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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Australia to cut down on migration intake as Singapore prepares to welcome more immigrants
April 4, 2010 by admin
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http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/04/04/australia-to-cut-down-on-migration-intake-as-singapore-prepares-to-welcome-more-immigrants/
Written by Our Correspondent
The Australian government has announced its plans to reduce Australia’s annual immigration in tack to “help tackle concerns about traffic congestion, housing, hospitals, water and the environment,” the Age reports today.
A few months after unveiling a plan to increase Australia’s population via immigration, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Ruud now flip-flops and warned of “legitimate concerns” with population growth.
Agriculture Minister Tony Burke was appointed as a Australia’s first Population Minister to “develop the country’s first population plan, including a review of immigration levels.”
“‘Particularly its impact on urban congestion, its impact on the adequacy of infrastructure, its impact on the adequacy of housing supply, its impact on government services, its impact also on water and agriculture and on our regions,” Mr Burke said.
Opposition leader Tony Abbott criticized Mr Kevin Ruud’s move without a serious debate on population:
”It’s very hard to have a sustainable population strategy if you can’t control our boat arrivals. You can’t have a population policy without having a border protection policy,” he said.
Even as Australia plans to scale down on immigration, PAP leaders continue to exhort Singaporeans to welcome more immigrants.
During a speech made at a community event yesterday, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong took pains to emphasize that foreigners are still very much welcomed in Singapore though the PAP has introduced some cosmetic changes to its pro-foreigner policies to appease angry voters.
“Singapore must not create the image that immigrants are not welcome,” he stressed.
With no opposition in parliament to hold the PAP accountable, it is impossible to have a proper debate on the PAP’s misguided and faulty immigration policies which have caused tremendous hardships to ordinary Singaporeans leading to sky-rocketing public housing prices, traffic congestion and decreased quality of life.
The immigrants serve a crucial political purpose in ensuring the PAP’s continued political survival and hegemony as its support based gets eroded with each passing day.
Grassroots organizations and the PAP itself have been actively recruiting new citizens to fill its ranks including the likes of Sinha Shekhar from India who was given an “outstanding contributor award” by PM Lee lately for his “contributions” to the PAP’s REACH forum.
There are about 20,000 new citizens for each of the last three years and their increasing number will form an influential voting bloc in future elections.
It is little wonder that the PAP is sparing no efforts to make the new citizens feel happy in Singapore as it has no qualms splurging taxpayers’ monies to make them feel “respected” including a “Water Festival” for the Thai, Burmese and Cambodian community here.
While Kevin Ruud has come under increasing fire lately from the opposition, media and Australians for his immigration policies, PM Lee may yet still believe that Singaporeans are “supportive” of his policies.
After all, there is no opposition to criticize him, the media is muzzled and the citizenry is too apathetic and ignorant to challenge him. PM Lee must be feeling downright fortunate that he is ruling Singapore and not Australia.
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April 4, 2010 by admin
Filed under Headlines
Leave a comment
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/04/04/australia-to-cut-down-on-migration-intake-as-singapore-prepares-to-welcome-more-immigrants/
Written by Our Correspondent
The Australian government has announced its plans to reduce Australia’s annual immigration in tack to “help tackle concerns about traffic congestion, housing, hospitals, water and the environment,” the Age reports today.
A few months after unveiling a plan to increase Australia’s population via immigration, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Ruud now flip-flops and warned of “legitimate concerns” with population growth.
Agriculture Minister Tony Burke was appointed as a Australia’s first Population Minister to “develop the country’s first population plan, including a review of immigration levels.”
“‘Particularly its impact on urban congestion, its impact on the adequacy of infrastructure, its impact on the adequacy of housing supply, its impact on government services, its impact also on water and agriculture and on our regions,” Mr Burke said.
Opposition leader Tony Abbott criticized Mr Kevin Ruud’s move without a serious debate on population:
”It’s very hard to have a sustainable population strategy if you can’t control our boat arrivals. You can’t have a population policy without having a border protection policy,” he said.
Even as Australia plans to scale down on immigration, PAP leaders continue to exhort Singaporeans to welcome more immigrants.
During a speech made at a community event yesterday, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong took pains to emphasize that foreigners are still very much welcomed in Singapore though the PAP has introduced some cosmetic changes to its pro-foreigner policies to appease angry voters.
“Singapore must not create the image that immigrants are not welcome,” he stressed.
With no opposition in parliament to hold the PAP accountable, it is impossible to have a proper debate on the PAP’s misguided and faulty immigration policies which have caused tremendous hardships to ordinary Singaporeans leading to sky-rocketing public housing prices, traffic congestion and decreased quality of life.
The immigrants serve a crucial political purpose in ensuring the PAP’s continued political survival and hegemony as its support based gets eroded with each passing day.
Grassroots organizations and the PAP itself have been actively recruiting new citizens to fill its ranks including the likes of Sinha Shekhar from India who was given an “outstanding contributor award” by PM Lee lately for his “contributions” to the PAP’s REACH forum.
There are about 20,000 new citizens for each of the last three years and their increasing number will form an influential voting bloc in future elections.
It is little wonder that the PAP is sparing no efforts to make the new citizens feel happy in Singapore as it has no qualms splurging taxpayers’ monies to make them feel “respected” including a “Water Festival” for the Thai, Burmese and Cambodian community here.
While Kevin Ruud has come under increasing fire lately from the opposition, media and Australians for his immigration policies, PM Lee may yet still believe that Singaporeans are “supportive” of his policies.
After all, there is no opposition to criticize him, the media is muzzled and the citizenry is too apathetic and ignorant to challenge him. PM Lee must be feeling downright fortunate that he is ruling Singapore and not Australia.
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