Australia: the expensive country (A traveller's dilemma)

[Ronin]

Having had no Internet connection for the last three days I have only just seen this thread and haven't read all of it. Don't know if anybody noticed but AUD $8 is £4.48 at today's exchange rate so I am left wondering if beer really is more expensive in Australia? Although I am in no doubt Australia is an expensive place to live, the rents in Sydney being amongst some of the highest in the world (correct me if I am wrong).

[Roger Ramjet]

The last few days I have been talking with a number of sensible older Australians over a quiet beer.....about the increasing gap between average workers, and the wealthy top 10%, having just returned from LOS and they are all frightened!
They cannot see how the country can be saved from the downward slide where for the last ten years the gap between rich and poor has been continually increasing.
Like others...my annual Adelaide house fixed costs (two adults and a 14yo) Government compulsory Council Rates, Emergency services tax, Water and sewerage rates, is more than $3,500AUS..(no electricity costs as I have installed solar, but normal plus an average rental household electricity bill of about $3,200AUS/year) with the house empty! In Isaan it is $75!


There are now three classes of people in Australia...

The very wealthy investor group, who indirectly and cunningly control the government and the media (forever trying to convince the general population how well off the country, and they are...which most people realize is a joke)


The second group are People with very well paid employment in Government, (Federal, State, and Local government jobs, Schools, hospital,ever growing public service positions),Union organization, the mining Industry, (albeit working long hours in remote places more often than not!) and the financial industry,

The rest are really suffering...aged pensioners, self funded retirees, social welfare recipients, and many hidden parts of society that don't show up in the public media statistics.

The gap is widening and appears out of control. The inherited outdated British political system is stagnant and does not provide any opportunity for change!. Ihe power brokers work hard to preserve this system ...it is designed to prevent change and benefit the wealthy.......But change must come..and it may come sooner than we expect as a whole generation of unemployable young people, not cut out for the academic life, watch the "fat cat's" and take action to resolve their social problems.
Gone are the manufacturing jobs, farming is becoming increasingly large scale mechanized and foreign owned, and jobs continue to disappear.

The core of the problem is "over regulation", of prices, wages, and a multitude of "red Tape"reducing competitive business, combined with bad government policy, rapidly heading the economy down the path of International globalization, and a rapidly declining economy.


Australian State and Federal Governments continually spend more money than they have, and some states are technically bankrupt...but continuing to spend!
Cost of very basic services are out of control and increasing!

For example ........In Adelaide there are less than 20% number of taxis per head of population, when compared to the whole of Thailand....... in other words looking at all of Thailand's population (including all rural area populations!) Thailand has 5 X as many taxis per population! WHY?

In Adelaide in Australia, and all other states similarly, the TAXI business is over regulated. There are limits of taxi numbers to keep the rich guys rich! To operate one taxi in Adelaide, you must first buy a car (cheaper than in Thailand!) then pay over $400,000AUS to"buy" a TAXI registration plate!!!!!!(number of taxi licenses on issue controlled by the government).....meet very arduous and costly standards imposed by government, and pay union controlled high wages. The result is that almost all TAXIS are now owned by Indian Investors, who bend the rules!....and almost all taxi drivers are Indian, migrant workers on temporary visa's.

I flew from Adelaide to Phuket via KL with AIr Asia and return three weeks ago, the air fare in a near new A330 Airbus, a great flight operated by Malaysian Air Asia X, was $240AUS each way, (more than 50% made up of Australian government taxes!)
The Taxi fare 7.5 KM from my home to the airport at 9.00am, after a 20 minute wait.... was $38AUS!!!!! so $76 return to the airport!.... many cannot afford taxis,...people now stay home instead of going out for a drink, or a meal. There are fully Automated "speed cameras" installed at most traffic lights, and you will get a fine in the post of approximately $350AUS for exceeding 68KM hour through a 60km/hr city intersection! .... plus random breath testing every night around the cities, with huge fines!
So the LOS with high growth, cheap public transport, cheap food, low government charges, and fantastic opportunities is way in front!

[Looper]

Thank heavens for gamblers I say.

They go into the casino and lose stacks of money so the casino can afford to subsidise my dinner.

I had a really nice steak dinner every night in Melbourne last week for $9.95. I was 80Kg by the time I got home which was +5Kg on my regular weight. Slowly working it off this week.

The casino has scrapped its counter meals, which were a bit daggy in terms of presentation and patronage, and now has a relatively classy restaurant with waiters. The food has improved but the prices are the same.

I am campaigning to have the 'responsible gambling' adverts removed from TV and newspapers!



http://www.crownmelbourne.com.au/margos

[kingwilly]

I had a really nice steak dinner every night in Melbourne last week for $9.95. I was 80Kg by the time I got home which was +5Kg on my regular weight. Slowly working it off this week.

The casino has scrapped its counter meals, which were a bit daggy in terms of presentation and patronage, and now has a relatively classy restaurant with waiters. The food has improved but the prices are the same.

damn, thanks for the tip!

[Looper]

^No worries Willy!

Also classy desserts with nice presentation are $5 if you buy a main.

Caveat is that the special prices now only apply Monday to Thursday instead of 7 days.

[Fluke]

Just to add a bit of perspective . Typically a construction worker in Thailand earns 300 Baht per day and this would just about but one beer and one cocktail in most bars .

[TizMe]

Thank heavens for gamblers I say.

They go into the casino and lose stacks of money so the casino can afford to subsidise my dinner.

NSW RSL and Sports clubs have been like this for as long as I can remember.

When I first left my parents home (over 30 years ago), the place I was renting was a stones throw from the RSL club.

A few nights a week I'd call in for a meal on my home from work. Walk past the pokies and silently say a thank you to the patrons that paid for most of my meals.

[kingwilly]

Caveat is that the special prices now only apply Monday to Thursday instead of 7 days.

Gotchya, were kids allowed or is it in the main casino area?

In which case I could probably just leave them in the car....

[kingwilly]

NSW RSL and Sports clubs have been like this for as long as I can remember.

When I first left my parents home (over 30 years ago), the place I was renting was a stones throw from the RSL club.

Victoria also.

[Looper]

Thank heavens for gamblers I say.

They go into the casino and lose stacks of money so the casino can afford to subsidise my dinner.

NSW RSL and Sports clubs have been like this for as long as I can remember.

When I first left my parents home (over 30 years ago), the place I was renting was a stones throw from the RSL club.

A few nights a week I'd call in for a meal on my home from work. Walk past the pokies and silently say a thank you to the patrons that paid for most of my meals.

Yes, the casino's cheap eats area used to resemble an RSL but they have taken it up a notch and it feels quite nice now.

Caveat is that the special prices now only apply Monday to Thursday instead of 7 days.

Gotchya, were kids allowed or is it in the main casino area?

It is inside the casino main area. I did not see any kids. I guess they are not allowed in the casino.

In which case I could probably just leave them in the car....

Leave the window down a couple of inches for air - ha ha!

[mingmong]

''result is that almost all TAXIS are now owned by Indian Investors, who bend the rules!....and almost all taxi drivers are Indian, migrant workers on temporary visa's.''
I have to agree with You Rodger, an African Driver told me that $15 an hour was''good money'' , Christ I cant buy Smoko in Darwin for that!

[Bettyboo]

What has happened to Australia then???

Last time I was there, only about 20 years ago, I'd pay $10 and drink (beer) and eat as much as you like from 7pm to 2am. Isn't that available anymore?

With 3$ to the pond that was a good evening on the cheap...

[Umbuku]

Been living back home in Australia for 5 years now. The escalation in the price of basic commodities and services has increased by around 20% in only that amount of time. Electricity has doubled, our rent has jumped $50 in that time.

Don't know what a beer costs in a pub as I haven't set foot in one since being back but from reports $5 is the minimum in a basic pub or RSL and $10 is not unusual in the clubs and high rent districts. A take away coffee will set you back up to $6 in those same areas but costs $3.50 in the suburbs.

I had plans to work the next twenty years or so here till retirement and find a place in a country town to while away the grey years. After a year of living back here I can't see that happening and I am now making plans to retire somewhere like Thailand and take my money with me never to return.

[nedkellylives]

Wow - some nice places you have mentioned there. A shame you didn't make it up to the Kimberley though!

Bloody long drive from Perth takes days to get there and back
Did a trip around Australia in 1986 took 2 years with a caravan and 4X4

[nedkellylives]

The last few days I have been talking with a number of sensible older Australians over a quiet beer.....about the increasing gap between average workers, and the wealthy top 10%, having just returned from LOS and they are all frightened!
They cannot see how the country can be saved from the downward slide where for the last ten years the gap between rich and poor has been continually increasing.
Like others...my annual Adelaide house fixed costs (two adults and a 14yo) Government compulsory Council Rates, Emergency services tax, Water and sewerage rates, is more than $3,500AUS..(no electricity costs as I have installed solar, but normal plus an average rental household electricity bill of about $3,200AUS/year) with the house empty! In Isaan it is $75!


There are now three classes of people in Australia...

The very wealthy investor group, who indirectly and cunningly control the government and the media (forever trying to convince the general population how well off the country, and they are...which most people realize is a joke)


The second group are People with very well paid employment in Government, (Federal, State, and Local government jobs, Schools, hospital,ever growing public service positions),Union organization, the mining Industry, (albeit working long hours in remote places more often than not!) and the financial industry,

The rest are really suffering...aged pensioners, self funded retirees, social welfare recipients, and many hidden parts of society that don't show up in the public media statistics.

The gap is widening and appears out of control. The inherited outdated British political system is stagnant and does not provide any opportunity for change!. Ihe power brokers work hard to preserve this system ...it is designed to prevent change and benefit the wealthy.......But change must come..and it may come sooner than we expect as a whole generation of unemployable young people, not cut out for the academic life, watch the "fat cat's" and take action to resolve their social problems.
Gone are the manufacturing jobs, farming is becoming increasingly large scale mechanized and foreign owned, and jobs continue to disappear.

The core of the problem is "over regulation", of prices, wages, and a multitude of "red Tape"reducing competitive business, combined with bad government policy, rapidly heading the economy down the path of International globalization, and a rapidly declining economy.


Australian State and Federal Governments continually spend more money than they have, and some states are technically bankrupt...but continuing to spend!
Cost of very basic services are out of control and increasing!

For example ........In Adelaide there are less than 20% number of taxis per head of population, when compared to the whole of Thailand....... in other words looking at all of Thailand's population (including all rural area populations!) Thailand has 5 X as many taxis per population! WHY?

In Adelaide in Australia, and all other states similarly, the TAXI business is over regulated. There are limits of taxi numbers to keep the rich guys rich! To operate one taxi in Adelaide, you must first buy a car (cheaper than in Thailand!) then pay over $400,000AUS to"buy" a TAXI registration plate!!!!!!(number of taxi licenses on issue controlled by the government).....meet very arduous and costly standards imposed by government, and pay union controlled high wages. The result is that almost all TAXIS are now owned by Indian Investors, who bend the rules!....and almost all taxi drivers are Indian, migrant workers on temporary visa's.

I flew from Adelaide to Phuket via KL with AIr Asia and return three weeks ago, the air fare in a near new A330 Airbus, a great flight operated by Malaysian Air Asia X, was $240AUS each way, (more than 50% made up of Australian government taxes!)
The Taxi fare 7.5 KM from my home to the airport at 9.00am, after a 20 minute wait.... was $38AUS!!!!! so $76 return to the airport!.... many cannot afford taxis,...people now stay home instead of going out for a drink, or a meal. There are fully Automated "speed cameras" installed at most traffic lights, and you will get a fine in the post of approximately $350AUS for exceeding 68KM hour through a 60km/hr city intersection! .... plus random breath testing every night around the cities, with huge fines!
So the LOS with high growth, cheap public transport, cheap food, low government charges, and fantastic opportunities is way in front!

All the people i now who have managed to retire early with no money worries where ever they chose to live ran their own businesses
I personally ran my own business and worked up to 80 hours a week when busy
I employed contractors when needed and paid a set rate for work they did which
they were happy with
No lazy union people who sit on their ass all day doing nothing except having tea and meal breaks and want to be paid good money
Self funded retiree at 60YO, the only way to go and anyone can do it
People i employed as contractors now have their own successful businesses

[MeMock]

^ Agree.

Unions have killed so many businesses in Australia. Holden being one of them.

[nedkellylives]

The minimum weekly wage for a full time worker in Australia is over $600 for a 5 day 37.5 hour week they also get 2 weeks paid holidays, 5 days paid sick leave and the employer has to pay equal to 7.5% of there wage/salary into a super fund in the workers name which they get at retirement age of 65 years
This is why Australia is expensive for tourists
A lot of people in Australia make more than the minimum wage some a lot more

[MeMock]

2 weeks holiday? I thought it was 4.

5 days sick leave? I thought it was 10.

7.5% super? It has been 9% for years and has just risen slightly this last FY.

[MeMock]

What has happened to Australia then???

Last time I was there, only about 20 years ago, I'd pay $10 and drink (beer) and eat as much as you like from 7pm to 2am. Isn't that available anymore?

With 3$ to the pond that was a good evening on the cheap...

So in 1993 you paid $10 and for 7 hours you drank booze and ate as much as you wanted? That wasn't Australia, that was fairy land.

[Chittychangchang]

If you want cheap nowadays go to the UK!
£2 a good pint
2 meals for £7 in the pub.
Cigs of Polish Bob at the car boot £1 a pack!
Us Brits have never had it so good.

CCC

[Chittychangchang]

What has happened to Australia then???

Last time I was there, only about 20 years ago, I'd pay $10 and drink (beer) and eat as much as you like from 7pm to 2am. Isn't that available anymore?

With 3$ to the pond that was a good evening on the cheap...

So in 1993 you paid $10 and for 7 hours you drank booze and ate as much as you wanted? That wasn't Australia, that was fairy land.

Even going back ten years when i lived there, we could get a meal and a drink in the pub for A$10. Some of them Korean all you can eat buffets in Sydney were $5!
Rent, gas all was a lot cheaper than most Western countries.
Now it seems to have all gone a bit Pete Tong!

CCC

[terry57]

Nice thread to be bumped.

So I've just retired from my well payed Government job but after 34 years, I owe them fuk all.

The tossers need to pay me as I've been paying them for all that time and serving the community.

Before I left Perth I inquired at the local Caravan park as to what the price is to park my caravan on a powered sight. The lady informed me it would be $ 47 .

This is city of course in the city of Fremantle and not out in bumfuk nowhere.

Last week I booked into the riverside Novotel hotel in Bangkok for $50 per night.

Just goes to show how thoroughly fuked up Australia is, they can bash there stupid prices firmly up there arse.

I mean I have the Dollars to pay Australia's stupid prices but I'd much rather spend my money where I get superior value for my dollar and give the rest to the the beggars on the street.

Na, I'm fuking over Australia's shit. Fuk it, its bullshit.

On saying that I love the fact that I can rent my place in Freo for a motsa and pay fuk all here in Thailand, good that is.

In conclusion,

If you ain't got your own house in Australia you are well fuked and will die a sad piece of miserable shit eating mamma noodles all day.

[flashbang]

The last few days I have been talking with a number of sensible older Australians over a quiet beer

Damn, that must have been terrible. Sorry to hear about that.

[ossierob]

Great thread as there has been some good and valid points discussed along with the usual drivel. I too share a Aust/Thai existence with a house either end. I agree that the Australian cost of living has become very expensive but I also agree with the posters that tell that Thailand is not so cheap these days. I worked for over 30 years in the Mining Industry in Australia and during that time I established my existence in Thailand and am currently setting up my Aussie base in rural Victoria. The cost of living in rural Australia compared to the capitals is much more temporate and not only in terms of realestate but generally, so I hope to keep two bases and too and fro as I wish and be a happy self funded retiree.
R.R's post was excellent - I tried to bring a Thai niece to Aust only this year so she could establish her career. My wife (Thai/Aussie) and I were prepared to sponsor her and she would live in our Aussie home with a view to becoming an Aussie citizen. We were told by the Immigration Department that the only ways we could do that was if we adopted her or she came on a 457 Visa where she would come and work for us where we couldnt use local labour. I got to wondering how all these native people from India got into Australia as there is barely a taxi driver now that is not Indian. R.R seems to have explained that they ARE in Aust on 457 Visas driving taxis where the taxi licences are owned by Indian investors. The door was closed for my niece but Indians are flooding into Australia to do just menial tasks whereas my niece has a good education and would value add in many areas....Hmmmm
Oh well back in LOS next month for 6 months....'this needs fixing - that needs fixing ' we need to do this and do that'.....actually I love being in LOS and am really looking forward to getting back with my Thai family

[MeMock]

Nice post ossierob. My story is very similar. Two homes, two lives, two countries. Also tried to get my niece over more permanently then just the 3 month tourist visa they granted but hit the same road block as you did also.

Where about's in rural Victoria are you? I am currently in Kununurra (far north WA) but was in Victoria scoping out a place to move to just a few weeks ago. Spent most of our time around Warragul and Drouin etc.