&lt;import "cheap off the shelf workers ... they do not have to take the time and effort to train" them&gt; makes lot of sense. Since the nineties there has been a dramatic decline in industry investing in training its own apprentices and now the chicken has come home to roost. Obviously the profit margins of Industry have soared JmB : Simon says "Born of ignorance, certainly, but not racist." His anecdotal proof includes a "retired digger" decrying "towelheads. Alas, it is ignorance that gives rise to racism, ignorance demonstrated by the digger's racist remark. If we are to have the frank, honest and open conversation you prescribe (and we must), this nascent racism must be tackled with the same honesty. Unfortunate pandering like the anecdote and the misguided excuse of "ignorance not racism" detract from the essay and would diminish the conversation. We have powerful, deeply embedded racist sentiments in our culture, borne of ignorance, and fuelled, alas, by well-intentioned but misguided social researchers and journalists ... drjohn : Reality : 23 Dec 2010 6:34:00am Concur with the earlier posting - Majority oppose big population. However, despite that reservation any discussion concerning population growth from immigration must include the crucially important topic of the immigrant's preparedness to fully intergrate into the community - which includes free and unhindered choice of marriage partner outside of their own faith. Professor Rosseforp : 23 Dec 2010 5:27:52am The Weekend Australian ran a big survey on this, as a prelude to a new series