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Australia, april 14, 2011 – The issue of a high rate of immigration to Australia has split and upset 21st century Australians, though historically speaking Australia was a country built by immigrants. So why does this issue upset them?
HARDtalk on the road in Australia for a three-part series has discussed on their first programme on the contentious issue of immigration.

Stephen Sackur, the presenter of HARDtalk, a current affairs interview programme on BBC World News and BBC News 24, reported that when you tuned in on Sydney’s top radio station, you would hear plenty of Australians are convinced that immigration now poses a threat to their culture and values.

Sackur joined David Oldfield, the radio talk show host who had also co-founded the far-right One Nation party to talk about whether fears of new waves of people trying to enter the country has real basis.

Sackur commented during the radio talk show that it has been a kind of an interesting paradox that a country built by immigrants is now so divided and polarized on the issue of further immigration. Sackur witnessed and heard an earful of strong Australian opinions for and against further Australian immigration from Australian callers calling and commenting during Oldfield’s talk show.

Having heard these comments, Sackur wondered if radio talk show host David Oldfield is just simply deepening divisions within Australian society.

Sackur during the interview questioned Oldfield of why it is that so many people in Oldfield’s audience are so full of fear and anger when it comes to immigration.

Oldfield answered that Australians have seen a lot of inappropriate immigration in all its forms like the multiculturalism and the supposed situation of those people who are seeking asylum which are sometimes real and sometimes not which Australians have been forced to accept for a number of decades.  Oldfield also commented that a lot Australians were not asking for the multiculturalism but they were just forced into it as a form of policy and many are calling for a referendum to find out if such policy should continue.

Sackur then remarked that multiculturalism has been part of the consensus for many years and Australia is a democratic country which has voted for multiculturalism. Oldfield countered that multiculturalism has been a consensus not of the people but by the political parties which have been clear in every poll that has been taken in the last thirty years every time the issue of immigration comes up.

Oldfield then reiterated that the politicians of Australia have failed Australians on the issue of immigration.

source:
news.bbc.co.uk