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THERE has been a big turnaround in public support for immigration, with 70 per cent of the Australian population believing that immigrants are good for the economy, up from 56 per cent in 1998.
Five years ago, 37 per cent believed immigrants took jobs from those born in Australia.
Today, only 25 per cent Support that view, while 50 per cent disagree, up from 36 per cent in 1998.
This comes at a time when skilled immigration into Australia is at near-record levels with little sign of significant declines in coming years.
This comes from The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes, conducted by the Centre for Social Research at the Australian National University, in co-operation with the universities of Queensland, Western Australia and Sydney.
The survey has also uncovered a remarkable generation gap when it comes to family values and younger Australians are coming out as even more "let it be" than their baby-boomer parents.
Sixty-five per cent of under 35s, and almost 56 per cent of respondents aged 35 to 49 say a same-sex couple with children is a family. In the over 65 age group that support drops to 14 per cent.
Almost half of the respondents aged 18 to 34 agree the law should recognise same-sex relationships, a figure that plunges to about 19 per cent for those aged 65 and older.
But younger Australia s have fashioned their own form of family values, according to the survey of more than 4000 people conducted in 2003.
"Younger people seem to recognise the presence of children as defining a family rather than a heterosexual relationship, or most importantly a heterosexual relationship that's legally sanctioned," said one of the survey's investigators, Australian National University academic Shaun Wilson.
"The generation differences are very stark, and you can see that also in the US. it's not just a divide between religious conservatism and more liberal communities, but between older folk and young folk," he said.