Is Australia still the lucky country or are we being screwed????

[thatotherguy]

And above all they dont have sandmans !!!!!!

[Vombil]

[MENTION=5]Absinth[/MENTION]

i spoke to a developer who said that each standard traditional lot (500-600sqm @ $220K) costs him around 60k in govt tax and charges to take to market. On top of that theres all the usual culprits ie services (gas, roads etc), marketing, bank interest over the term of the development and the land itself! HUNGRY GOVT!!

[Sandman_77]

every country has issues, what i love about aus is the beaches the sun and the bush, drive south down sydney freeway over hawkesbury its magic, walk out my front yard and look at the bush and the wildlife

I lived in Europe and UK, they have there good n bad too, along with great history, culture, atmospher and all within driving distance, they have issues with border control, health, wages housing, welfare cheats

If i won lotto i wouldnt change my address, i love my village but I would still have my place in southern france lol

we have the best lifestyle for kids to grow and learn if in right area and raised right

sports and schools are much better for them here

theres no guns in all our schools i can walk down to my shop with out worring if i will get shot or mugged

my neighbours aint going to wack me for some cash or no drug labs on the other side

[wbute]

Yeah I think comparing Australian economy and the US economy is a bit flawed. Wages and the fact that states like New Orleans that have people walking out and abandoning houses they can't pay for bring their house prices into perspective. Not to mention the fact that you also get less of a return when you sell your house over there.
Farming in Australia is an industry that is truly in crisis. 2011 input costs vs 1981 commodity prices. But you have to add in the fact that we die if we don't eat yet you can't afford to grow food here. Now thats a problem that is going to bight us all in the arse in a few years.

[Blocker]

Australia is a great country to live in, but we can do better and stop selling ourselves short in international trade. We have a very hungry 3 tier government system (council, State and Federal) yet there is a massive push for socialist ideals.

The problem is our govts have lead us down this track and it would be a huge task (maybe impossible) to change.

[Sandman_77]

to be honest all countries are going to wasted sad we are sending our kids into this shite,

our goverment are not helping, my trade no longer is worthy, all work now sent to china, industry is being killed, farming is poor, tourism is ok if other countires have money they will travel i spose, since watchning pickers you can some of the real areas of US some dont look that great do they?

[Taily]

Food security is something other countries are investing in in our country at the expense of our own food chain future. The problem is of couse that once the farm is sold its gone... Massive amounts of foreign investment looks good on a government balance sheet but not at the expense of the local market, something most governments seem ill equipped to manage is the future of our food production industries apart from paying lip service to them. Locally produced goods are being squeezed out of the market while cheap imports (from countries with a much lower cost base) flood the market. Nobody wins long term except the importer/offshore producer.

You've only got to look at the debacle going on with water allocation across the south eastern states to see how badly it can be managed. Food must still be produced, rivers do need to have seasonal flows etc... How do you satisfy everyone involved? You can't. I'm yet to meet anyone on the land who wastes anything, especially water.

Regards,

Dave.

[adam perth]

i watch nmews every nite at a table with people from all over the globe (only me and 2 other aussies work here). And we watch SBS world newsas we only have x1 TV,

man we are luck here, most other countries are so corrupt or at war.

the biggest thing we have on our local news is something like "West Coast Eagles coach John Worsfold stubbed his toe at rottnest island on the weekend."

[Alien DNA]

As long as Banking and Politics are in each other pockets.....we will always have a problem. Add religion to the mix and its a recipe for disaster. We follow America's lead far to much.

And damn straight this is the best country on earth

[abncraig]

The thing I hate the most is that pensioners get a lot less money than the refugee's who have done stuff all for this country but been a burden. Last year alone the govt spent $1m on ciggarettes for them. It's great knowing where ya hard earned is going.