The posting by Ripsnort is pretty much on the money. It all stems from, IMHO, that Australia being a "reasonably" relaxed society lets people do their own thing. The trouble is certain groups, see it as a weakness, not just inside Australia, but from outside too.
Having been living outside the country for the best part of 15 years, its easy to be out of touch. But some of my relatives teach school in the suburbs of Sydney and their biggest complaint is the Lebanese children. lazy ill disciplined and no respect to the teachers, particularly females, I dont know the other parts of the world, but in Australia, u can be lazy and ill disciplined, but if you show respect, life is ok. From my school days, these were the only group the brought (horror) knives to the school ground.
Very Sad to see.