Australia - Land of the big fat rip-off

[numbercruncher]

Like many of you Ive done a fair bit of travelling so I dont need to read it in news articles to know- but we have been transformed comparitively into the land of the big fat rip-off.

Anyone else notice ?

FORGET the lucky country - Australia has been branded the land of the great big rip-off.


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RESULTS: LIVING ON THE EDGE
This poll was closed on 2011-12-21 00:00:00
Do you think Australia is too expensive?
Yes
96.16%(6943 votes)
No
3.84%(277 votes)
Total votes: 7220


It is absurd that staples such as fruits and vegetables are several times more expensive than in Europe; DVDs and books can be bought far cheaper offshore; the same cars cost twice as much compared with overseas, and; housing is less affordable than some of the world's biggest cities, says a Centre for Independent Studies report.

Is Australia too expensive? Tell us below

The pro-business think-tank wants property stamp duty axed or slashed and first home buyer grants and negative gearing scrapped to reduce the cost divide, claiming the policies have added to the housing affordability crisis.

And it says import restrictions should be dropped for bananas, cars and books.

The paper labels the nation one of the priciest on the planet, blaming successive governments for key essentials now being steeper than in London, New York and Singapore.

"That Australia is now one of the most expensive addresses on the planet was by no means unavoidable ... what we got instead is a country in which both products and land are much more expensive than in most other countries."

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/mor...-1226221237830

SIX of the world's 30 most pricey cities for expats are in Australia, a survey has found.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business...-1226392974871

[robusta]

Would you take any of the following to make things cheaper;
Recession?

High unemployment?

Deflation?

Increased population?

Lower wages?

We should Kolbe to Greece and live like kings.

[numbercruncher]

Im happy with any of your suggestions bar population growth

[Boggo]

Adelaide is now the 27th most expensive city in the world - Adelaide FFS !

Bungling, mismanagement and the looneys running the asylum.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/money/...-1226396017546

This morning I went to The Centrelink Office to sign my dogs up for welfare. At first the lady said, "Dogs are not eligible to draw welfare."
So I explained to her that my dogs are mixed in colour, unemployed, lazy, can't speak English and have no frigging clue who their Dads are.
They expect me to feed them, provide them with housing and medical care. So she looked in her policy book to see what it takes to qualify.

My dogs get their first cheques next Friday.

Damn, this is a great country!!

[robusta]

Im happy with any of your suggestions bar population growth

Wow, that is a shock to me, I think we will get population growth anyway, this does not bother me too much, the other options while inevitable in the long term are unpalatable.

[robusta]

Adelaide is now the 27th most expensive city in the world - Adelaide FFS !

Bungling, mismanagement and the looneys running the asylum.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/money/...-1226396017546

This morning I went to The Centrelink Office to sign my dogs up for welfare. At first the lady said, "Dogs are not eligible to draw welfare."
So I explained to her that my dogs are mixed in colour, unemployed, lazy, can't speak English and have no frigging clue who their Dads are.
They expect me to feed them, provide them with housing and medical care. So she looked in her policy book to see what it takes to qualify.

My dogs get their first cheques next Friday.

Damn, this is a great country!!

NZ is a whole lot cheaper until you look at wages.

YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT LIVING STANDARDS.

[Boggo]

YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT LIVING STANDARDS.

Agree, but it is not static.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-t...208-1akjs.html

This is an extract from the link below...
Most European cities surveyed, including Athens, Madrid and Lisbon, slid down the rankings, while every surveyed city in Australia, China, Japan and New Zealand climbed, with Tokyo coming top.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/ar...patriates.html

[robusta]

Agree, but it is not static.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-t...208-1akjs.html

Good point Boggo, it does seem that the essentials (food, electricity, insurance, gas...) are rising faster than the luxuries (television, computers, European holidays...)

Still I think we are still the lucky country.

[Tyler Durden]

Would you take any of the following to make things cheaper;
Recession?

High unemployment?

Deflation?

Increased population?

Lower wages?

We should Kolbe to Greece and live like kings.

Australia hasn't had a recession for a while, perhaps it's time for one to flush out inefficiencies.

[burglar]

... the essentials (food, electricity, insurance, gas...) ...

You forgot sugar!

[robusta]

Australia hasn't had a recession for a while, perhaps it's time for one to flush out inefficiencies.

Like the recession we had th have? Thank you Mr Keating.

No need to wish for one we will have a recession sooner or later that is a guarantee.

[young-gun]

No need to wish for one we will have a recession sooner or later that is a guarantee.

+1, recessions are an unpleasant but necessary step in an economic cycle. they should be allowed to occurr, instead of prevented. as when you have decades of prevention balled together you end up with a scenario far worse than a mild recession. I personally think that's what we're heading towards.

[wayneL]

Like the recession we had th have? Thank you Mr Keating.

As much as it pains me to agree with Keating on anything, he was absolutely right about that.

...and part of the problems we are now experience is because of the the recession we should've, but never did have.

Governments and central bankers f*** with the business cycle to OUR peril.

[joea]

Just take one food product.
Tomato. In the tablelands where I live the farmer market sell the for $2-$3/ dollars/kilo and you will see them in Woolworths for double that.
In Bowen a major plant supplier was wiped out by someone dosing poison in the water system. He started again
and when they plants were ready to supply was hit with poison over spray. So he closed the gates and said stuff it!!

Down South there were 400 tomato suppliers to 5 processing plants, and this year there will be a few growers supplying one plant.

The big chains are doing their damnedest to shut our farmers down to bring in imported product to make more product.

So go tell all the tomato farmers and workers that this is the lucky country.

So less see what the government did. Price watch and fuel watch. Yeah that lasted a long time!!
Yep! Worked like a beauty.
It is the land of the rip-off. Ripped off by the government and multi nationals.
joea

[joea]

You forgot sugar!

I am from the sugar industry.
When you graph sugar, supply the world price in conjunction to the price our farmers received over that time period and you will see a different picture.
In one period we were getting 6 cents a pound, and Costa Rica((subsidized by USA) was getting 25 cents a pound.

Great eh!
joea

[lurker123]

Other countries like the US subsidize and guarantee the food produced will be purchased if not sold, with tax payers money. The day Australia fully opens the floodgates to foreign food imports will mark the day Australia truly starts becoming a s*h*i*t*hole.

The right argues for the free market and says that if Australian farmers cannot compete they should find another job. This is the most dangerous mind*f*u*c*k, the right has ever tried. The fact of the matter is that the free market doesn't exist with subsidies/ government guarantees and differences in currencies.

The loss of food production in Australia is tantamount to Australia having no military. Without a doubt food is the most important commodity. When Australia has no food production of its own, it will give the countries/corporations that we import from nearly unlimited power over Australia. This is especially dangerous in today's climate of possible imminent global collapse. If there is global economic crash/ anarchy, food becomes the most important thing there is. Australia becomes truly ****ed at this stage when it has to rely on food imports.

Not to mention the dim future of food production, without significant scientific breakthroughs, food will become a major problem in the future.
1) With overpopulation, more people need more food.
2) Loss of arable farmland due to the effects of over farming e.t.c.
3) Peak oil and the peak of other resources, our current form of agriculture relies heavily on oil, ammonia the precursor to food/fertilizer is produced with natural gas. Phosphorus and Potassium are also extremely important in our current form of agriculture, needless to say they are also mined and as we use up the easily extractable/mined sources for these chemicals a problem will appear. There is a reason BHP tried to do a hostile takeover on Canadian Potash Corporation. Potash = Potassium. RIO also has some Potash resources.
4) With the loss of cheap energy/oil food will increasingly become more expensive to produce and transport.

[joea]

Other countries like the US subsidize and guarantee the food produced will be purchased if not sold, with tax payers money. The day Australia fully opens the floodgates to foreign food imports will mark the day Australia truly starts becoming a s*h*i*t*hole.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/canne...526-1zc2q.html

joea

[Junior]

Other countries like the US subsidize and guarantee the food produced will be purchased if not sold, with tax payers money. The day Australia fully opens the floodgates to foreign food imports will mark the day Australia truly starts becoming a s*h*i*t*hole.

The right argues for the free market and says that if Australian farmers cannot compete they should find another job. This is the most dangerous mind*f*u*c*k, the right has ever tried. The fact of the matter is that the free market doesn't exist with subsidies/ government guarantees and differences in currencies.

The loss of food production in Australia is tantamount to Australia having no military. Without a doubt food is the most important commodity. When Australia has no food production of its own, it will give the countries/corporations that we import from nearly unlimited power over Australia. This is especially dangerous in today's climate of possible imminent global collapse. If there is global economic crash/ anarchy, food becomes the most important thing there is. Australia becomes truly ****ed at this stage when it has to rely on food imports.

Not to mention the dim future of food production, without significant scientific breakthroughs, food will become a major problem in the future.
1) With overpopulation, more people need more food.
2) Loss of arable farmland due to the effects of over farming e.t.c.
3) Peak oil and the peak of other resources, our current form of agriculture relies heavily on oil, ammonia the precursor to food/fertilizer is produced with natural gas. Phosphorus and Potassium are also extremely important in our current form of agriculture, needless to say they are also mined and as we use up the easily extractable/mined sources for these chemicals a problem will appear. There is a reason BHP tried to do a hostile takeover on Canadian Potash Corporation. Potash = Potassium. RIO also has some Potash resources.
4) With the loss of cheap energy/oil food will increasingly become more expensive to produce and transport.

Good post. Food security is important.

So, does the major issue lie with the duopoly held by Coles/Woolworths? Are these organisations overly profitable given the industry they operate in? Maybe it comes down to regulation, should we make it easier for the like of Aldi, Costco, IGA and other foreign operators to open stores, but at the same time restrict food imports?

[Calliope]

Other countries like the US subsidize and guarantee the food produced will be purchased if not sold, with tax payers money. The day Australia fully opens the floodgates to foreign food imports will mark the day Australia truly starts becoming a s*h*i*t*hole.

That will be the time when you, no doubt, will be looking for a cheaper country to lurk in. Take your pick of these. The problem will be finding employment or welfare.

http://www.i-to-i.com/campfire/trave...o-live-in.html

[Gringotts Bank]

Good post. Food security is important.

So, does the major issue lie with the duopoly held by Coles/Woolworths? Are these organisations overly profitable given the industry they operate in? Maybe it comes down to regulation, should we make it easier for the like of Aldi, Costco, IGA and other foreign operators to open stores, but at the same time restrict food imports?

Remember markets. Good quality, ok prices. I'd like to see more farmer's markets in Melb.