channel crossings

[Alan Briggs]

Anyone surprised.

[James Curry]

How many of Australias new immigrants are from India & China? Like most western nations Indians are being welcomed as they bring skills with them. Doctors and other well educated hard working people. The NHS here would collapse without them.

[Mike Hewitt]

Impossible I would say. Its a staged photo to grab sympathy for the illegals.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

India's president is going to visit Aus, I think next week,and when he is here they are going to call a part of Sydney Little India.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

No Des, he is only here to see his relis, all 500,000 of them.

But getting into Oz now is not what it was, all who want to come permanently must be sponsored either by family mor potential employer.
Skilled persons go to the front of the queue.

A bond is also now required, repayable when they are settled and working.

[James Curry]

John was that not also part of the £10 Pom deal? Those with required skills that Australia needed got a leg up on arrival?
Under the £10 scheme you had to commit to staying 2 years or pay back the full fare?
Mind you I am only basing that on the UK tv programme £10 Poms currently on BBC tv which is a fictional series.

[happy daze john in oz]

Some truth in that bit James.
Yes you were required to pay ay back if you did not stay the two years.
But have not heard of any one being charged that fee.

Skilled workers found work almost on arrival.
My brother in law, the ship called into Freeo on the way in.
There were many company reps there offering work.
He spoke with one, 8 days later arriving in Melbourne he had a job waiting for him.
He was into financial matters, then went on to night school to learn local laws, got a position with the tax office, never looked back.

[j.sabourn]

Wasn’t him I hope , who kept on deducting tax from me until the end of last year . This tax year has been the only year since arrival in Australia that I haven’t paid tax. Unless of course the present PM finds a way round that when the country starts running short of money. JS

[Mike Hewitt]

We are allowing a big hole to be dug in the UK. The politicians do not care because by the time the problems escalate further into national dilution of our quality of life and the violence that will ensue they will be well out of politics and retired on a gold plated pension.

[j.sabourn]

Mike found yesterday in my change from a shop a gold 1 pound coin. Was mistaken for an Australian 2 dollar coin . Are 1 pound coins still being minted ? Know when I was in uk a few years ago wasn’t worth much then so is probably considered shrapnel today, if still being minted . JS.
PS all during my early life an oxo cube was 1 penny. Come decilmalisation and it shot up to 2.5 pence rank profit making that’s when the rot set in . There must have been more self made millionaires made that year than ever before known to man. JS