i don't think we can blame the quality of immigration on what's happening now... weren't the first batch former residents of prison hulks in the thames? all the immigrants that i work with are pumped to be here, go hard and really don't have a bad word to say about Aus.
Somewhere in living history we became obsessed with the notion we are defined by our convict past, Australia was far more the sum of the parts rather than the convicts from London, Midlands, Ireland and Northern England. Regardless they were largely a monoculture engulfed by the major changes of the industrial revolution in full swing. Combined with those transports were a lot of free settlers who brought advanced skillsets and knowledge to colonial Oz.
With multiculturalism comes social control through punitive legislation to compel people to accept cultural practices that are foreign to tradition. This compromises innovation and progressive change, in some ways retards growth civil and civic. Ethnic communities are empowered and demand dilution of the foundation principles and govt obliges.
