by Mat Churchill

Did the aborigines have stickers on their canoes that said "F@$k off, we're full" when the First Fleet arrived?

I was forced to write this very non-Newsport-like article thanks to the misfortune of opening a recent edition of the Cairns Weekend Post to the Hot Topic page while sitting on the toilet . It asked readers 'Should Cairns take asylum seekers?' Needless to say there was a mixed response.

White Australia has a pretty ordinary history when it comes to acceptance of people who don't look like them.

First it was the indigenous population, then came the Italians and Greeks in the 1940's and 50's, then it was Asian immigrants who copped the wrath. Now the focus tends to be on people of middle eastern descent or anyone who decides to risk their lives to get to Australia by rickety boat.

What is it about some Australians that makes them so threatened by people from other cultures? No really, I want you to tell me coz I'm drawing a blank.

Is it that they believe every word spoken on shows like Today Tonight? Or have they formed their opinions on the blatant generalisations and fear mongering sensationalism of tabloid newspapers?

Our nightly news is packed with stories of assaults, murders, thefts, and rapes. Does that mean that every Australian is either a thug, murderer, thief, or rapist? Of course it doesn't.

So why is it so easy to label someone who can speak Arabic and has a beard a terrorist? I can say hello in Arabic, and I do have a beard this week.  Should I be alert but not alarmed?

Are people from Port Douglas different to other towns and cities in Australia? After all, about 95% of people who live here have come here from somewhere else in search of a better lifestyle. Sound familiar?

Anyway, gotta go, A Current Affair is on. Let me know your thoughts.