Issues for the Australian Population?!

Just looking at a few threads on here about issues here in the UK such as the NHS funding gap and a housing shortage makes me wonder if Australia has any related or different issues? We hear a lot in the UK that racism is still a challenge in Australia but that's literally all we hear. Any Australians out there know of, or have any issues with things in their country?

Just looking at a few threads on here about issues here in the UK such as the NHS funding gap and a housing shortage makes me wonder if Australia has any related or different issues? We hear a lot in the UK that racism is still a challenge in Australia but that's literally all we hear. Any Australians out there know of, or have any issues with things in their country?

Ever rising health care costs and a housing shortage? Yes we've got that. We've also have some things you'll be familiar with - a chronic underinvestment in in infrastructure (particularly transport) and Overcrowded city roads and trains. New suburbs are being built before the road and rails links (not to mention the schools and medical facilities) are ready for them. There's no high speed train service between Sydney and Melbourne even on the horizon despite it being one of the world's top 10 busiest air routes but at least you have HS2 to complain about. Keeping the electricity on is proving a problem for some parts of Australia. In the UK hydro electric plants come on stream at the flick of the switch when there's excess demand but they prefer to have regular black outs in South Australia. The newspapers are full of stories of an "ice epidemic" that's not a weather problem here it's the local term for Crystal Meth - but there are weather problems from too much heat (we're consistently beating temperature records despite the mainstream politicians insisting there's no such thing as climate change).

And that's the sort of reply I was hoping for! Thanks!

Crystal Meth seems to be a major issue. Social, mental and welfare issues in the aboriginal communities. Crime seems to be similar to

anywhere, but the apex gang in Melbourne is pretty bad with violent house invasions (although personally I feel that Australia is slightly safer then the UK).

The racism issue is a bizarre one, because most people seem to only be 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation Australian. It seems to me the issue isn't so much what your race is, but more of an issue if you haven't assimilated into Australian life. My wife certainly hasn't experienced any racism in Sydney as an Asian heritage.

Racism was no where near as bad as the UK especially in 2010 when I was there. Sydney has a very high population of Asian people and to be honest I loved it, I made lots of friends from various cultures and found people far more tolerable, curious & accepting of others. I found I also felt safer than I do today living in London. Apart from driving through the outback and camping in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal of course! :err:

And that's the sort of reply I was hoping for! Thanks!

Why were you hoping for that sort of reply?

Racism was no where near as bad as the UK especially in 2010 when I was there. Sydney has a very high population of Asian people and to be honest I loved it, I made lots of friends from various cultures and found people far more tolerable, curious & accepting of others. I found I also felt safer than I do today living in London. Apart from driving through the outback and camping in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal of course! :err:

With someone with a none European wife, I can say with no doubt that racism is at least as bad in Oz.

Why were you hoping for that sort of reply?

I was after an honest reply, and I certainly got that!

If its a question of does Australia have problems like the UK, I think Australia has its own issues and different issues. The countries are very different with very different economies, cultures and political general consensus (if there is such a thing).

Crime and social issues exist in both countries and the experiences are different depending on where you live in the UK or Australia. I could take many members to areas of the UK that would horrify them and would probably be scared crazy, but equally we could find the same in Australia, but unless you visit those areas (in particularly some of the outback areas) you might be oblivious to it all.

Climate wise, Australia is a vast vast country so there is no comparison to the UK, you can experience almost all climates in Australia if you travelled around the various states, from being baked alive or humid rainforests to snow, wind rain and sub zero temperatures.

I personally beleive that the UK is a country that has peaked, whereas Australia is a country still in its infancy with great potential. I enjoy London and rural England, but adore the great outdoors in Australia.

If its a question of does Australia have problems like the UK, I think Australia has its own issues and different issues. The countries are very different with very different economies, cultures and political general consensus (if there is such a thing).

 

Crime and social issues exist in both countries and the experiences are different depending on where you live in the UK or Australia. I could take many members to areas of the UK that would horrify them and would probably be scared crazy, but equally we could find the same in Australia, but unless you visit those areas (in particularly some of the outback areas) you might be oblivious to it all.

Climate wise, Australia is a vast vast country so there is no comparison to the UK, you can experience almost all climates in Australia if you travelled around the various states, from being baked alive or humid rainforests to snow, wind rain and sub zero temperatures.

 

I personally beleive that the UK is a country that has peaked, whereas Australia is a country still in its infancy with great potential. I enjoy London and rural England, but adore the great outdoors in Australia.

Yes I feel the same about the UK and Aus, hopefully afyer our reccie in March we can press on with the move! Thanks for the reply

You will notice a different demographic mix, the term Asian here refers to Chinese and SE Asians (Vietnamese, Thai,Korean ) whereas in the Uk it is more likely to refer to people from the Indian subcontinent. Many SE Asians get called Chinese which infuriates them and a colleague from Singapore was recently referred to as oriental which shocked her. I was on a train in Sydney last week going to Epping ( about 15 miles from the CBD) and about 70% of the passengers were SE Asian/Chinese. There are less people from an African/ Afro Caribbean background, an African American colleague found it very noticeable.

Housing shortages are acute in Sydney leading to astronomic house prices, Melbourne is not as bad but not far behind. Sydney is now the 2nd most expensive city to live in after Hong Kong as measured by house prices relative to salaries. People are divided on whether there will be a price crash, all the economists predict it but so far it hasn't happened. If it does Aussies will be in for a shock as houses have never really gone backwards in Sydney.

The health care system is far better run here ( i work in healthcare ) waiting times are shorter but they still exist and Aussies gripe about it. The co pays for patients are higher and people definitely gripe about that.

Load shedding is a new term I learned this week as it is prime news here. NSW is in the midst of a record heat wave and the electricity infrastructure is struggling to cope. Forced power outages were implemented in SA and predicted for NSW but fortunately not happened.

So yes Aus has its share of social issues but its a great place to live and I would recommend anyone who has the chance to come here to give it a go.

Housing shortages are acute in Sydney leading to astronomic house prices, Melbourne is not as bad but not far behind. Sydney is now the 2nd most expensive city to live in after Hong Kong as measured by house prices relative to salaries. People are divided on whether there will be a price crash, all the economists predict it but so far it hasn't happened. If it does Aussies will be in for a shock as houses have never really gone backwards in Sydney.

 

Is it bad that I'm secretly hoping for a housing price collapse? We haven't bought in Sydney yet and still debating whether to buy or move elsewhere in NSW or even QLD to get more for the money.

Load shedding is a new term I learned this week as it is prime news here. NSW is in the midst of a record heat wave and the electricity infrastructure is struggling to cope. Forced power outages were implemented in SA and predicted for NSW but fortunately not happened.

 

Apparently this may also become an issue in the UK, it has been reported in the media that a 2 tier power system may become the norm, the rich get power all the time, the poor get blackouts... Sounds like something from a Sci-Fi film. A friend who works in Drax Power Station in the UK said that it's been close to maximum on several occasions.

... a colleague from Singapore was recently referred to as oriental which shocked her. ..

Why would that shock her? Surely she knows where Singapore is?

I have lived here for a long long time and yes there are racist people but fortunately I have not met a lot. I do not think its any different from the UK. When I was living over in the UK in the seventies after I married one of my friends came to visit us in Gateshead. She is a Moari and a dark one. Yes people all looked so startled up there in the north east but to me she is just my friend. The times that racism lifts it head here in Aus is when demands are made on the population to change the population to accommodate their customs. Of course the population thinks if you want to live here by an Aussie. You can do what you like at home but we are not changing to suit. The thing about Australians is that they will say it as it is and are not ashamed to. They do not think that they have to fit in, its the people who come here who have to fit in. If they call you a pommy b ..... tard they are being nice. Aussies are all about a fair go and it does not matter who we are, its just that we are expected to be Australian. For a country that is built on migration I do not think that is too much to ask.

The times that racism lifts it head here in Aus is when demands are made on the population to change the population to accommodate their customs. Of course the population thinks if you want to live here by an Aussie. You can do what you like at home but we are not changing to suit. The thing about Australians is that they will say it as it is and are not ashamed to. They do not think that they have to fit in, its the people who come here who have to fit in.

But the area Australia gets most abuse for being racist is over it's treatment of the indigenous population. They haven't moved and here and are at home and don't think they should have to change to fit in. As far as they're concerned its the people who came over here in the last 200 odd years who have to fit in or go home.

Realistically most Australians who live in the cities rarely see or interact with indigenous people. The only thing we hear is when every single public event is preceded by a welcome to country and a thanks to people who lived there many many years before but are rarely seen these days.I take that as a mark of respect for our indigenous peoples rather than racism.

But the area Australia gets most abuse for being racist is over it's treatment of the indigenous population. They haven't moved and here and are at home and don't think they should have to change to fit in. As far as they're concerned its the people who came over here in the last 200 odd years who have to fit in or go home.

Have you visited any aboriginal communities in the outback? I think that some aspects of Australian history are shameful, however in this day and age I really don't see what can be done for the aboriginal people. As @starlight7 says, for the most part they live completely isolated lives from the majority of the Australian population. I do find it sad, but even the elders don't know how to resolve their social problems thanks to the introduction of alcohol and drugs.

I was after an honest reply, and I certainly got that!

Oh I understand. I thought you meant you were hoping for a negative response.