Is Australia Full? With Quality Of Life Degrading, Roads Clogged & Generations Locked Out Of Housing, It's A Simple Answer...
My eyes were filled with a red glow; not from any anger but from the sea of brake lights ahead of me that stretched as far as the road ahead was visible. This was the reality of my commute home today and, indeed, every day.
Work days are no longer special. Sunday afternoons or in fact any time of the week now exhibits this over-capacity experience on the roads of Australian cities.
Such is one of the many consequences of the "Big Australia" policy of recent governmental policy.
I say recent, but the fact is that Australian immigration numbers have never been this high; a policy setting that's been in place now for many years. In fact recent years has seen Australian immigration numbers at triple the historical average and 2.5 the OECD average.
It's becoming obvious that the so called benefits related to increase in economic demand that waves of both skilled and unskilled heart-beats create in no way compensate for the the structural and social degradation that inevitably follows such policies like a shadow follows it's creator.
These fresh arrivals need to eat. Unlike the United States which, to eyeball on a map has a similar land mass to the Australian continent, much of our land is arid and unable to produce crops or support any reasonable population. This is a large country but the population is very much centered around the coast and the Eastern coast in particular. Where will all the food come from?
Dams can only hold so much drinking water, sewers can only transport so much sewerage, the list goes on.
This topic has been on my mind recently and, like most issues of substance it seems, is largely ignored in topical discourse. Instead, we are bombarded with the details of the latest parliamentary sex scandal. Yawn.
It's not just a matter of decades old infrastructure
- Roads that are currently free and paid for are being converted into toll roads to cover state expenses associated with the massive intake of foreigners.
- The large immigration numbers are putting downward pressure on wages.
- Suburbs are becoming pockets of isolation where driving standards are noticeably different, English is not spoken and the basic social etiquette that used to be expected is not adhered to.
- The stress factor of life I notice is increasing; everything from commuting to doing the grocery shopping. Things are stretched beyond capacity.
- The largely unregulated skilled migration visa landscape is now rife with rort after rort as recently covered by the 7:30 report here.
- By every metric I've seen, housing is now undeniably unaffordable; a situation that has essentially locked post-boomer generations out of the market indefinitely.
- Environment and pollution issues take second place.
- Hospital emergency rooms and resources are swamped.
We are only to get more of the same for the foreseeable future it seems.
I'm not completely isolated however. Former PM Tony Abbott has spoken recently calling for a significant reduction in immigration numbers. Some great coverage has also popped up on macrobusiness.com.au that I thought would put a sensible tune to the lyrics of this closet topic; notably the appearance on Sydney radio by Leith van Onselen.
That interview is well worth a listen and can be found here. What's even more telling are the comments that adorn such posts. One Sydney resident in an MB article comment told of how commuters now regularly drive on the wrong side of the road as the only means by which they can join arterial roadways during peak times in certain areas.
Leith van Onselen has also participated recently in a breakfast TV debate recently with the myopic University of Sydney Business School Senior Lecturer, Chris Wright. Worth a look in my opinion. Leith does a great job of including quality of life as an input in the debate which so often acts to focus solely on economic considerations.
Is Australia full? Without prejudice, I think we passed that point a long time ago...
Spot on article Mate!
The distressing thing is that we can all see it but there is virtually no chance of any improvement happening. The NWO is happening right before our eyes and most of it is driven by the UN and their Agenda 21.
The horse has bolted!
The only thing you can do focus 100% on looking after yourself. It may sound selfish but at the end of the day nobody is going to do it for you.
We took that approach back in 2001 and have never looked back. It can be done if you make a plan and stick to it.
I might even do a post about how we went about it.
That'd be really interesting to read mate, please let me know when you post it just in case I miss it in my feed. Thanks so much for the valuable input!
Many developed countries deal with this issue. With an ageing population and fewer babies, economic activity may decline in the future. It will be a challenge to turn things around quickly when the effects are felt. Japan is an example of a nation facing this issue. Ironically, China will face this issue as a result of their old 'One Child' policy.
You are right that urban planning has not kept in step with a growing population. Australia certainly has the space. It may be possible to 'push back' the desert areas a little at a time with adequate irrigation (perhaps desalination) and reforestation.
So Australia may feel full, because the infrastructure failed to keep up with the needs of a growing population.
I don't agree immigration per se is the issue but there are lots of policies and systems that are not keeping up with the levels of immigration as you have pointed out. I think part of the problem is that the people in charge are benefitting terrifically from squeezing the population and driving up the house prices and therefore increasing their own personal wealth.
The amount of space available for growing crops in Australia compared to the population is very much higher than in most European countries for example
The "keeping up" concept is an accurate one. It's been suggested that a pause in population growth would be needed for the infrastructure to be brought up to scale - a decade seems to be what's required. That's of course an academic concept as no such pause would be politically palatable. The resources to do it is another question too. Thanks for the thoughtful comment 👍
So true! housing absolutely out of reach now, and utilities and groceries also exuberant, to say the least.
Yes the strains can be seen throughout the entire fabric of life. Thanks!
This is not just happening there but everywhere,
The US is no exception, here is just like there, in the sense that everything you just said, I actually can relate to.
The roads now tolls, over population, the last decade I have seeen, the morals, the language , the jobs and the housing all changing like you are experiencing now.
Usually one cannot just speak English anymore, you cannot just walk into a store and expect everyone to speak the language must less understand it.
Roads and traffic are jammed, getting home only 10 miles takes almost an hour!
Immigrants were forced to leave their lands, war torn countries , they were send to many places in Europe as well as the US.
It’s part of a New World Order where they are destroying cultures, and citizens of traditions.
Playing this political correct BS where you cannot do a damn thing anymore cause it offends their culture....
I could go on, but it’s happening everywhere.
Actually, much of what you say is also true of the US (except the 'land mass' you spoke of-which is true; US has much more 'fertile' and habitable land). But the crowded highways, crumbling infrastructure, loss of community, loss of social morals etc. is the same, and continually growing worse. However, I do feel for a country like Australia, they are nota world power like the US, and perhaps the 'degradation process' is moving faster there?
This problem is being seen in many of the developed countries. Now that the floodgates have been opened, it will be difficult to stem the flow. Infrastructure can't keep up and of course, everyone wants to flock to the major cities. Australia is like Canada. We too have wide open spaces but no-one wants to go there because there is no infrastructure and many find the land inhospitable. So the cities have reached capacity.
I think the problem lies in the fact we were too comfortable for too long, of course we let politics get in the way of actually what is best for the people. For years we relied on mining without investing in new industries. A lot of the current problems stem from lack of infrastructure and new industries, this has a carry-over effect into a lot of the points you raised.