I received a chain email today from a friend, a hard working, conservative voting, businessman who I have enormous respect for.

Basically it claimed illegal refugees were receiving $56,000+ in welfare a year from the government and compared it with Aged Pensioners benefits of around $16,000 a year.

Now there's no quicker way of convincing me your cause is bullshit than sending me a chain email and asking me to forward it to everybody in my address book. A quick Google sorts out the crap every time, but now I've offended my friend who insists it's all gospel.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has refuted false claims circulating on the internet that refugees settling in Australia receive more in benefit payments than Australian pensioners.

'The figures quoted in the email bear no resemblance to income-support payments to pensioners, or to payments to refugees settling in Australia,' DIAC spokesman Sandi Logan said today.

'The text and figures in the email appear to have originated in Canadian emails, websites and internet chatrooms. We suspect that the email circulating here has been cut and pasted from these sources.

'In Australia, refugees granted permanent visas may gain access to benefits on the same basis and at the same rates as other Australian permanent residents.

'Refugees with temporary visas do not have access to the full range of benefits - they are only eligible for Centrelink Special Benefits on the same basis and rates as other Australian residents.

'There is no separate rate of benefit payments for refugees.'

Mr Logan said refugees received no cash payments under Australia’s Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy.

Refugee Monthly Allowance From Australian Government Hoax

I wonder who comes up with these? To me it's got white supremacist groups written all over it.

I always check www.snopes.com and 9 times out of 10 the claim is 100% B.S..

Like all lies, the best have a modicum of truth that is distorted and outright falsehoods added to the mix.

Immigration has been turned into a key issue in Australia, mainly for the purpose of creating a smokescreen around things that do matter.

I grew up in a time when Australia absorbed more than a million refugees and immigrants effortlessly. It was also a time of 100% employment which when you consider that a similar number of men had just left the armed forces is quite remarkable.

Many of these immigrants were of pretty dodgy back grounds as well, War Crimes tribunals are still rounding some of them up.

Still, the point of my topic isn't the pros and cons of immigration, it's that the internet has become a low cost form of extremist propaganda distribution.

 

Still, the point of my topic isn't the pros and cons of immigration, it's that the internet has become a low cost form of extremist propaganda distribution.

All you have to do is read a number of posts on Thai Visa to know that you are right. However, a lot of the propaganda has nothing to do with politics.