this is the pledge you have to make to be an australian citizen:
From this time forward, under God*,
I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people,
whose Democratic beliefs I share,
whose rights and liberties I respect,
and whose laws I will uphold and obey.
I wonder if i would ever make that pledge.
But for now, here is my bickering:
Fact 1: I have applied for postgraduate courses and am intending to lodge an application for permanent residency.
Fact 2: Fed govt has introduced the Higher Education ‘reform’ which ‘denies’ permanent resident of Australia (apart from those who are holding humanitarian visa or whom were eligible pre-2005) to be supported by the govt in HECS-HELP (formerly HECS) or FEE-HELP (formerly PELS) from 1st january 2005.
Fact 3: Australia has an aging population and will have difficulties in providing social security benefits for the future especially with the current condition where the birth rate is at its lowest
Fact 4: Australia is a developed and can be considered as a ‘new’ economy which requires highly educated and skilled workforce.
———-
Conclusion 1:
Given the low birth rate and the aging population, the government can introduce policies which:
-encourage women to bear children and.or
-diversify its migration policies.
The government has done both:
-child tax credit
-’open’ migration policies especially for overseas students (even though some could argue that this policy has been more restrictive now)
*******
Now hear out my arguments:
Argument:
Given that Australia has opened up to more skilled migrants to becoming Australian permanent residency, it is in the Australian best interest to provide these people with the necessary skills and knowledge to adapt and face the environment that the new economy demands. This should be done knowing fully that most of these migrants (majority) comes from developing countries or of lower economic status than Australia.
Why in the hell than the Fed Govt ‘denies’ the opportunity for these migrants to achieve their potential by providing ANY HELP (read: there are two kinds of help in the past – 1. Commonwealth supported place or 2. deferred fee arrangement).
I’m done and tired of having this argument.
I made my points very clear in last year posting:
Point 1: Education (while some argue its a private goods), has social benefits and characteristics of social goods. To this extent, the government should provide support and assistance.
Point 2: Education is NOT AN EXPENSE. It is AN INVESTMENT. It will yield return! A more skilled workforce has a strong correlation with a more robust economy!
I rest my case.
ps. if you beg to differ, please comment. i want to ‘hear’ you out.
