The Austraila I know and love is dead. We need a referendum on immigration because our gutless government cannot make the hard decisions. Forget about outdated UN charters and conventions, because they favour foreigners rights over our own. If the UN love these refugees so much let them pay for them, instead of the struggling taxpayer. Sou : 22 Dec 2010 5:47:44pm Just a day or so back, there was an article in the news about a Fed Govt report saying that States were not investing enough in infrastructure to support a growing population. Yet it's the Fed Govt that has control of population policy, or should have. It's the one bringing in more than 150k people each year (mostly skilled workers) and it's the one paying baby bonuses, mandating parental leave and giving tax breaks to grow the population. (That's not including students, NZanders etc). If only governments had a plan instead of simply 'population projections'. Providing services and infrastructure to the growth corridors on the outskirts of major cities is a huge expense on top of maintenance costs in more settled areas. This raises vexed questions every time budgets are prepared by state and local governments and utilities. We don't have enough water, most land is already committed to housing, services, industry, farming, forestry or parkland. The only way to go is up, but many Australians don't like cramped living. In addition, there are too many cars, too much rubbish going to landfill, too much wear and tear