Meet the Campbels. Our daughter.

It isn't easy raising children these days. My eldest daughter is studying her HSC this year, and is doing remarkably well if I do say so myself. I've already promised not to state any of the family names in this blog but all the same she was terribly unsure about me including a photo of her with this post, she agreed in the end as long as I promised not to implicitly identify it as her.

That said, the accompanying photograph may, or may not be of my daughter. And may or may not have been taken during our family trip to Switzerland for last years skiing season.

I sometimes think happy times like those are fleeting. When she was born it seemed like she would be my little girl for ever but now, on the cusp of university and womanhood I have come to cherish the times we remain as a family unit, under one roof.

Luckily we have been spared the problems so many have had to endure with their teenage daughters, but in fairness most of that is down to her good commonsense and Christian values. Of course I like to imagine that the wife and I played no small part in raising her to have the high self esteem and moral values that, the lack of which presumably play a part in teenage pregnancy, drugs and student politics.

As I write this post she is out with her friends from church after a busy morning of fellowship. One of the most uplifting things is to watch your daughter grow into a beautiful woman and we have all been blessed in that respect. Fortunately Miss Campbel has chosen to wait until she finishes university before she enters into a serious relationship with a boy, though I have noticed she spends quite a bit of time with a certain young lad from church.

Totally inappropriate as a potential husband, his father is in the building industry, but the wife says it's healthy for a young woman to experience innocent flirting. If it were up to me I would have a strong word with the youngster, he's not a bad kid, but obviously completely delusional if he thinks he stands a hope with my daughter. Of course, the wife says, she is mature enough to handle him effectively.

She enjoys horse riding, and is still a member of the local pony club, though she doesn't have much time for that these days. A very smart girl, I hope her siblings have half as much academic success. When she finishes university we expect her to find a husband with ease, she is a very attractive young lady after all, and settle down to raise a family.

Just yesterday she put her arms around me and said, "daddy, I'm so happy you are getting into the computer thing finally". "Why's that dear", I asked and she giggled, "so I will be able to email you when I'm in London next year".

Of course, she knows that we aren't all in the family entirely over the moon, so to speak, with her plan to spend a year in Europe on her own. It's hard enough to imagine her leaving home for university, especially since she wants to attend Melbourne Uni. But the wife and I prayed about it and decided that if she really wants to go then we might be able to accommodate her grand plans. She is such a mature young lady, it's heartbreaking yet makes me so proud at the same time to think she is becoming such a responsible and independent adult.

The Brain Drain.

What Costello needs to look at next is the appalling situation with Rent Assistance for the unemployed. If anything is driving up rent this is it. It's made it so the only people who can afford to rent are unemployed or welfare students on Austudy. Perhaps they could look at a loans system or, hey here's a novel idea, force them to get work so they can afford to rent or buy some of the, soon to be released land.

Don't get me wrong, I know Austudy is investing in our nations future by ensuring anyone who wants to learn can. I'm not advocating ending Austudy, but perhaps it should only be provided for young people who want to move into professions where we have a skills shortage. And they should guarantee that they will remain in Australia for a set period, once they complete their study, instead of swanning off to Europe and Asia to avoid paying back their HECS.

A lot of people have been repeating this nonsense that there is no Brain Drain because of the Australian Diaspora but, in fact a Brain Gain as our graduates travel overseas and learn in their adopted countries (presumably, according to the theory bringing back the knowledge they learn). The Brain Gain advocates also get all carried with the notion that we get qualified professionals from overseas to make up for the, um Brain Drain (which doesn't actually exist of course…).

That's right, qualified professionals like the five, 'migrant doctors' currently being questioned over possible links to terrorism. Doesn't seem quite fair, we trade our young graduate doctors, trained in healing people, and possibly get a whole stack of doctors trained in blowing people up like, 'Bilal Abdullah, the doctor who was who was arrested after a flaming Jeep was driven into the doors of the arrivals hall of Glasgow Airport'.

Or perhaps they mean Doctor (Death) Patel, who is believed to have sent 80 of his patients to an early death.

Don't get me wrong here, most doctors and other professionals from overseas are well trained and hard working, but why are we training our own only to watch them leave the country? I don't mention the six doctors above to suggest that if a migrant doctor isn't criminally negligent he will blow you up. I simply wanted to question the notion of the Brain Gain.

I have nothing against full fee paying students, who pay their own way through Uni and don't need government assistance, and who pay their HECS upfront (which is financially prudent anyway) travelling wherever they want when they graduate. My eldest son wants to spend time in America. But surely the taxpayer isn't supporting students to do that, it's enough that I'm prepared to support my own flesh and blood but I don't see why I should be helping some kid I never even met just so they can float around Earls Court for two years.