Context for non-Australians: Home ownership is the core of Australian national identity[0]. Since the 1990s, government policy has made speculation on resident

Context for non-Australians: Home ownership is the core of Australian national identity[0]. Since the 1990s, government policy has made speculation on residential property extremely lucrative. Mass immigration is used to keep the economy growing (GDP per capita is falling). House-building has not kept pace. Reduced funding for the TAFE (Technical and Further Education) system has ensured an undersupply of tradespeople. In one state, privatisation of building standards enforcement has led to a large number of defective buildings, including high-rise apartment blocks with structural defects. On the other hand, living in one of the state capital cities is increasingly necessary. The economy has few industries, most of which are dominated by a small number of very large businesses. Despite its reputation, Australian society is authoritarian, and employees are still expected to work from an office five days per week. The median house price in Sydney is AUD 1.6MM; the household income needed to pay a mortgage on this principal is AUD 350k. The median income in New South Wales (of which Sydney is the capital) is AUD 70k. Australian manufacturing died when shipping was containerised. There was a time when resourceful Australians invented novel products (the Victa lawn mower, the Hills Hoist clothes line), but now that international airfares are more affordable, those Australians now move to other countries (mainly the UK and the US) before becoming inventors. Australia exports iron ore and coal to countries that make steel (chiefly China). All of Australia's material culture is imported. Australian agricultural produce is increasingly packaged in China before being sold in Australian supermarkets. Australia does not have a bright future. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Dream https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Dream