Friday 15 May 2009

Why do we need interpreters for immigrants?

I spotted this when reading a post over at Iain Hall:

According to a question taken on notice by a Senate committee in February, the Government spent $1.7 million in charter flights to and from Christmas Island in the months between October 2 and February 28.

Over the same period, $6500 a day was spent on detention service providers, about $9945 a day on interpreters and $7850 a day on immigration staff costs and allowances.
If you are so keen on coming here, why haven't you learned English? It's not like it's a rare language, only spoken in the highlands of some backward fleapit.

If you want to live here, and you don't speaka the lingo, you can pay for the interpreters. That might act as a small incentive to make an effort to pick up the language. As for the illegals, if they can afford to pay for the ferryboat ride across from Indo, they can afford to pay for the 'terps.

2 comments:

Kat212 said...

I totally agree with you on this one. Once again it's the tax payer that is forced to pay for useless services, As you said If they can afford to come to the country then surely they can afford to learn the language. Also on a side note these people come in take "our" jobs or get government assistance ( that the tax payer once again provides). It just seems to me that this whole " Everyone's Welcome" attuide is going to be the downfall of the country ( admittidly we live in different countries but the basics are the same) If you come here legally or ilegally learn the bloody language if not then sod off back to where ever it was you came from... Sorry for the rant BOAB It just annoys me a lot... once again great blog

Anonymous said...

Two car stickers I have seen over in the west (the bit that doesn't want daylight saving), set inside a map of Australia
1. If you don't love it - Leave!
or more succinctly
2. a new definition for FIFO (in mining parlance means Fly In, Fly Out) -Fit in, or F*&! Off!

Both of these sentiments cover pretty much how I feel.

bigtones