Monday, October 17, 2005
come on aussie, COME ON!
i have lived in australia for nearly 6 1/2 years. in that time i have seen some good things, but also a lot of shit happen. the bad things is the kind of stuff that people in most other parts of the world would start mass protests and riots over, but not here in the land down under.
i was here for the olympics in sydney in 2000 and the world cup rugby in 2003, both good things to happen to australia.
however, the other stuff, the bad shit it just seems to keep rolling on through while the people of this fortunate land (in general) sit around and lazily do nothing. where does one begin? i have seen the introduction of GST. a ridiculous tax that was introduced to go along with all the other crazy taxes paid in this country. for example, the 46% tax on any earnings a person gets from a second or third job. therefore there is no incentive to work harder than the bare minimum. stamp duty (or tax) is paid on any major purchase where there must be a certificate of ownership involved- car, house, business, bank loan, etc. all this tax, and nobody really cares.
the native aboriginal peoples of this country suffer from starvation, ill health, early death rates, disease, poor education, and drug addiction. but really nobody cares, it is more convenient to look the other way.
immigration. well there are no more boat people of refugees seeking asylum in australia. why? well, if they do actually make it to this desert island (and not held at gunpoint on a ship in the middle of the ocean for 4 weeks), they are promptly locked up in a detention facility, men, women, and children. some have been living in this country longer than i have! a few people mumble some words of dissent, but really nobody cares.
fuel prices. they keep going up and up and up. people have a whinge, but really it is easier to keep paying more money than to actually do something about it. just like taxes.
foreign wars. well australia seems to keep getting involved in fighting wars in parts of the world and third world countries where the foreign affairs minister couldn't even find on a map. afghanistan and iraq being two of the most recent examples.
the environment. australia is the THIRD largest contributor to deforestation of native lands. it is just behind brazil and indonesia. australia still refuses to sign the kyoto protocol. does anyone really care? not really.
schools. well how about this? the federal government is happy to spend equal money on private institutions as it does on public schools. does this make sense to anyone? why isn't the country up in arms about this? no, that would be too much effort.
health. this country keeps closing down it's hospitals despite the growing number of geriatrics and an increase in population. in the place of the demolished hospitals, the site has been refurbished with apartments. lots and lots of apartments. if you do happen to get sick and need a doctor, you could be waiting up to 4 hours, and that would be on a good day.
civil rights. well those just got erased two weeks ago. now, in australia you can be locked up without due process. has anyone jumped up and down and screamed their heads off in protest? a few, but not many.
job security. well that is just about to become a thing of the past. the federal government is in the process of eliminating even that. a worker will no longer have rights in the work place. in most cases the employer will dictate all the terms. however, as an employee you can negotiate your own contract. but if you don't like what the boss offers you, well there is a door and you can see yourself out, thank you very much. now you would think the entire work force would be stark raving mad over this. some are, but for most, it is too much effort.
australians. i am painting a very pathetic picture of them. they are willing to be walked all over by their own government. a government they seem to keep electing over and over and over again. the same government that keeps gouging it's citizens over and over and over again. what do the people do? a few complain, a few protest, but for the most part, the citizens of this island paradise do nothing. it drives me wild to see the ambivalence and the lethargy of these people. i wish they would wake the fuck up and take some action.
however, australians will get upset and actually fight back. this happens only at one circumstance. an australian, i have discovered, will only truly become so upset and take action when some one interferes with their beer. it is in this moment when the citizens of this nation will take action. nothing else.
i was here for the olympics in sydney in 2000 and the world cup rugby in 2003, both good things to happen to australia.
however, the other stuff, the bad shit it just seems to keep rolling on through while the people of this fortunate land (in general) sit around and lazily do nothing. where does one begin? i have seen the introduction of GST. a ridiculous tax that was introduced to go along with all the other crazy taxes paid in this country. for example, the 46% tax on any earnings a person gets from a second or third job. therefore there is no incentive to work harder than the bare minimum. stamp duty (or tax) is paid on any major purchase where there must be a certificate of ownership involved- car, house, business, bank loan, etc. all this tax, and nobody really cares.
the native aboriginal peoples of this country suffer from starvation, ill health, early death rates, disease, poor education, and drug addiction. but really nobody cares, it is more convenient to look the other way.
immigration. well there are no more boat people of refugees seeking asylum in australia. why? well, if they do actually make it to this desert island (and not held at gunpoint on a ship in the middle of the ocean for 4 weeks), they are promptly locked up in a detention facility, men, women, and children. some have been living in this country longer than i have! a few people mumble some words of dissent, but really nobody cares.
fuel prices. they keep going up and up and up. people have a whinge, but really it is easier to keep paying more money than to actually do something about it. just like taxes.
foreign wars. well australia seems to keep getting involved in fighting wars in parts of the world and third world countries where the foreign affairs minister couldn't even find on a map. afghanistan and iraq being two of the most recent examples.
the environment. australia is the THIRD largest contributor to deforestation of native lands. it is just behind brazil and indonesia. australia still refuses to sign the kyoto protocol. does anyone really care? not really.
schools. well how about this? the federal government is happy to spend equal money on private institutions as it does on public schools. does this make sense to anyone? why isn't the country up in arms about this? no, that would be too much effort.
health. this country keeps closing down it's hospitals despite the growing number of geriatrics and an increase in population. in the place of the demolished hospitals, the site has been refurbished with apartments. lots and lots of apartments. if you do happen to get sick and need a doctor, you could be waiting up to 4 hours, and that would be on a good day.
civil rights. well those just got erased two weeks ago. now, in australia you can be locked up without due process. has anyone jumped up and down and screamed their heads off in protest? a few, but not many.
job security. well that is just about to become a thing of the past. the federal government is in the process of eliminating even that. a worker will no longer have rights in the work place. in most cases the employer will dictate all the terms. however, as an employee you can negotiate your own contract. but if you don't like what the boss offers you, well there is a door and you can see yourself out, thank you very much. now you would think the entire work force would be stark raving mad over this. some are, but for most, it is too much effort.
australians. i am painting a very pathetic picture of them. they are willing to be walked all over by their own government. a government they seem to keep electing over and over and over again. the same government that keeps gouging it's citizens over and over and over again. what do the people do? a few complain, a few protest, but for the most part, the citizens of this island paradise do nothing. it drives me wild to see the ambivalence and the lethargy of these people. i wish they would wake the fuck up and take some action.
however, australians will get upset and actually fight back. this happens only at one circumstance. an australian, i have discovered, will only truly become so upset and take action when some one interferes with their beer. it is in this moment when the citizens of this nation will take action. nothing else.
