Foreign nannies would help Australian mums - and our skilled-worker shortage Tony Abbott’s pitch to young women desperately in need of home-help could be dismissed simply as the opposition leader’s attempt to win-over the skeptical female vote. But If you are a young couple struggling to find a balance between work commitments and young children you would not be alone in wishing you had an ‘extra pair of hands’ to help ease the load. Australia not only faces a severe skills shortage in a number of states, but also the reality of many you…
As Australia celebrates Harmony Week , Ross Taylor reflects on our multicultural journey.... Question: What is the difference between an elephant and a ding’s grandmother? Answer: About two kilos! There are three things about this ‘joke’ that I need to say: 1. It is in extremely poor taste. 2. A ‘ding’, for our younger readers benefit, refers to an Italian immigrant. 3. This was typical of the sort of jokes we Australian’s told as part of our objection to allowing Italian immigrants into our country. Welcome to …
As Senator Bob Carr considers his priorities as the new foreign minister, relations with countries to our north will need early attention. China and its irritation at our decision to allow US troops to be based in Darwin is an obvious matter that needs to be addressed. Senator Carr will also need to reflect on another large and emerging neighbour whom our government has created a few ‘Australia-made’ irritations recently: Indonesia. And there have been more than just a few, including the ongoing DFAT warnings for travel to Indonesia, inclu…
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