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I love Australia but I do not like them — they’ve been such a disappointment to me. They’re the smart kid that grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and had s

I love Australia but I do not like them — they’ve been such a disappointment to me. They’re the smart kid that grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and had so much potential. But, rather than forge an amazing path, out of fear they systematically sabotaged their own success by following the drop-kick popular crowd. Source: Australian now living in NZ.

ab737 5y ago
Although the two are abound in cultural similarities, most every single aspect of life is better in Australia than NZ. Voluntary emigration tells that story. 100 Kiwis move across the ditch for every 1 Aussie that returns the favour (per capita).
vertis 5y ago
Like you, I really struggle with Australia (I was born in NZ. Lived 30 years in Australia, now a digital nomad). Australia seems to be doing everything in it's power to not be climate friendly. Dismantling carbon tax, trying to maintain coal power[0], exporting coal, putting taxes on electric cars[1] (WHY?!). Plus, other things I've likely forgotten. This is without all the other items unrelated to this story. Treating refugees badly[2][3], and finding new ways abuse indigenous Australians[4]. I can't see myself living in Australia again. Not that the rest of the world is perfect by any means, but if I had to pick at this point it would probably be somewhere like the Nordic countries that seem to take their international responsibilities seriously (I'm sure it's not all roses there either). [0] https://www.powerengineeringint.com/coal-fired/fossil-fuel-power-is-here-to-stay-says-australian-pm/ https://www.powerengineeringint.com/coal-fired/fossil-fuel-p... [1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/30/electric-vehicle-vacuum-leads-to-confusion-between-states-and-territorie https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/30/electric... [2] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/02/australias-offshore-asylum-centres-have-been-a-cruel-disaster-they-must-not-be-replicated-by-the-uk https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/02/austra... [3] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/australia-abuse-neglect-of-refugees-on-nauru/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/australia-abu... [4] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/australia-official-documents-reveal-serious-incidents-of-abuse-in-queensland-juvenile-detention-centres/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/australia-off...
- ab737 5y ago
  Don't let NZ's clean green marketing efforts delude you. Auckland is the most car dependent city in the world outside of the US. Christchurch is the most car dependent small city in the world. To put that in perspective, there are as many cars on the road in Auckland per day as Berlin, which has 3.5x the population. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_share https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_share
  - vertis 5y ago
    I said nothing about NZ (except that I was born there).
    - ab737 5y ago
      It's considered bad taste to criticise other countries for that which your home country is.
      - vertis 5y ago
        I'm both an Australian and NZ citizen. One of my parents is Australian and the other NZ. Not that my ancestral line matters at all the legitimacy of my views. I spent 30 years living in Australia and I'll point out all the flaws I want. Otherwise, nobody in Australia should ever criticize China (or insert any other country). But that's not the way the world works, nor the way I want the world to work. Everyone should be held to account. We don't exist in a vacuum.
  - contingencies 5y ago
    NZ has also, even more so than Australia, trashed all its rivers.
- grecy 5y ago
  I'm an Aussie that left 15 years ago, and just flew back 2 weeks ago. It's been really sad to watch the political leadership in Australia be so obviously bought by the massive mining interests, and continue to prioritize their wants and needs over those of regular folks and the environment. Australia will continue to go downhill until that changes, and I fear it could be a few decades until that happens. Australia should be leading the world with green energy, instead we keep pandering to the massive mining conglomerates.

ab737 5y ago

Although the two are abound in cultural similarities, most every single aspect of life is better in Australia than NZ. Voluntary emigration tells that story. 100 Kiwis move across the ditch for every 1 Aussie that returns the favour (per capita).

vertis 5y ago

Like you, I really struggle with Australia (I was born in NZ. Lived 30 years in Australia, now a digital nomad). Australia seems to be doing everything in it's power to not be climate friendly. Dismantling carbon tax, trying to maintain coal power[0], exporting coal, putting taxes on electric cars[1] (WHY?!). Plus, other things I've likely forgotten. This is without all the other items unrelated to this story. Treating refugees badly[2][3], and finding new ways abuse indigenous Australians[4]. I can't see myself living in Australia again. Not that the rest of the world is perfect by any means, but if I had to pick at this point it would probably be somewhere like the Nordic countries that seem to take their international responsibilities seriously (I'm sure it's not all roses there either). [0] https://www.powerengineeringint.com/coal-fired/fossil-fuel-power-is-here-to-stay-says-australian-pm/ https://www.powerengineeringint.com/coal-fired/fossil-fuel-p... [1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/30/electric-vehicle-vacuum-leads-to-confusion-between-states-and-territorie https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/30/electric... [2] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/02/australias-offshore-asylum-centres-have-been-a-cruel-disaster-they-must-not-be-replicated-by-the-uk https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/02/austra... [3] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/australia-abuse-neglect-of-refugees-on-nauru/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/australia-abu... [4] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/australia-official-documents-reveal-serious-incidents-of-abuse-in-queensland-juvenile-detention-centres/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/australia-off...

ab737 5y ago
Don't let NZ's clean green marketing efforts delude you. Auckland is the most car dependent city in the world outside of the US. Christchurch is the most car dependent small city in the world. To put that in perspective, there are as many cars on the road in Auckland per day as Berlin, which has 3.5x the population. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_share https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_share
- vertis 5y ago
  I said nothing about NZ (except that I was born there).
  - ab737 5y ago
    It's considered bad taste to criticise other countries for that which your home country is.
    - vertis 5y ago
      I'm both an Australian and NZ citizen. One of my parents is Australian and the other NZ. Not that my ancestral line matters at all the legitimacy of my views. I spent 30 years living in Australia and I'll point out all the flaws I want. Otherwise, nobody in Australia should ever criticize China (or insert any other country). But that's not the way the world works, nor the way I want the world to work. Everyone should be held to account. We don't exist in a vacuum.
- contingencies 5y ago
  NZ has also, even more so than Australia, trashed all its rivers.
grecy 5y ago
I'm an Aussie that left 15 years ago, and just flew back 2 weeks ago. It's been really sad to watch the political leadership in Australia be so obviously bought by the massive mining interests, and continue to prioritize their wants and needs over those of regular folks and the environment. Australia will continue to go downhill until that changes, and I fear it could be a few decades until that happens. Australia should be leading the world with green energy, instead we keep pandering to the massive mining conglomerates.