Here’s a scene from our officially multicultural future, but played out just the other day at a funeral at the Springvale Botanical Cemetery,.
Check the note the Russian-born florist added to one of the bouquets, ordered over the phone by a grieving niece.
“Rast in peas, unty Josie.”
Bolt continues:
Speaking and writing basic English is, after all, a key to good citizenship, neighbourliness and effective integration.
But here is the next thing that is new.
What I just said may soon be declared racist or in some other way discriminatory, even illegal, if the Australian Human Rights Commission’s latest campaign against “racism” succeeds.
The commission introduces its new push by declaring “ cultural, religious and linguistic diversity are fundamental to our national identity” and “this is something to be celebrated”.
Note, we must celebrate our “linguistic diversity” as something “fundamental to our national identity”.
Once, and not very long ago, a defining characteristic of our national identity was that we shared a common language, English. Now we are told that our defining characteristic is that we don’t.
"Rast in peas", freedom of speech in Australia.
"Rast in peas", Australian English as our common national language.
"Rast in peas", Australian national identity.
Economist Stephen Rimmer noted in 1992, "The lack of English language skills in the workplace imposes substantial economic costs in the form of lost productivity and reduced international competitiveness. For example, in 1989 the OMA estimated the poor English language skills cost Australia A$3.2 billion each year in additional communication time needed in the workplace. This estimate was used to justify more government spending on English language training. In addition, it was claimed in a report published by the Federal government-funded Bureau of Immigration Research that lost output owing to unemployment caused by lack of English language skills could be as high as A$1.6 billion per year. ...In all, the lack of English language skills in the workplace could cost Australia over A$5.4 billion per year - equal to 1.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)." Source: Rimmer, S., "The Cost of Multiculturalism", The Social Contract, Volume 3, Number 1 (Fall 1992).
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Sounds awfully Soviet to me- "thou shalt celebrate diversity or face thou thy master's wrath"
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