods and services and then later uses that money to redeem those goods and services. Currency is the physical, or paper or electronic representation of money, the actual dollars used, or the actual gold. Currency does not need to have intrinsic value and only really has value because of a universal recognition that this item can be used to trade valuables for other valuables. Gold is no exception, though it is more useful than paper notes, but not because gold bullion is useful, but because gold is useful in the manufacture of electronic components. Gold however has been considered valuable in the Old World universally and historically, for quite a long period of time. Gold is the only precious metal available in alluvial form and which can be extracted from the ground in a metallic state instead of an ore. This, and it's lustre, malleability (useful in making jewellery) and long standing reputation as a precious metal, a symbol of wealth and status has ensured that gold remains valuable.

The concept of value extended

If human beings were so simple as to only require goods, services and materials then we could fairly easily qualify what goods are of value and what aren't.You could rely on a vast centrally planned economy like in some Communist examples (Chile) to describe and set an enormous array of prices, in one document for any conceivable good, service or material. In reality, the situation is far more complex. People need more than just bread, water and shelter and certainly people want more than just mere survival. People desire status, entertainment, desirable surrounds, security, social bonds, contentment, among many other things. In a simple economy, money acts as an intermediary for trade between tangible goods and services. As an intellectual construct it serves this purpose, but psychologically speaking the distinction people draw between the value of a potato grown from the ground, and the value of a house which has a view is somewhat vague. The monetary system is quite simply not suited to deal with the complexities of the human mind and the way the mind assigns value.

So far, we have looked at wealth creation through the introduction of goods and services into the economy which did not exist. However, as we have become accustomed to using money as a panacea to assign value, we have also used money to represent other more ambiguous forms of value.

The house by the beach cost a fixed quantity of money to build, however upon being sold, the price paid does not reflect the actual value of the house, but rather the perception of value. If beach front property becomes more popular, then people can be convinced that is of greater value. To a degree this is true; however it is not true in the same way that cotton in the form of a shirt is of greater value than a cotton plant. The former is temporary, a mental construct from based on perceived changes in value due to competitive pressures or social standing, the latter represents an increase in value to the economy which is tangible and usable.

So the increase in housing cost as witnessed in the early years of the 21^st century led to the following scenario. A fixed item, in this case the house, demanded a greater proportion of goods and labour in order to acquire it even though the house in question essentially remains unchanged. This is a different scenario to the once off profit made when an item is given a fixed value. Someone purchasing a house for $250,000 and then selling the exact same property in the roughly the same condition for $450,000 would claim they have 'made' $200,000 dollars. But wealth is created through the intellectual and physical labour of people, and the creation of goods. Earlier it was discussed that food grown, ore extracted and services rendered enter the economy from 'thin air'. Here we have another value which enters the economy from thin air, the perception of the increase in value of an item of static value. However, unlike goods and services, which you can see, touch, buy or at least make measurable use of, this value is purely theoretical.

What 'wealth' is created here? The answer is none, though modern economic systems allow one to use that wealth and convert it into goods and services. In this scenario someone hasn't made wealth, but rather appropriated money, the promise of future goods and services, without inputting the equivalent value of goods and services back into the economy. This is essentially how people can 'make a living' without working, and many people who are taken in by this allure of 'wealth creation' do not understand that there is no wealth creation, but rather it is appropriating wealth which existed elsewhere. The financial systems in place, have allowed such a transaction to take place. So the seller sells the house and the buyer is put into a position where they must input more into the economy than was originally required. As this increase in value also is considered an increase in value of the total value of the state, an asset bubble can lead to additional money being issued into the economy and in wealth being stored in property. Given this situation, the bubble must be maintained to prevent economic problems caused by the re-evaluation of the asset in question, and as the bubble cannot grow indefinitely, the conditions for an inevitable crash are created.

The important point is that people do not draw distinctions between a micro-economy growing due to the creation of wealth, and a micro-economy growing to people perceiving a rising value. As money is missed into the economy to accommodate for the inflating value of static items such as properties, or shares in a company who's performance has not substantially altered, this money is backed by very little other than the whims of the market. With nothing more than a change in opinion, this value can disappear and the value that entered the economy, also disappears. The money that was issued to facilitate these transactions remains, so we are left with more money representing an economy of less value. The value of the currency adjusts accordingly and inflation occurs.

No free lunch

To illustrate the following point, assume there are two nations on an island. Nation A enjoys a high standard of living. The people who live within this nation are relatively productive, civilised, tend not to commit many crimes and create a pleasant society. Nation B has a lower standard of living. Nation B has higher crime, greater disparity between rich and poor, is dirtier and has less developed infrastructure. The people in nation B are just as productive as nation A, but tend to maintain and accept, a much lower standard of living. Whereas people in nation A expect low population densities, people in nation B are more tolerant of crowding. People are free to move from one nation to the other and the two nations trade with each other. People in nation A earn more than nation B.

The first obvious point is that citizens of nation A are much less likely to move to nation B, than vice versa. The second one, is that due to the better quality of life in nation A, nation A is of greater value, that is, the home environment is of greater value because it is more desirable. This form of intrinsic value is often unmeasured and disregarded, and not considered as the measurable value held in the economy is, particularly in the "modern" Western World.

A contemporary real life counter example is the small Asian nation of Bhutan, where a former King of Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck coined the phrase “Gross National Happiness” in 1972. This index is a collection of various measurable and qualitative factors such as political, social and mental wellness, among others. While all these factors essentially become qualitative when factored into an index, it can be argued that the intrinsic value in living in such a society would increase or decrease more or less in line with such an index. This index is considered so important, that the new constitution adopted in 2008 states that government programs must be measured by the happiness they produce, and not by the economic benefits that might arise.

Recently, this index has been falling, paradoxically due to economic growth. British economist Sir Richard Layard who has specialised in the Nation’s happiness index states

“There's a lot of evidence that a rather cohesive societies often experience falls in psychological well-being when they go into economic take-off.”

While this might appear counter intuitive, what is happening is that the intrinsic value in their social structure, their culture and way of life is being sacrificed at the expense of more immediate economic value. This is occurring largely due to increasing commercialisation, which may be beyond the control of Bhutan's government. Value in one area (the economy) is growing at the expense of value elsewhere (value of culture, of the traditional lifestyle). In the economic sphere, there appears to be growth, but at the other side of the equilibrium is the loss of quality of life, the loss of happiness and contentment, something often ignored. Has the overall value of the nation increased? Or has the wealth and value of the nation simply been transformed and moved elsewhere?

Back to the example of nations A and B, people running companies in nation A might realise that people in nation B are working the exact same jobs, and being just as productive, yet willing to accept a much lower wage. Companies in nation A then engage either in off shoring and outsourcing, or recruiting citizens of nation B to live and work in nation A. The citizens move to nation A and allow the companies to increase their profits. A familiar scenario for anyone who lives in the western world. The government of nation A exclaims that this is good for the economy, as companies are making more money and driving up the stock market and the population generally agrees.

However, gains such as these don't come for free. Someone has to pay, somewhere, somehow. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Citizens of nation B move to nation A to certain areas and those areas start to become more and more like the areas found in nation B. Working conditions in nation A lower as its citizens have to compete with nation B Like the equilibrium discussed earlier, the apparent economic gains made by nation A, are mitigated by the loss of quality of life, of the peoples well being and happiness. This loss then directly translates into financial terms, as some suburbs lose value, as peoples wages lower, as lack of job security prevents people establishing loans and so forth.

The value of the area drops, and the value, or quality of life drops as well. Job security drops as jobs disappear overseas and competition for jobs and space increases. Crime increases, wages are lowered or curbed, forcing citizens of nation A to compromise their quality of life. Essentially, to allow economic gain in one area of the nation (within the companies balance books), a cost has been borne elsewhere, amongst the citizens of the nation.

At its most basic level, a financial transaction has taken place. The quality of life that one would normally expect to afford for their particular income is lowered, as the income which others can gain, is increased. Because the correlation between these two is abstract, a direct link is rarely made and people just see it as social progress. The economic progress experienced by some is made possible by others accepting corresponding regressions. Value has been transferred from one entity (the community) to another. The problem with this transaction is that it is usually done without the full understanding of the community, or their consent.

Another example would be changes to urban planning to allow for greater population density. While greater population density can lead to savings in building infrastructure, these savings are negated by the lower quality of living in high density areas. Subdividing property can seem to increase the value of land, but the increase in density leads to additional costs.

Good economic policy must look not merely at dollars and cents, but the total value of the nation which goes far beyond things which are held as being traditionally of monetary value. Changes in living conditions, in the demographic make up of the country, in the quality of life actually have very real economic impacts in ways which are overlooked.

Looking at the bigger picture

If you only look at the dollars and cents of any national economy, you are only looking at a portion of the equation. By only looking at a portion of the equation, what can appear to be a boom in reality isn't when non-fiscal ramifications of economic policy are taken into account. These aspects are usually the most important to people, as a good economy is only useful in that it provides a better standard of living. To have economic growth and greater profit at the expense of living standards is counter productive. Taking as an example, the off shoring of employment to other nations where a lower standard of living is maintained, and thereby lower wages, might appear good policy in terms of direct measurable metrics, it comes with a sacrifice which negates any financial advantage. From a nationalist perspective, this arrangement is undesirable as it is a transfer of opportunity out of the nation into another nation for the benefit of what is usually a handful of individuals.

The economic systems and conventions that a nation adopts should first and foremost be those which allow the nation the greatest opportunity to improve living conditions. The economic system and conventions, much like the concept of money itself, must remain tools which serve the people, rather than systems requiring the servitude of the people.

“The economy is not an end in itself. It is an element in the life of societies, among the principal ones but only one element”

http://www.developments.org.uk/articles/bhutan-where-happiness-outranks-wealth/
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=40,8113,0,0,1,0
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/11/14/consumed5_mmr_1
“Bhutans falling Happiness Index”

Can't get a lease on an inner city place?

By Carla O'Hara and Brian Hudson

The Sydney branch of Nationalist Alternative is currently engaging in a campaign to reach out to help young Australians in the dire predicament of finding and securing a lease on inner city accommodation.

A rental crisis is not just looming its occurring right now and many Aussies are increasingly finding themselves outmanoeuvred and ousted from an ultra competitive, inner-city rental market. Forced into unsuitable accommodation, including squats, the idea of plentiful, cheap, and geographically close student accommodation is as dead in the water as a free university education.

Local students are totally marginalised in the struggle for increasingly scarce resources, including accommodation and casual work. This effectively means they are being forced out of their traditional living space in the pursuit of Australia’s third largest export: Education. This is the white-elephant standing in the room no one is willing to address.

In 2009, Melbourne University students with no alternatives for accommodation resorted to squatting, only to be faced with eviction by the university. Squatting is becoming more common among students and the financially disadvantaged in Australia’s capital cities. In Blacktown alone, the Department of Housing has 1800 people on a waiting list for a home, while St Vincent De Paul has recorded a six fold increase in homeless families as the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) begins to bite.

Australia was in a housing shortage as early as 2006, in the wake of house prices lowering and the home sales market stagnating. Fewer people are now buying homes, and the statistics show that 1 in 4 Australians are faced with the prospect of securing a lease. Net population growth fuelled by immigration is currently at 170,000 per year and rental prices are increasing rapidly as demand for rental units is outstripping supply. In 2008, The Australian Property Monitors (APM) showed there had been double digit rental increase in each Australian capital city as a result of the rental crisis. Reminiscent of the Great Depression in 1930 are the long queues of hopeful tenants lining the streets for inner city leases. It is not unusual for the number of people turning up to a rental inspection to vastly outnumber those of a sales inspection. Some real-estate agents have reacted to this purely as an economic opportunity using what are now called “rental auctions”, which see potential tenants bid against one another for the opportunity to secure a rental property. Effectively this puts local students out of the market, and this sordid profiteering means the inner Sydney rental market is a barbaric free-for-all in which the biggest wallet wins.

The executive officer of the ACT Tenants Union, Deborah Pippen, said the rental auctions are unfair. “It leads to an uneven playing field for tenants. It artificially drives up rent prices,” she said.

To add to Aussie rental woes are media reports of ruthless real estate agents who force evictions to gain commissions from new tenants. This high demand/high turnover/high stakes situation is the reality of inner city renting today. Agents end tenancies without grounds to simply profit a 1st week re-letting fee, a fee that all agencies charge landlords upon signing up a new person.

This is only the surface of the anti-social behaviour of which some in the Real Estate industry engage in. Any other industry which impacted so negatively on people would be judiciously scrutinised, yet despite the obvious problems, the Real Estate Industry seems to enjoy a privileged position.

Real Estate is the only profession in which you don't need a university education. Real Estate agents, rather than providing a service worthy of the fees paid to them, are exploiting their position as property middlemen to pit renters and buyers against each other purely to profit even further.

The Real Estate industry has been turned into a business which uses fear, uncertainty and doubt, and blatant lies to manipulate the market. This can be seen in the current real estate climate, with buyers and renters being given the impression that it’s 'now or never', while at the same time, admitting to sellers that the market is shaky. This climate of doubt and fear, of promises of easy wealth, takes a fair share of responsibility in creating one of the biggest economic and social problems facing the country, that being housing affordability and the subsequent housing shortage.

The rental market has become so tight in Melbourne and Sydney with vacancy rates at historic lows of 1 percent; landlords can be scrupulous in their tenancy requirements. Some like Kerry Arbon who had been on a Melbourne apartment hunt for over five weeks, said he had applied for about a dozen properties without success. Despite a well-paid job and a good reference from a previous landlord, Mr Arbon said he believed he had not been short-listed for any of the properties. For hopeful tenants, being turned down is a real and daily occurrence.

Nationalist Alternative is aiding younger and disadvantaged supporters and members by securing lease contracts on their behalf, and co-ordinating individual students into collective houses. Nationalist Alternative is also building networks that seek to cut out the rental agent middleman, reducing costs for landlord and tenant.

In this way, Nationalist Alternative is committed to supporting struggling Australians such as local students, who may be suffering financial hardship, through no fault of their own under the excesses of liberal democracy, of which the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) is but a symptom.

Australians interested in more information, please contact Nationalist Alternative via the ‘Contact’ section of the website or email us at natalt@ymail.com.

Localised Failure of Liberal Democracy and Opposition to the Newport Mosque

By John Harper

Newport is an inner western suburb of Melbourne, back in July of 2008, activists of Nationalist Alternative, were notified by several supporters who lived and/or are living in the area and had received leaflets, to become involved in the local campaign to make the Council more accountable in regards to its planning decisions, whether for a new concrete carpark, shopping mall or otherwise. As Nationalist Alternative are strong supporters of the idea of local people having a say regarding the future of their own community and in proposed developments, we decided to investigate further. The planning decision in question was :

The building plans for a large mosque on Blenheim Road, Newport that could fit hundreds of people. 

(see artists impression of the mosque above).

An organisation/s of concerned citizens had formed due to the noticeable negative impact this development will have on the surrounding area. With proposed prayer times ranging from 4:20 AM to 11:10 PM and the prospect of increased traffic, noise and competition for the limited number of car park spaces planned for the area, anyone, even politically correct liberal progressives can see the significant change such a building would bring.

Nationalist Alternative attended meetings, donated funds towards hiring legal representation for the action group and spent evenings volunteering services for the resident activist groups, including distributing their leaflets, advertising their meetings, and collecting signatures and donations and providing moral support.

NatAlt was able to build good relations with the group and with certain key members. As many of the residents are politically inexperienced and often don’t appreciate the deeper underlying issues, it was encouraging to hear people express their thoughts and show us that people are not apathetic and do have an awareness of changes occurring within their community.

The council has a greater obligation to the community aside from ensuring that buildings meet zoning laws and construction requirements, but also in being sensitive to the needs of the community, the culture it has and the wishes of the residents as to the type of community they would like to live in. Developments must therefore take into account the impact they have on the culture, the way that these developments will alter the surrounding area and the suburb in terms of demographics and how such changes will impact on the lifestyle of residents.

Outrageous but not surprising were alleged comments by a councillor, when it was put to him by a resident group member “have you read and reviewed our submissions to council opposing this development?” to which was answered “No”, but you are invited to come and help turn the sods of dirt on the building site with the local Islamic community”.

So to residents, it was as if the decision had been made already and the council was just going through the motions. Unfortunately a few months later in 2008, the council voted to approve the development. Despite overwhelming resident dissatisfaction with the proposal, the council appeared committed to continuing the development, a fact not lost on the disaffected residents.

In response to this, NatAlt chose to lend support to one resident from a action group who chose to be a candidate. NatAlt distributed a flyer advertising the councils decision and detailing how the council appeared committed to approving the mosque regardless of the residents wishes, or without any concern to how this would impact the area. Not only was the flyer one to inform residents, it was a call to kick the incumbents out and an endorsement of the community activist who was running for council.

Despite the sensitivity of the issue and the propensity for people to be critical of community members who express concern over such developments, NatAlt recieved negligible opposition to our efforts. We will continue to play an active role in this issue and help represent the understated and often ignored wishes and concerns of the local community.

Lessons for Nationalist Activists - Relevance and Flexibility

Illustrating the relevance, particularly on a local level, of workingwith Australians on issues that are of importance to them and their dailyconcerns we note the following words of some nationalist activists onthe scene:

“We participated in our own door knock down many streets close and far to the development and whilst most residents did not want to become directly active, nearly all to a tee asked us to dispense withdisclaimers and other information and just ask them “Mosque? Yes or No”, to which 9.5/10 answered a resounding NO.”

We could have attended and simply hit the area with purely abstract political material,replete with esoteric political though straight out of a European think-tank and dressed in the black bloc look of our fellow nationalists in Europe from where we in Australia adapt the look. (and utilize for different ends as per other images on this site). However in light of the above, in this instance, Nationalist Alternative worked and dressed normally, both as non aligned residents attending meetings and leafleting on the issue along with local residents as well as in our own capacity. We supported and pushed the demand that council consider more closely and with greater sensitivity the needs of the residents, planning AND Cultural impacts and not blindly push forward developments (Of any nature mosque or carpark or shopping centre megaplex) that will have a negative impact on the community.

Residents have the right to make their voices heard, demand more accountability from indifferent and often major party dominated councils and to have the opportunity to exercise our democratic right to influence the development of our suburbs. Our people demand and require a greater input on the future of our own community, both locally and as the Australian nation.

Stickers and Posters - Range 1

Celebrity Child-Pets

by Carla O'Hara

The traditional family unit, now considered cliched is 2.1 children, a house (with over-inflated mortgage), quarter acre block, a dog, a cat, and everything else that encompassed ‘keeping up with the Jones’s’. This passe stereotype has forced the celebrity class to distinguish themselves and their wealth from the rest of us.
Celebrities indulge in drug abuse, sexual debauchery, cosmetic surgery and lavish, outlandish lifestyles, which, for the most part, is unusual and abnormal. In recent times, the celebrity class has gone one step further and sought another way to distinguish themselves; in addition to having biological children, they adopt children from the third world.

Celebrities guilty of this vice include Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Meg Ryan, Joely Fisher, Ewan McGregor and James Caviezel. U.S. pop star Madonna was allowed to adopt a second child from Malawi on Friday June 12, 2009 after the country’s Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling in a case that has been criticised by local rights groups.Superficially, they are adopting for reasons of philanthropy and altruism; in reality it is a way to justify child poaching. As a way of distinguishing themselves for the rest of society, they have themselves a new kind of pet - the third world child.

Perhaps I am being unfair to compare adopting of a third world child to the buying of a pet. However, the question should be asked, how could a person of high moral character go to an orphanage of a poor country, ask the children to be paraded and then “pick” the lucky one? The concept is reminiscent of a pet store, with puppies and kittens in the window. It has a lot to do with the Politically Correct idea that ’sacrificing’ your own children to help more disadvantaged children is considered a virtue. Celebrities are financially far more capable of doing this (as adoption is costly). By adopting third world children, they can get positive PR by being at the cutting edge and by being seen to be leading a ‘progressive’ new phenomenon.These celebrities adopt from the third world, not to help the third world, nor to help children. Otherwise, why then do they not adopt or even consider fostering children of their home country?

Once adopted, these “child-pets” have their own nanny to take care of them in their day to day activities. Every now and then, the celebrity pulls out their “child-pet” to perform for media cameras. As Sarah Silverman (a supposed “politically incorrect” Jewish comedian) once said;

“I think if you adopt, you really have to go brown with it because otherwise you don’t get the credit.”

Perhaps it is more accurate to compare these third world adoptees not as pets, but to slaves brought to the West by the African slave trade. During the 16th century, buying people from overseas was effectively as simple as it is today. Only this time, we allow our purchases to sit at the table and eat a meal with us and our biological children.There also seems to be little discussion of how those in the third world consider the adoption of their children and use of them as tokens by celebrities. Liberals would be distraught to hear the following comments by Somalian blogger Bashir Goth in a 2006 post regarding his failed adoption as a child by an American nurse.

"I cannot but admire my father’s wisdom in following his parental inclination of no other love or material comfort ever equalling that of a father looking at his own child growing before his eyes and passing down to him his people’s culture and history. I wonder if my culture and my village would have a home in my heart if I were raised abroad.”
He confirms the importance of parents bringing up their own children within the context of their people and associated culture and history.

Voltaire said “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere“, it is doubtful that the adoptees themselves realise that they are in shackles. Are they free to return to their home? Are they free to live with their own people, with their own culture? What will be the effect on the psyche of the child when they find out they were taken half way around the world from their true identity so their adopted parents could appear more PC and trendy? Alienated and used, like a commodity along with the perfumes and clothing that grace the magazines their celebrity parents appear on the front covers of.

What would be the effect on their psyche when they read their mother, Angelina Jolie’s comments on her biological birth?

“I love it. It makes me feel like a woman. It makes me feel that all the things about my body are suddenly there for a reason.”

And compare such words with those of Sarah Silverman’s about only getting credit if they are brown. Angelina Jolie is renowned for the diversity of her adopted brood. She says that each child is taught their biological language. Angelina’s adoptees, who learn their biological language amongst a foreign land and culture, cannot be compared to children able to live amongst their own people and culture. For Jolie to suggest that money can provide the adoptee with a better economic future, without realising it, she has actually placed a value judgement on the culture and people of her third world adoptee. Such behaviour pushes Western and Imperialist ideals onto non Westerners, whilst simultaneously suggesting that other non Western value systems are not valid or worthy. It is supremacist in its very nature, as it parallels historic assimilation of the heathen peoples of Africa, and a return to the psyche of White man’s burden.

The white man’s burden is responsible for the alleged kidnapping of over 100,000 Aboriginal children from their parents who were then subsequently placed in religious institutions. La Trobe University’s prominent Jewish Professor Robert Manne declares:

“It was not from harm that the mixed-descent children were rescued, but from their Aboriginality”.
Professor Manne is more apt in his description than he realises. Whether or not the Aboriginal Stolen generation suffered harm at the hands of their own people is largely irrelevant, what is poignant are the long term psychological impacts to those children raised by White Australians. In our efforts to help, to educate, and provide a better future for Aboriginal children, we are now suffering the burden of an invasive protective policy. In February of 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised to the Australian Aborigines:
“especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.”

Yet, in November of 2008 it was revealed that one in six Aboriginal children in NSW was in the care of the State, a total of 4000 Aboriginal children, compared to 1000 in 1969.
The true cost of assimilation of third world adoption and the removal of Aboriginal children from care has and continues to be the White man’s burden, in essence, an absence of nobility for all involved. If we really care for ourselves and for the third world and the indigenous populations, we should simply for good and for bad, let them be.