More babies, less migrants

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott would like to see improvement on birth rate in Australia together with the drop in annual immigration intake to 170,000 places, compared to a peak of 300,000 two years ago. The Coalition wanted to make immigration more sustainable. On the other hand, the birth rate in the country is still significantly below replacement level. However, most of the labor forces oppose this policy. They claimed that immigration intake was already on the way down and would soon be less than the Coalition's target of 170,000. The latest data showed Australia's net overseas migration was on track to drop to between 230,000 and 250,000 people by the end of the 2009-10 financial years. Student visa numbers had dropped from 320,000 in 2008-09 to about 270,000 in 2009-2010. The Government had cut the immigration intake last year because of the economic slowdown, and also tightened eligibility for some visas. Treasury forecasts predict Australia will have 36 million people by 2050 if current migration patterns continue. As a result, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has rejected the forecast as a Government target, opting instead for what she calls a sustainable population.

July's time

July indicates the start of my third semester. This month is going to end soon. Time passes fast. I done two presentations last week, and I hope that there will be no presentation pointed to me in this coming week. Haha... I still get nervous and uneasy when I stood in front of the class and gave speech. My heart beat damn fast at that moment. However, I was glad that my classmates told me that I presented quite well, for English one. ^.^



Hope that the coming days will be alright. Good luck to all my friends.

Falling fertility fuels demand

The declining fertility in Western and Asian countries put overseas student recruitment atop the productivity agenda due to the increasing demand on skilled workers and students to meet urgent workforce demand. According to migration expert Hawthorne, as Australia squeezed the independent skilled migration class used by overseas students, declining fertility was fuelling international competition for skilled migrants. The University of Melbourne's associate dean claims that OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries are at risk of contracting by a third, with severe productivity implications. She said most OECD countries had fertility rates below replacement level. Countries with traditionally high birth rates, such as Mexico, were contracting, while others are falling to a dangerous level. This fertility revolution was being replicated across Asia, where overall population growth was in rapid decline. As a result, many countries are found to expand their export education and introduce new or revised migration policies.

Sincerity

I knew that I am over-stressed this week. I am said to be shouting more fequently at midnight during my sleep, and it happens almost everday in this week. Well, this is my bad habit that is out of my control, to shout and behave angrily and aggressively on bed when I fall asleep. I pick up this habit since I was small. I cannot control myself for not being like that because I don't really have any memory about that, meaning I do not know I behave like that unless others tell me. Of course, others ask me why is it happen that way. My answer would be "I don't know". Seriously, I cannot control it, and I wonder why is it happen to me. Maybe I am too stressful, causing me to release tension at night during my sleep. I have to say sorry to anyone of you who being badly disturbed by me during your sleep. Really sorry for that. My mom have actually told me to inform my friends so that they get alerted. I admit I can behave so aggressively until I may just wake up and punch other in case I am in extreme angry mood. Sorry again.... I do hurt my younger sister before, and I made her cry. I felt so sorry for her... I am being told to inform my roommate, if I behave like that at midnight, please call my name, and I will stop. No joke! It really works! Trust me. My mom used to practice it. It is one way to make me stop. I don't know about the other ways, but this is an applicable method. Sorry for all the disturbance and inconvenience.

Reduce number of overseas students in Australia for better security

It is suggested that the number and type of overseas students going to Australia to be reduced in order to curb the increasing violent attacks on overseas students. The restrictions and curfews are particularly applied due to high crime rates of the incidents. One of the evidences would be charging a 15-year-old by Victorian police with the murder of Indian student Nitin Garg, and a 16-year-old as an accessory. According to this measure, students will be selected on an educational basis. The Australian National University's National Institute of Public Policy claimed that they need better selection, better educational offerings and a better duty of care. However, the options to reduce the attacks are condemned as "offensive" by Australian Council of Private Education and Training chief Andrew Smith. According to his opinion, imposing curfews in a liberal democracy to some people would be offensive. In addition, Monash overseas student security expert Chris Nyland points out that reducing overseas student numbers would have been a good idea if it had bought time to build up the housing and policing infrastructure necessary to reduce attacks. Such a build-up had so far prevented crime against students becoming a crisis in Britain and Western Europe. As a result from this prevention method, the flow of students who are not primarily interested in a quality education would be diminished.

Legal settlement over child's scream that 'ruined' a US tourist's dream holiday to Australia

An American tourist Jean Barnard in January last year experienced a nightmare when she boarded a Qantas plane. A three-year-old boy allegedly leant back over his armrest toward Ms Barnard and let out a severe scream that blood erupted from her ears. She suffered severe and permanent injuries, including sudden sensio-neural hearing loss, from the child's scream. Ms Barnard’s eardrum was exploded, and she became deaf after the incident. In addition, she claimed that she was not able to work since the incident. However, Qantas's US legal team vigorously fought the case, claiming there was evidence Ms Barnard had a hearing problem before she left the US for Australia. In her response, she admitted wearing hearing aids before the case and submitting a volatile email.

Aussie news-Health campaigns "stigmatise" obese

Research found that public health campaigns warning of the dangers of obesity did not help them to lose weight. Apparently, the Cancer Council linked increased waist size with a greater cancer risk was particularly disliked while positive campaigns which encouraged physical activity and healthy eating, were better received. According to a health sociologist Dr Samantha Thomas, most of the campaigns often reinforced the public perception that all overweight people were unhealthy. They are often considered as a burden on health system, which isn't always the case. Director of the Cancer Prevention Centre defended that they have an obligation to raise awareness of the strong link between cancer and obesity. After all, diet industry is the party gaining benefits from the implementation of the campaigns.

Aussie news-Man jailed over 'reign of sexual terror' on students

A homeless Sydney man, Brendan Dennison who subjected four international students to a "reign of sexual terror" in a Sydney apartment has been sentenced to 28 years in jail. He repeatedly raped an 18-year-old Chinese student and her Korean boyfriend before she fell to her death trying to escape. The male victim also fell from the balcony while attempting to help his girlfriend. Dennison's sentencing in the Supreme Court heard he was on a drug binge and had no memory of the sickening attack. He had been using drugs consistently since the age of 17 or 18. He was remorseful for his actions and was getting treatment for his addiction in jail. It is found that he comes from unfavorable family background, making him to resort himself to alcoholism and drugs. He was sexually abused as a child by relatives within the Aboriginal community in which he lived and was affected by witnessing the death of his father who died from a heart attack when Dennison was aged seven. In addition, he was being abandoned by his mother at an early age. After the incident, he apologised to the families and friends of his victims.