The Lucky Country soap box

[Rosy]

There's no doubt political discussion polarises people and brings heated debate but the way it brings out the worst in people is disappointing. There have been some very ordinary insults and personal abuse on this forum in that regard.

It's a shame we seem to find it far easier to criticise and complain than we do to compliment or at least discuss rationally.

I hope others appreciate their good fortune in being Australian as much as I do. I don't always agree with political opinions or actions but I admit that's usually from a vantage point of being ill-informed or influenced by how I'm affected personally.

I am glad to live in a place where we are so free. A land of opportunity. A land of plenty. A land when the going gets touch the tough get going. A land where we help each other through adversity. A land that many gave their lives for.

Very proud and blessed to be Australian.

 

[Total Tiger]

It's always easier to criticise the detail rather than step back and admire the bigger picture. The thing we take most for granted in this country that many other countries don't have is medicare. Imagine being sick or injured but too scared to seek help because you could never pay off the bill you're left with.

 

[RemoteTiger]

It's always easier to criticise the detail rather than step back and admire the bigger picture. The thing we take most for granted in this country that many other countries don't have is medicare. Imagine being sick or injured but too scared to seek help because you could never pay off the bill you're left with.

Education is not bad either - always room for improvement - but is better than most other countries.....

 

[Joe Lynn Turnip]

We should never stop questioning things and wanting to improve this country just because "other countries are worse."

 

[Total Tiger]

We should never stop questioning things and wanting to improve this country just because "other countries are worse."

Couldn't agree more. But I also agree with Rosy that we sometimes get bogged down in the political debate and forget to appreciate the big picture sometimes.

 

[pahoffm]

Agree with many here on our love for Australia.

Just feel bad about some of the injustices that occur within it.

I saw a great Australian company in Ansett destroyed by those with malicious ambitions upon it and its assets.

I see the same thing now happening to QANTAS and its position being undermined by its CEO.

I see executives in some of Australia's great companies using loop-holes in company law to extract the working capital of their companies for their own personal gain.

I love Australia but it saddens me to see some others abusing it.

 

[Tigers of Old]

In all my travels I have decided nowhere comes close to this great country, warts and all.

Melbourne has rightly been named the number 1 most liveable city in the world and I love the part of it in which I live.

No complaints here. 8)

 

[pahoffm]

In all my travels I have decided nowhere comes close to this great country, warts and all.

Melbourne has rightly been named the number 1 most liveable city in the world and I love the part of it in which I live.

No doubt.

Always room for improvement!

 

[Giardiasis]

I see the same thing now happening to QANTAS and its position being undermined by its CEO.

Er, no it is the unions that are undermining it. AJ should be applauded for standing up to the unions.

 

[pahoffm]

Er, no it is the unions that are undermining it. AJ should be applauded for standing up to the unions.

Not sure of that.

What we have is a CEO attempting to change the way QANTAS operates.

His actions appear to be one of setting QANTAS up for merger with an international corporation, in much the same way Ansett was "set up" with Air New Zealand over a decade ago.

In this case the pilots, groundstaff & unions are working together to preserve current working arrangements. It's the CEO that wants to change these.

QANTAS is profitable when it runs unimpeded.
It's the CEO doing the impeding.

As for the CEO's argument that pilots have been paid too much, compared to US pilots,

We all know that US pilots are drastically underpaid, that US air services are not maintained to the same level as we have here.

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2009-02-24/wall_street/30090489_1_chesley-sully-sullenberger-pilot-new-york-s-hudson-river

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kePiiZ8_YA

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/24/chesley-sully-sullenberge_0_n_169512.html

There are regular major domestic and international plane crashes in the US and around the world.

But not in Australia. That's why I fly QANTAS and have been a QANTAS Club member.

I don't want QANTAS to adopt the same safety records of international air services.
That would be a step down.

In summary, just another BIG BUsiness CEO trying to "rip-off" his employees so that he can take home another multi-million dollar bonus.

Here's an idea.
The government have just introduced a 'super profits' tax on the Mining industry.

Why can't we suggest a 'super tax' on companies prepared to pay their CEOs and higher executives above a ceiling level?

 

[Sintiger]

Er, no it is the unions that are undermining it. AJ should be applauded for standing up to the unions.

I don't want to pick sides on the QANTAS dispute because I can see both sides of the argument.

Grounding the airline with no notice is not something I will ever applaud. Even if they had to ground the airline doing it with no notice was unnecessary and devastating for lots of innocent people. Noone has come up with a plausible reason why it couldn't be done with 4-5 days notice including AJ himself.

Anyway this is the wrong thread for a QANTAS discussion. This thread is about what a great country Australia is .

 

[Joe Lynn Turnip]

Er, no it is the unions that are undermining it. AJ should be applauded for standing up to the unions.

Look mate I'm no leftist but that's just parroted neo-con bollocks. Blaming unions is as knee-jerk a response of the right as crying "racist" is of the left.

 

[martyshire]

We should never stop questioning things and wanting to improve this country just because "other countries are worse."

I agree. Most of us are very, very lucky that we (or our ancestors) moved here when we did. As a country we were lucky that there was a massive gold rush, which paved the way for a high standard of living, education and civil rights and a great culture of mate-ship, sport, arts and other good things. We are lucky that our land is still rich with natural resources and we are geographically bless with being removed from the rest of the world yet self-sufficient, so we can avoid many of the world's problems.

IMO our modern day politicians, our system of government and most of our media have nothing to do with the greatness of our country. They inherited a great country, they didn't create one.

Rosy, I can't comment about the insults but IMO there is certainly plenty to whinge about at the moment re the forces (listed above) that influence this country. Yes, it is great here, but it is not getting greater.

 

[Rosy]

....

As a country we were lucky that there was a massive gold rush, which paved the way for a high standard of living, education and civil rights and a great culture of mate-ship, sport, arts and other good things.

....

IMO our modern day politicians, our system of government and most of our media have nothing to do with the greatness of our country. They inherited a great country, they didn't create one.

...

Yes, it is great here, but it is not getting greater.

Depends how you define great I suppose. I'd say we're far better off now than we were in the gold rush. Even if it "paved the way" as you say it certainly didn't give us things like Medicare, welfare or the chance of a university education affordable to most.

Whether it was inherited or created I think you sell those who've ran the country post gold rush quite short.

There are certainly things to be concerned about but there is plenty to be thankful for. I feel sorry for those who don't appreciate our good fortune overall.

 

[johnson2richo2003]

A land when the going gets touch the tough get going.

Agree with everything else in your post Rosella except the above.
We are turning into a nation of whinging softies,Led by our so called Leaders at both Federal and state level on all sides of the fence.

 

[TigerForce]

I remember the cliches back in the 70s as a kid.

'the land of plenty'

'the lucky country'

it was all true blue, dinky di and grouse. Bonza!

 

[martyshire]

I'd say we're far better off now than we were in the gold rush. Even if it "paved the way" as you say it certainly didn't give us things like Medicare, welfare or the chance of a university education affordable to most.

Whether it was inherited or created I think you sell those who've ran the country post gold rush quite short.

Again, I think it paved the way for these things.

By the end of the gold rush Melbourne was one of the richest cities in the world, with among the highest mean education levels in the world. Sure, there weren't too many people carrying iPhones back then but we were the biggest importers of Champagne for a while (not just per capita), so I think we were doing OK.

You could argue that mining, the Eureka Stockade and other union-related events, massive immigration of people determined to leave poverty behind and better themselves, the importance placed on ideas such as welfare and education at the time on the world stage, and the extra cash (facilitating education) lead to a society that valued the rights of everybody; a society that would be one of the first to bring in a 5 1/2 day working week (the reason why most of our oldest sporting clubs are older than the UK's); a society with a healthy disregard for authority and one that was bound to endorse ideas such as Medicare, welfare and the chance of a university education affordable to most.

Sure, there have been many great policies brought in during the 20th century, but IMO they are mainly due to the traditional (150 y/o) Australian values (and the influence this used to have on politics) rather than any great leadership.

 

[Baloo]

I don't know if it's just age or not, but the Australia I left 20years ago isn't the Australia I now come back to visit.

It doesn't feel as friendly. Certainly doesn't feel safe. We seem to have become the whingers we kept labeling poms with.

And it's no longer only 10 years ago since Richmond won their last flag.

 

[jb03]

I don't know if it's just age or not, but the Australia I left 20years ago isn't the Australia I now come back to visit.

It doesn't feel as friendly. Certainly doesn't feel safe. We seem to have become the whingers we kept labeling poms with.

And it's no longer only 10 years ago since Richmond won their last flag.

Your are whinging like the label you are giving others.

 

[Baloo]

Your are whinging like the label you are giving others.

I rest my case.