Sunday 22nd of December 2024

educating reffos .....

educating reffos .....

 

from Crikey ….. 

Teresa Gambaro clearly encountered a smelly taxi driver or two over the festive period. It sparked a thought-bubble (to be generous) in the opposition citizenship spokesperson's mind that somehow made it to page one of the national broadsheet today -- immigrants are in desperate need of some "cultural awareness training".

"Without trying to be offensive," Gambaro told The Australian -- the sort of caveat that inevitably precedes the giving of copious offence -- "we are talking about hygiene and what is an acceptable norm in this country when you are working closely with other co-workers." Immigrants must learn the need for wearing deodorant, she said -- failing to express a preference for roll-on or aerosol variants -- and how to wait patiently in queues. Australians who smell, or who push in, will presumably be dispatched to re-education centres.

But carefully hiding in Gambaro's stupidity -- and the carping from immigration shadow Scott Morrison yesterday that Labor is failing to properly integrate temporary migrants -- is a reasonable point. Just how do we "induct" new Australians? What support is there to help migrants with housing, employment and accessing social services? Charities, SBS Radio and community groups do some of it, but can and should the government do more? Is anyone thinking about what will ensure the community gets the best value from new arrivals, and vice versa? After all, immigration has been the huge success story of post-war Australia, economically and socially -- what do we need to do to keep that going?

Labor affirmed its commitment to multiculturalism last year, promising to beef up the Australian Multicultural Council and examine service delivery to new migrants. The findings of that work should spark a new conversation on citizenship, integration and how to ensure multiculturalism doesn't become the failed experiment some ideologues and opposition MPs believe it has.

The Coalition's contribution to date just stinks.

afterwards …..

The acting Opposition Leader, Warren Truss, has rebuked the federal member for Brisbane, Teresa Gambaro, saying her call for migrant workers to be taught to use deodorant ''went too far'' and was ''not Coalition policy and not in line with modern Australian attitudes''.

Ms Gambaro, the Coalition's spokeswoman for citizenship, outraged groups including the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils, saying new migrants on temporary 457 work visas weren't integrating and needed to be taught about Australian hygiene standards.

She was forced to ''unreservedly apologise'' yesterday, and claimed her comments had been taken out of context. But the Greens pointed out Ms Gambaro first called for migrant workers to be trained in Australian hygiene standards in a statement on September 7 last year.

The Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen, said Ms Gambaro's comments were either dog whistling or idiocy ''which are better placed in 1952 rather than 2012'', and bizarre.

His office said the top nationality for ''smelly'' 457 visa holders was in fact English workers (25 per cent), with Irish, American, Canadian and European workers also in the top 10. Seventy-two per cent of 457 visa holders were managers or professionals with an average salary of more than $95,000.

''Her comments were unfortunate,'' said Mr Truss. ''Let's move on, to making sure we have an effective policy to address social integration.''

Mr Truss said the Coalition supported temporary skilled migration and ''we have become dependent in regional communities on 457 visa holders because Australians don't choose to do that work''.

Truss Raps Gambaro For Migrant Hygiene Remark

ps & queues .....

There's much more to being an Australian than smelling like a rose and forming an orderly line. Really, what new migrants need is a full range of short courses that explain the intricacies of being an Australian.

Opposition spokeswoman for citizenship Teresa Gambaro caused a stir when she suggested new migrants should be taught how to use deodorant and wait in a queue, in order that they might integrate more effectively into Australian society. Clearly she didn't go far enough.

There's much more to being an Australian than smelling like a rose and forming an orderly line. Really, what new migrants need is a full range of short courses that explain the intricacies of being an Australian. Here are just two examples of relevant short courses:

How to blame the government for your problems

When you come from an undemocratic, corrupt or dictatorial country – as some of our migrants do – it can be difficult to know how to complain about the seemingly benign Australian government. But partaking in this pastime is fundamental to fitting in Down Under.

One-day courses would include "I'm only earning $150,000 a year and the government is taking away my welfare", "Bananas are expensive, when's the next election?" and "My mortgage repayments are getting out of control, why did the government let me buy this house?".

Understanding football

There's a rumour doing the rounds that many migrants don't understand Australian rules or rugby, and instead follow a strange sport with a round ball. That won't do. In Melbourne, for example, talking about football – what team you go for, who won at the weekend, the progress of Juddy's groin strain – forms the basis of most polite conversation. It is unreasonable to expect us Australian-borns to talk about something else just to accommodate a new migrant who can't be bothered to come to grips with a new sport.

Of course, educational programs such as these can only achieve so much. Over time, migrants will no doubt revert back to their old, smelly, pushy ways. Which is why they should also be made to recite a pledge each day before they start work. Perhaps something like this:

"I pledge allegiance to Australia, the best bloody country in the world. Certainly better than England. Better at weather, better at being big, better at sport (Australia 803 all-time Commonwealth Games gold medals, England 612).

''I pledge to never, ever learn the second verse of the Australian national anthem, but be able to recite every word of the Qantas song. I won't commit Shakespeare to memory, but I will learn by heart large chunks of The Castle.

''I reserve the right to label anyone less cultured than me a bogan and anyone smarter than me an elitist.

''I'll call Russell Crowe an Aussie when he's winning Oscars. I'll call him a Kiwi when he's throwing phones.

''If I win something truly momentous such as a Nobel prize or Brownlow, I promise to say I'm not much into medals and trophies and stuff.

''I will defend the use of the chant 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, Oi, Oi'. It is clever and inspiring.

''Donald Bradman's average was 99.94. If he had scored just four in his last innings it would have been 100. He got a duck.

''Whenever I travel overseas I'll seek out other Australians and lament how much I miss Vegemite and Tim Tams and Bert Newton.

''If I'm a male, and I hug another male, I will firmly slap him on the back three times to prove I am not gay.

''If people arrive in our country on a boat I will be outraged. If they arrive on a plane I will say they add to the fabric of our society.

''I agree to honour Australia's sacred days: April 25th, Collingwood v Essendon. January 26th, cricket at Adelaide Oval.

''And I'll always wear deodorant and wait patiently in line. Promise."

Integration

vacant space .....

from Crikey .....

job opportunity: armpit sniffer .....

The problem with defacing Wikipedia profiles in an entertaining manner is they very rarely last long online. Thankfully, a Crikey reader captured this from the page of Queensland MP Teresa Gambaro following her smelly immigration suggestion earlier this week. Not surprisingly, it has now been removed ...

JOB OPENING: Senior Immigration Armpit Sniffer

The Liberal Party of Australia are a leading provider of homophobic, bigotry and hypocritical services specialising in the management of immigrant bashing in Australia, and currently have opportunities in our Citizenship & Immigration division for registered armpit sniffers with 3 + years solid experience to join our busy and friendly team anywhere in Australia.

THE POSITION:

Reporting to the soon to be Immigration Minister, Ms Teresa Gambaro, you will be primarily responsible for undertaking corporate immigration work associated with the Australian body odour legislation working with deodorant organisations in sniffing all migrants and migrants-to-be across Australia. Responsibilities include:

- Preparing, collating and lodging (including smelling where relevant) visa applications and supporting documentation with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and other immigration authorities in and outside Australia

- Migrant sniffing and monitoring of all migrant candidates of all size with immigration authorities until the matter is finalised

- Liaising with deodorant companies, visa applicants and government authorities including DIAC and other immigration authorities in and outside Australia

- Managing a high volume of visa smells in/outbound

- Providing advice and assistance to migrants with respect to deodorant options, eligibility prospects and merits of applications including matters associated with body odours as well as DIAC compliance and monitoring requirements

- Managing client and/or visa applicant expectations and tailoring advice to specific stench of the migrants

- Participating in bathing and deodorant applications to new and existing migrants

- Acting in accordance with the Sniffing Code of Conduct as administered by the Migration Sniffers Registration Authority (MSRA) in Australia and office and risk management practices and procedures

SKILLS: The successful applicant will be a registered migration agent with a minimum 3 years corporate sniffing experience and technical knowledge with respect to the current Australian sniffing law and policy. You must be a team player and self-starter with initiative and drive. You will have strong nasal skills, Australian body odour and time management/organisational skills with an ability to demonstrate a high attention to detail sniffing; must have the ability to work within a team and independently to tight armpits and manage conflicting smells and odour expectations with poise and professionalism.

CONTACT: If you believe you have what it takes to excel in this position, please forward your resume to Tonny Abbott, Recruitment Officer, via the APPLY NOW function. Applications close 31st January 2012.