The nature of Islam in Australia must be central to this inquiry. By Nick Cater in The Australian.
Far from marginalising Muslims, as [Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir] fears, it is a way to build a firewall between the many decent Australian Muslims and the radical few.
It will test our intuitive understanding that to judge every Muslim by the poison that spews from the radical mosques is like judging the sanity of Melburnians by the antics of Lidia Thorpe. …
They may be surprised to discover that confronting the scourge of Islamism is the most effective way to reduce Islamophobia, as they like to call it.
Until they do, the fear of Islam is hardly irrational. It is a response to the reality that Islamists in one guise or another are by far the most active players in the contemporary terrorism market.
Thankfully, the odds of an Australian being caught in an Islamist terrorist attack are extremely low. Yet the odds for Jewish Australians are much higher, while the chances of any Australian falling victim to Buddhist fanatics are close to zero. …
More than a third of Australians – 35 per cent – have a negative view of Islam, a rise of eight points in the past two years. Only 16 per cent of Australians view Islam positively, down from 24 per cent in 2023. …
Social cohesion? Fading away, like trust.
In 2007, at the end of the Howard era, 77 per cent felt a strong sense of belonging to Australia, and 58 per cent harboured a great sense of pride in the Australian way of life and its culture.
In 2025, those with a strong sense of belonging fell to 46 per cent, while barely a third (34 per cent) drew pride from the Australian way of life. The disaggregated figures are even more alarming. Only 34 per cent of Millennials and 31 per cent of Gen Z felt a sense of belonging compared to 73 per cent of Baby Boomers. Migrants were less likely feel a sense of belonging (29 per cent for overseas-born Millennials, 24 per cent for Gen Z). Older migrants, however, were still strongly attached: 66 per cent for those born before 1946 and 62 per cent for Baby Boomers.
The culprits:
Our worst fears have been realised. The infiltration of curriculum by self-loathing mumbo-jumbo and performative hand-wringing has sapped the national stamina. The casualisation of the immigration process has allowed newcomers to enjoy the benefits of Australia’s democratic freedoms without contributing to their upkeep.
We have seen the growth of a cohort of migrants that barely existed 25 years ago: unpatriotic permanent residents who live among Australians but don’t want to become one.
The last thing we need from this royal commission is a list of technocratic fixes to better manage our differences under the mantra of social cohesion.
Let’s hope for concrete, practical steps to revive the spirit of Team Australia
Australia’s golden age was the 1980s and 90s. But things turned distinctly sour after that, thanks to our globalist ruling class and their ideology. So far, Albanese is the worst PM.
