I liked a lot of what Charlie had to say in his Australia Day...

I liked a lot of what Charlie had to say in his Australia Day address in Sydney on Monday night- a very decent guy doing good work and with some insights to share.

Because he is a 'chinaman' it also reminded me of the contribution made to Australia by another 'chinaman', Victor Chan, whose life was cut short by criminals making no positive contribution to Australia.

In my own limited experience of knowing a few Chinese people, but also considering their history, they seem tremendously decent, complex and hard-working with a long term view of world events - maybe that is why their New Year celebrations are about year 4709 and not 2012.

Also, funny to see a guy who worked as a pub bouncer become a prominent neurosurgeon. Good on you Charlie, and great to see some exposure given to such a hard-working, good bloke devoting his skills to saving children and adult cancer sufferers.

He made some interesting points about how we assimilate immigrants, relative to how the USA does it, although, I wasn't entirely convinced by the virtues of the US model of the apparent immediate inclusion of immigrants as flag-waving yanks.

I prefer seeing the immigrant communities sustaining their characteristics and supporting each other as they add their own special attributes as part of a complex weave of our great Aussie society.

One of the things we dare not speak of here, perhaps for fear of tempting fate, is the fact that sectarian violence is largely parked at the port of entry and the emerging communities dob in those in their midst who seek to forment trouble here.

It has long been a kind of 'barley' here in Australia, even if terrorists of various stripes who behave here travel back home for mischevious purposes.

Maybe that suits all concerned or is another manifestation of the tyranny of distance - anyhow, seems to be traditonally how it has been.

Never mind a few European hang-over soccer blues, and the existence of new blues between young Samoans and Vietnamese or Turks or whomever (random selection)- these are not carry-overs, but new manifestations of the sorts of strife that goes un-remarked if it occurs within a single race.

This is a great country and I did agree with Charlie's remarks that we should return to understanding the existential plight of refugees and make some more effort to accommodate them as we have done in the past, mostly from war-torn countries, first from Europe and later from Vietnam, in particular.

I quail every time I read of people from Afghanistan or Iraq being sent back because they are not 'genuine' refugees.

At the same time, I am disgusted by radical parasites of various kinds who generally come here from Europe or England and not their troubled home country and can't be expelled because they have cynically sworn their citizenship oath.

Sucking on the taxpayer's teat at the same time as they spread vile libels about the country and society that has given them a home. One of the awful things this does is to poison the view of Aussies about the decent people simply seeking to find a new and safe life for themselves and their family here, downunder.

This is a ripper country because of the rich contributions of all, typified by a bloke like Charlie. Ha ha - I should ask him if he wants a spruiker to run him into parliament.

Anyway, Happy Australia day to every 'original', 'true blue' and every 'new' Aussie.