Resources and demographics drive the economic fate of nations. There's a large land area (i.e. easily accessed minerals) divided by a small population (less tha

Resources and demographics drive the economic fate of nations. There's a large land area (i.e. easily accessed minerals) divided by a small population (less than 25 million). Because the minerals are in the deserts, there's little public resistance to digging them up. Similar situation as Canada. With a similar cost: ceding effective political and economic control to the US, and accepting high numbers of immigrants from developing countries. The Europeans came 220 years ago, took the land off the indigenous people over the following century, then created a centrally-controlled federal border 110 years ago to keep out others. Australia became known as "White Australia". But they couldn't hold back nearby Asia's population for long. 70 years ago, Australia gave up control of their foreign policy and defence to the US to keep out Asia, and has been giving up economic control ever since. Many call Australia "the 52nd state". In the 1960's the immigration began: first from southern Europe, then from Asia. International students and immigrants lease the apartments and houses, keeping the rent high, eventually buying the houses, keeping the prices high. Like Canada and Northern California, most come from Asia. Australia/NZ and Canada are an economic, political, military, and cultural extension of the western USA, with the same immigration patterns. Immigration is the price of remaining politically part of the English-speaking empire instead of a Japanese, Chinese, or Indonesian-speaking one.