the lucky country? .... "Just value what you have and don't give it away"

[uripper]

Here is an interesting set of observations from a visitor from the other side of the Pacific.'Value what you have and don't give it away.'
There's a lot to admire about Australia, especially if you're a visiting American, says David Masona US writer and professor, and poet laureate of Colorado.
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More often than you might expect, Australian friends patiently listening to me enthuse about their country have said, ''We need outsiders like you to remind us what we have.'' So here it is - a small presumptuous list of what one foreigner admires in Oz.

1. Health care.
I know the controversies, but basic national health care is a gift. In America, medical expenses are a leading cause of bankruptcy. The drug companies dominate politics and advertising. You can't turn on the telly without hours of drug advertisements - something I have never yet seen here. And your emphasis on prevention - making cigarettes less accessible, for one - is a model.

2. Food.
Yes, we have great food in America too, especially in the big cities.
But your bread is less sweet, your lamb is cheaper, and your supermarket vegetables and fruits are fresher than ours.
Too often in my country an apple is a ball of pulp as big as your face.
The dainty Pink Lady apples of Oz are the juiciest I've had. And don't get me started on coffee.
In American small towns it tastes like water flavoured with burnt dirt, but the smallest shop in the smallest town in Oz can make a first-rate latte.
I love your ubiquitous bakeries, your hot-cross buns. Shall I go on?

3. Language.
How do you do it?
The rhyming slang and Aboriginal place names .
Words that seem vaguely English yet also resemble an argot from another planet.
I love the way institutional names get turned into diminutives - Vinnie's and Salvos - and absolutely nothing's sacred.
Everything's an opportunity for word games and everyone's a nickname.
Lingo makes the world go round.
It's the spontaneous wit of the people that tickles me most.
Late one night at a barbie my new mate Suds remarked, ''Nothing's the same since 24-7.'' Amen.

4. Free-to-air TV.
In Oz, you buy a TV, plug it in and watch some of the best programming I've ever seen - uncensored.
In America, you can't get diddly-squat without paying a cable or satellite company heavy fees.
In Oz a few channels make it hard to choose.
In America, you've got 400 channels and nothing to watch.

5. Small shops.
Outside the big cities in America corporations have nearly erased them.
Identical malls with identical restaurants serving inferior food.
Except for geography, it's hard to tell one American town from another.
The ''take-away'' culture here is wonderful.
Human encounters are real - stirring happens, stories get told.
The curries are to die for. And you don't have to tip!

6. Free camping.
We used to have this too, and I guess it's still free when you backpack miles away from the roads.
But I love the fact that in Oz everyone owns the shore and in many places you can pull up a camper van and stare at the sea for weeks.
I love the ''primitive'' and independent campgrounds, the life out of doors.
The few idiots who leave their stubbies and rubbish behind in these pristine places ought to be transported in chains.

7. Roads.
Peak hour aside, I've found travel on your roads pure heaven.
My country's ''freeways'' are crowded, crumbling, insanely knotted with looping overpasses - it's like racing homicidal maniacs on fraying spaghetti.
I've taken the Hume without stress, and I love the Princes Highway when it's two lanes.
Ninety minutes south of Bateman's Bay I was sorry to see one billboard for a McDonald's.
It's blocking a lovely paddock view. Someone should remove it.

8. Real multiculturalism.
I know there are tensions, just like anywhere else, but I love the distinctiveness of your communities and the way you publicly acknowledge the Aboriginal past.
Recently, too, I spent quality time with Melbourne Greeks, and was gratified both by their devotion to their own great language and culture and their openness.

9. Fewer guns.
You had Port Arthur in 1996 and got real in response. America replicates such massacres several times a year and nothing changes.
Why?
Our religion of individual rights makes the good of the community an impossible dream.
Instead of mateship we have ''It's mine and nobody else's''.
We talk a great game about freedom, but too often live in fear.

There's more to say - your kaleidoscopic birds, your perfumed bush in springtime, your vast beaches.
These are just a few blessings that make Australia a rarity.
Of course, it's not paradise - nowhere is - but I love it here.
No need to wave flags like Americans and add to the world's windiness.
Just value what you have and don't give it away.

cheers, Mal

[Da-Jew-Man]

Hi,
Having spent quite a reasonable time in the US and travelled over 9000 miles through 30 states I would question a couple of points.
1. Health Care - Look at the cost of Private Health in Aus and what the Government is discussing at present
2. Food - Unbelievably cheaper in the US where there is competition not as 2 giants here.
3. Roads - Most roads are excellent, highways and off the highways. They build better roads and they have more extreme weather for the roads.
4. TV - More channels yes some pay but much more variety.
Having said the above we still are in the best country in the world but the pollies are slowly stuffing it up.

[Jabiru658]

I'd take issue with the 'got real' response to Port Arthur as well.

The legislation changes were rushed, poorly thought out and were instituted without consultation or any thought of the negatives that they'd cause along side so called positives.

Australia already had some of the strictest gun laws in the 1st world BEFORE Port Arthur, post Port Arthur we've now got sports shooters who can't legally buy the same gun for target shooting that's used to win gold medals in the Olympics every 4 years, we've got farmers who can no longer adequately control vermin, we've got small business that have gone broke from the changes and many other bad outcomes.

The aims? Reducing crime.

And the outcome? Zero reduction in crime statistics, in fact some figures actually show an increase.

So now governments are legislating against knives, I can no longer carry a multi-tool on various railway platforms without running the risk of being searched and charged.

The justification? Oh reducing crime again.

I wait with baited breath for the next set of figures to show another increase, another failed policy and what the government will ban next (for our own safety of course).

Maybe it'll be motorbikes next time (people use helmets during robberies after all) or perhaps spear fishing (someone used a spear gun in a robbery didn't you hear!)

[TheRealAndy]

If you have never stepped out of this country, you don't know how good you have it. IF you live in Queensland and get to explore the east coast, you have it just a little better than the rest of those in this country!! I love the place, I have not traveled extensively, but I have spent enough time overseas to realise we are in the best place in the world, without a doubt.

FWIW, NZ is a close second.

[Jabiru658]

I have spent enough time overseas to realise we are in the best place in the world, without a doubt.

I have traveled over seas...

when I took my bike to the Isle of Mann I could ride at whatever speed I liked outside of town and the police where sitting there admiring the sounds of the bikes going past.

In the UK I could sit on 130kph on the motorways and not get booked, in Europe nowhere was less than that.

In Victoria I got booked for 3 kph over the limit and sent for a noise test for a HD muffler thats legal in the US but is evidently a few db too dangerous for anyone to use here.

Australia's nanny state mentality has gone past being a joke.

I could retire over seas in many countries and live better than I live here working 60 hours a week to be totally honest.

[TheRealAndy]

I have traveled over seas...

when I took my bike to the Isle of Mann I could ride at whatever speed I liked outside of town and the police where sitting there admiring the sounds of the bikes going past.

In the UK I could sit on 130kph on the motorways and not get booked, in Europe nowhere was less than that.

In Victoria I got booked for 3 kph over the limit and sent for a noise test for a HD muffler thats legal in the US but is evidently a few db too dangerous for anyone to use here.

Australia's nanny state mentality has gone past being a joke.

I could retire over seas in many countries and live better than I live here working 60 hours a week to be totally honest.

On your way then.

I will live with the those small things that piss us off, but on the grand scale, I have the blinkers off. I suggest you take a good look around you.

[Lovey80]

On your way then.

I will live with the those small things that piss us off, but on the grand scale, I have the blinkers off. I suggest you take a good look around you.

So thats your answer is it? He tell's you he could live better overseas and your response is to piss off?

How about we emulate the little things that others are doing better than us?

I have lived in some pretty poor third world countries and I can certainly say that while we currently still have the best country on earth we have a shit load of improving to do.

Jabiru you are spot on on the gun crime comments. All the Port Arthur knee jerk laws did was give a duopoly of power to the police and the criminals. Of course it is highly rare that the police ever stop a crime of violence when it is happening. They're more a mop up and prosecute service 99.99999% of the time. The attack on an Ausfish member in his home this week is a perfect example of this. Those gun laws did nothing but make every state go out of their way to disarm law abiding citizens that would never had been a threat of another Port Arthur incident anyway. It was a farce.

[TheRealAndy]

So thats your answer is it? He tell's you he could live better overseas and your response is to piss off?

How about we emulate the little things that others are doing better than us?

I have lived in some pretty poor third world countries and I can certainly say that while we currently still have the best country on earth we have a shit load of improving to do.

Jabiru you are spot on on the gun crime comments. All the Port Arthur knee jerk laws did was give a duopoly of power to the police and the criminals. Of course it is highly rare that the police ever stop a crime of violence when it is happening. They're more a mop up and prosecute service 99.99999% of the time. The attack on an Ausfish member in his home this week is a perfect example of this. Those gun laws did nothing but make every state go out of their way to disarm law abiding citizens that would never had been a threat of another Port Arthur incident anyway. It was a farce.

What, emulate the US gun laws?? Yeah, much better.

[rexwatto]

Yea sorry - I agree with TheRealAndy on this one.

I have no issue with the gun laws in this country. I just did my firearms safety course, and I now have to wait until May before I can even try to buy a firearm.... And I have no issue with that.



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[Jabiru658]

What, emulate the US gun laws?? Yeah, much better.

No but how about emulating the New Zealand gun laws instead?

They are if anything safer than the ones we have here but without the stupid inconsistencies that we have in our gun law legislation.

[Gimme5]

And how are gun laws in NZ safer?

No but how about emulating the New Zealand gun laws instead?

They are if anything safer than the ones we have here but without the stupid inconsistencies that we have in our gun law legislation.

[Russ B]

Uripper I appreciate what you are saying. We live in a country that's second to none with freedom and wealth that so many other people from around the world will never get to know. We have so many different cultures withing our country that let us sample different lifestyles in our own back yard as well as the original land owners that have an understanding of Australia that we are only just starting to recognize.
a
Yes we have our problems with things like guns and violence but i'm guessing if you looked into most other countries around our planet they too are dealing with similar issues. People around the world are just like us. They may appear different but they just want to raise a family and have the same basic needs that we do.

The food we have in this country is some of the best produce you will find. Food might cost more but if you take the time and look around and get to know the right people and don't assume that the big corporations are looking after you the quality of what you eat can rival anything else around the globe. I for one know that if I had a choice between eating at a restaurant controlled by a multi national company or privately owned the multi national company would miss out on the sale.

The people here in Australia that i have grown up with usually have a great sense of humor and if you were stuck on the side of the road in trouble they wouldn't give a second thought to offering assistance.

Even though we bag the government for all it's not doing and that goes for any of the political parties that are in power if you do some damage to yourself you'll get patched back up at no charge.

I think we have it pretty good here and with the traveling iv'e done as exciting as it is to see other places getting home onto Australian soil is still one of the best parts of the trip.

[Jabiru658]

And how are gun laws in NZ safer?

The government are fond of quoting the statistics for the 'number of guns in circulation' vs 'number of gun related crimes, deaths and injuries'.

NZ has more guns yet less gun related crime, death and injuries therefore their legislation is by the governments own statistical criteria MORE effective and yet it also lacks the silly inconsistencies that Australian gun legislation has. We can't even agree what's legal and what isn't between the various states.

[TheRealAndy]

The government are fond of quoting the statistics for the 'number of guns in circulation' vs 'number of gun related crimes, deaths and injuries'.

NZ has more guns yet less gun related crime, death and injuries therefore their legislation is by the governments own statistical criteria MORE effective and yet it also lacks the silly inconsistencies that Australian gun legislation has. We can't even agree what's legal and what isn't between the various states.

At the end of the day, the number of deaths by firearm is on a steady downward trend and has been since the changes to gun ownership laws, regardless of what anyone says. You can cherry pick as much data as you want, but the numbers are there in black and white. I dont think tight gun controls are a bad thing. If you want to use a firearm, you still can. I dont see the problem. Sure, you cant use semi or fully automatic weapons, but outside of the military why would you need one anyway?

[snapperbasher]

Regardless of what anyone says.....I’m never leavingAustralia again...... I have only ever done a little bit of overseas travel buthave no inclination to ever leave Australia again.....

I have spent a lot of time travelling to remote and not soremote places of Australia and loved every bit of it.... The way I see it isthere is not enough time in a life time to see all of Australia so why waste ittravelling abroad..... Every spare chance I get I go somewhere differenthere.... try to never travel the same road twice (within reason).

People complain about how our country is run but I justswitch off to that and do what I do...Lifes to short to worry about thatcrap......get out and enjoy yourself! We have the best country in the world!!