HSBC

"Allowing more migration from Asia could help Australia cope with the challenges of its ageing population, a leading economist says," quoth Fairfax Digital. Ditto Murdoch's Australian: "More Asian migration would help Aust: HSBC". The 'leading economist' is Paul Bloxham, who is employed by HSBC Australia bank with the title of 'chief economist and spokesperson'. The publishing media are heavily invested in marketing Australian real estate to the world.

This narrowly-based opinion is published and promoted as 'breaking news' by Australia's mass media as if it were a disinterested and unquestionable truth, but it comes from a person paid by a business corporation to spruik their interests and it is reported by media giants who also have massive interests in property development and finance.

Fairfax media and Murdoch media both have huge property dot coms that market Australian real estate. These are Realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au. Other media organisations also massage the property market with television lifestyle programs etc. The Australian public is utterly manipulated in this area by the media, yet the media continue to promote their own interests without declaring them in articles like the ones quoting Bloxham.


It could be that HSBC Bank really believes that what is good for their global banking business headquartered in London and which started in Asia [1] is good for Australia, but their chief economist shows extremely poor understanding of Australian demographics.

Misleading demographics

Paul Bloxham is actually quoted as saying that,

"Migrants are typically younger than the extant population." (!) To which he adds, "The ageing population means greater spending on healthcare and less revenue from the income tax system, putting strain on government budgets," Mr Bloxham said.

Such a statement assumes that Asian migrants must have the solution to eternal youth, and don't age one year every year like other people. It doesn't acknowledge that all immigrants to Australia are older on entry than those born here, tend to import elderly family (under family reunion terms) and thus to contribute overwhelmingly to a more rapid aging demographic in Australia. This has been shown by the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia (FECCA), who have been campaigning for special aged care funding geared to the higher rate of aging in immigrants. See, "Immigration speeds up Australia's rate of aging - FECCA" :

"From 2011 to 2026 ethnic people over 80 will increase by 59% compared with 29% in the Australian-born population." FECCA.

Even the mysterious Multicultural Foundation of Australia, founded by Bob Hawke in 1986, of which every recent Prime Minister and Opposition leader are members, funds research to deliver education on dementia for the rising proportion of aging immigrants.

"Culturally and linguistically diverse communities and dementia: Currently one in eight Australians with dementia do not speak English at home (Access Economics 2006).”
Source: http://amf.net.au/library/uploads/files/National_Dementia_Campaign_health_promotion_model.pdf

And Access Economics, in an August 2009 Report that the AMC and FECCA both rely on, states:

"Of people with dementia in 2009, the majority speak English at home (211,000) compared to a non-English (CALD) language (35,000). The prevalence of people with dementia speaking English at home increases 4.8 times to 1.01 million in 2050, with those speaking a CALD language at home increasing 3.4 times to around 120 ,000 in 2050. The tripling in the absolute number of people with dementia who speak a CALD language at home represents a very significant increase in the future demand for CALD trained dementia care providers and culturally appropriate services. "

Why don't HSBC suggest importing these immigrants to Australia, and sending them home when they retire?

A violation of self-determinism and human rights

Adding more people won't solve an imbalance of ageing people. Migration means ultimately that each generation will have an even bigger ageing population to cater for!

In a comment made todayBandicoot wrote, "HSBC finance mortgages and investment property loans. Migrants will want property loans, and bring in investors. This is propaganda thinly disguised as demographic advice to promote their interests, and expect the public to swallow it, and pay for it!

Surely the people of Australia have had enough of corporate control, and our population growth has been controlled for too long by vested interest groups? Population control, through tweaking of demographic trends for constant growth, is a violation of self-determinism and human rights."

Bandicoot is right and, what's more, Australia needs more bandicoots.

NOTES

[1] From HSBC's site at: http://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/about/world

"Headquartered in London, the HSBC Group serves customers worldwide from around 6,300 offices in over 75 countries and territories in Europe, Hong Kong, Rest of Asia-Pacific, North and Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$2,671bn at 31 December 2013, the HSBC Group is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations. [...]

HSBC's strategic direction reflects its position as 'The world's leading international bank', combining the largest global emerging markets banking business and a uniquely cosmopolitan customer base with an extensive international network and substantial financial strength.

The Group's strategy is aligned with the key trends which are shaping the global economy. In particular, HSBC recognises that, over the long term, developing markets are growing faster than the mature economies, world trade is expanding at a greater rate than gross domestic product and life expectancy is lengthening virtually everywhere.

HSBC's strategy is focused on delivering superior growth and earnings over time by building on the Group's heritage and skills. Its origins in trade in Asia have had a considerable influence over the development of the Group and, as a consequence, HSBC has an established and longstanding presence in many countries. [...]"