jasepom

You must be kidding. Average price in Oz is $550k which is about £250k. You can only get a Semi-detached house for that which has half the living space of your average Aussie home. English houses are much older too they need more maintenance.

I just think England is way over priced for housing. You can't get a detached house for love or money there. If you find a place you have to compromise on size.

Probably North Yorkshire somewhere in a decent sized house

Absolutely it's crazy talk by the govt and will only harm the economy. You can't carry on talking like that when you have an excellent economic record around the world. Other countries will think we are nuts.

The problem is we have a govt that is leaning towards the far right. There are always people in the country who do need help who have no options to work and we should look after them. It should be a fair system those that can work should obv do. But don't penalise people who can't or those where both parent have to work. The govt should look after families so don't take away the family credits that is an incentive for parenting. It's means tested why make families worse off.

It's not about having right to a free education but education at a fair price. Without regulation the university fees will inevitably go up. Do you want the future education of this country to be in the hands of the rich. We are talking about students leaving Uni owing $100k. How can they possibly pay that off and have a job, house, family etc. Were talking about the future of this country. The students have a right to protest they were not rioting they were demonstrating peacefully. You think that people should stand by and let the govt do what it wants. The right to protest is a democratic right we have free speech and good on the students for exercising that right. There is no financial black hole you are swallowing the lies of the Abbot govt. We have a low debt compared to our GDP much lower than UK or US. The previous govt spent money to keep us out of recession and we were admired around the world for our fiscal policy. It was a neccessary measure we kept our AAA credit rating and our economic stability. Now Abbott comes along and cries wolf complaining that we have a terrible economic mess left behind by the Liberals. By saying such things and making cuts he now risks putting us into recession. Let me explain why. Firstly overseas investment in this country is dependent on our economic outlook. If there is a feeling that we have problems here investment be affected. Also our AAA credit rating might also be at risk. Secondly consumer confidence is very important to our economy. If there is doom and glom being spouted by our PM that will ultimately affect consumer confidence. This can have an effect called 'mothballing'. This is when consumers pay off their debt rather than continue to spend. Less money spent can ultimately affect growth and jobs. Thirdly by making cute our economic growth is affected. We have less money spent on scientific research. US statistics say that for every dollar spent on research brings in $30 back to the govt in the future. Also investment in education brings rewards in terms of additional future income. This govt has got it all ass about face. You don't pay off national debt by making cuts. You have to be optimistic and grow the economy by investing in the future. That investment comes back in terms of growth and tax revenue. Is there a problem with healthcare ? No it's funded through Medicare. Is the a problem with education? No it's praised as a fair system giving equal opportunities. Is the a problem with pensions ? No funding is perfectly balanced using the super scheme. Taking money out of these does NOT mean the is a problem. It means that the govt wants to use that money elsewhere which is wrong IMO.

By increasing the age of entitlement to a pension it's an indirect cut. You will receive less money from the govt over the life of your pension. I'm not trying to spread disinformation. Have you read the heartbreaking post above ?

Abbot and Hockey are taking away what is great about this country. They are eroding away our rights to education and a reasonable pension. im proud that the students are protesting. They are the ones who have the nerve to stand up to this govt and be counted. They are not willing to stand by and let the Universities charge what they want for degrees. We all know what that means. It will ensure the average student will not be able to afford to go to University. The fees are likely to double from what they are now. Its saddening to see how pensioners are forced into hardship because of this uncaring govt. They have worked hard all their lives they should be treated with respect and dignity. I can't believe we voted for this govt. I sincerely hope that an early election is called and we have a change of govt. To the liberals, I want you guys to work hard at undoing this tragedy, lets get the country back on track. Cut the debt by investing in our countries future, not my cutting off it's blood supply.

Could be that you need more time to adjust. You need to find yourself a comfortable place to live if you haven't already done so. Make a group of friends and make efforts to become integrated. If you think of yourself as an outsider that will obviously not help.

I won't miss seeing Mr Abbotts smug face on TV, like he's saying 'I've fooled you, I'm PM now and I can do what I want and there's nothing you can do about it'.

Because a) They trusted Abbott's lies and b) They weren't thinking of the future. The stupid reporting during the election was giving Abbott way too much TV time it's like the media wanted him to win, portraying him as a family man, into keeping fit, attractive family, doting daughters pushed in front of camera. Whilst three was poor Kevin Rudd, has been, no friends left in the party. Just totally biased towards liberals helped the win.

70 million and growing. And the countries shrinking due to coastal erosion lol.

I think you may be right. He has no empathy for others otherwise he wouldn't let govt jobs go without batting an eyelid. These are families, the very people he sought to protect during his election promises and now he is hurting them. He does not realise what happens to these families could lose their homes. He is a wolf in sheeps clothing. Sadly its partly the Labour parties fault for running an ineffective election campaign. Also the Australian public for essentially backing the wrong horse. I mean what exactly was the problem with the last govt. We needed continuation not a change of guard. That sadly has now become all too clear.

There's more money being collected in taxes each year. You control public spending, you don't embark on lavish projects such as desalination plants. You target tax evasion such as mining industries, you ensure people do not shirk their responsibilities as far as personnel taxation is concerned closing loopholes, get rid of negative gearing would be a good start.

He has actually gone and done the opposite he's been elected to do. That should be enough to have him thrown out if office and a new election date set as requested by Bill Shorten. He can't get away with this. There is no debt crisis, every political heavyweight who is not in office has said the same thing. You bring the economy back into surplus over a sensible period of time without making drastic cuts or by increasing taxes. This has been a well managed economy we don't need to be lied to by Tony Abbott that the Labour govt created an economic mess. That is complete bull, your days are numbered Mr Abbott.

Sounds like evolution to me. The letter business is in decline and we have a growing parcel business. More competition will raise standards too like in the UK. Less letter deliveries for sure but parcel tracking and better delivery.

Am I missing something ? They do deliver the post you get it in that thing called a postbox. If you're not home to receive a package it's hardly the posties fault.

I mean it's something to complain about sure, but is it really a big deal if you don't get your post the day you want it ? Gone are the days of waiting for the postman to arrive. The important stuff comes by courier we just have to live with unpredictable post.

I think the media here are partly to blame for hyping the market. They are obsessed with property prices. If you look at the morning news they are disappointed when house prices don't go up. They continually believe house price rises are good for people. So yeah they are sprucking the bubble. To them it's free money, but the flip side is of course getting on the property ladder becomes increasingly difficult.

There is unlikely to be a huge price correction in Australian property, because it's just too desirable to own new houses here and the land is very valuable. There's more likely to be stagnated price increases. The average price in the suburbs is $550k which equals about £200k in Uk. People seem to be happy to pay that kind if price for a Victoria terrace or a semi-detached home which on paper isn't worth that. The difference being at least here you do get a property that has good quality finishes and is worth the valuation. I would think speculation has added 100k to the average home in the last 5 years, but affordability will stop any future rises.

Also the thing about Australia is it does not need to worry about what is happening overseas as much as other countries. Australia is pretty self sufficient in terms of it has a small population and a big back yard to feed it. Also a strong banking and technology sector. This county won't starve

You can feel displaced after living in one country for a while like you don't belong in Enhlabd. I don't feel like I belong over there anymore but still not quite settled here. Quite annoying.

Inflation is under control in Australia. It's really only house prices that have seen huge rises due to speculative purchasing and increased demand from overseas buyers. Property is the exception everywhere that's why they don't appear on any inflation statistics it just doesnt obey any rules. A lot of household goods have actually come down in price. Five years ago a 42' plasma TV cost around $2000. Now you can pick up an LED equivalent for under half that. Also cars are no more expensive than they were 10 years ago. Similar story to eating out here. The fuel to Australia being expensive is really down to reported house prices. Occassionslly there will be reports of how much groceries have gone up compared to other countries. But we have a local market with local wages. There's a good article on bobinoz website which uses labour rates as an indication on how expensive Australia is. Or how many goes you have to work to purchase goods. That's a good indication of whether it's expensive here. As an example based on minimum wages it takes 18 mins work to earn a Big Mac here whilst it's 23 mins in UK. So wages are a big factor in determining cost of living.

Living in Melbourne you become a bit of a coffee snob. And getting barista quality fresh coffee at its finest for $4 is a bonus. The crap they make in the Uk doesn't compare.

Would be great if everyone stopped smoking. Both my patents smoked and it really made me sick growing up. The house always smelt of smoke and had yellow stains throughout. Just horrible.