Was thinking today about the Top Ten Problems in Australia right now. I know that sounds negative but I am passionately patriotic and not wanting to dump on our great nation. However there are some issues that really concern me at the moment. Here are my ten:-
1) The blatant bias of the media.
2) Lack of Statesmen like Leadership amongst our politicians: on both sides. You only have to look at the behaviour during Question Time to see this:- but its much more than just this.
3) The vilification of people personally when they speak out against popular opinion, leads me to conclude: Free Speech is dead in Australia. This is exceptionally sad as it stifles robust debate.
4) The valueless society we now have which means we have a society without boundaries. Humanity needs boundaries for health living.
5) The popularity of philosophies that traffic in hopelessness: – evolution, atheism and post modernism.
6) The entitlement mentality that has been generated by our welfare system.
7) The lack of honour and respect in our society for others.
8) The prevalence of the hypocritical tool of opinion control called the doctrine of tolerance, which basically plays like this: You must tolerate every opinion except the Christian’s opinion.
9) The culture of binge drinking and all related problems associated with that.
10) Lack of Mental Health services in rural Australia.
What would you add or subtract from my list?
Peter
Categories: Australian, Current Affairs, Top Ten
peterpilt 
rampant consumerism/materialism, it feeds into debt problems. Retail depends on consumers consuming more they need whilst spending more than they have. Shrill marketing of ‘interest free’, which it is not, to buy bigger, brighter, better things is an indicator of this. When the bubble bursts there will be tears. ‘Things’ will never keep you happy.
The sexualisation of our children by the retailers and media has cheated our young people of their childhood. Related to this is early the loss of wonders of life experiences. I am talking about such things as the first night of the honeymoon. I grew up with rites of passage such as 16 year old girls having their Deb Ball. By the time our children reach 20 there is not too much of life left to discover. The lines between childhood, teenage-hood and adulthood have become blurred.
Tom
Tom
You nailed it.
Increase in tools to allow gambling , particularly online , increased advertising to promote this addiction. Government allowing the building of another casino in Sydney knowing that the experts have proven the link between cities with multiple casinos and organized crime
I know how much you love our country Pete so I know it’s not said to be negative but to highlight some real issues.. When its written so succinctly it puts into perspective just what kind of state our nation is is. Well written
Thanks Melanie
Hi
I would include the break done of marriage and the decline of the traditional family unit.
May I suggest the greatest problem in Australia is the vast number of our neighbours going to judgement without Christ. The second is the many churches who are not preaching the only gospel that can rescue them.
When the gospel is preached and people are saved, culture changes. Attempting to change the culture without preaching Christ is moralism which is simply a vain attempt to put nice clothes on a corpse. I don’t want to come across negative but as Christians we must understand that our only answer is found in the gospel of Christ as revealed in His perfect word.
I think you raise many valid points but I personally believe point 6 is over simplified, and there are many many factors that the media dumb down to give a portrayal of that ‘entitlement mentality’. If you analyse it you will actually see it is a big complicated mess. To me the issue is more we have a ‘broken welfare system’ that is based on votes not on solid research that can actually show ways in which people from adverse backgrounds can move to being socially competent participating individuals. By research I am not just talking about a bunch of uni professors sitting around discussing and theorising the world. I am talking about programs that actually work and turn over results but then get funding cut and it put into some political stunt. I am in no way suggesting I have answers but personally I don’t like the over simplification of this issue and I think it does more damage to the most vulnerable in society. I will provide some case samples to illustrate my point (these are based on real people and situations)
1. A mother who leaves a domestic violence relationship she has been in since a teen and then because her youngest is over 8 is expected to work. The children are not coping with the situation, and when she does find work the two children begin to regress with aggressive or preschool like emotions now being displayed.
2. A 38 year old man has been laid off from his manufacturing job due to a decrease in demand as it is now going off shore. He has been unemployed for 2 years, his wife left with their 2 primary aged children shortly after the loss of job. He has depression and is contemplating suicide.
3. An 18 year old has grown up in a family where no one has ever worked a job (not parents, grandparents or great grandparents) this is the story of everyone in the street having a job is viewed by this community as a bad thing and a mechanism of state control. There is much fear of the government due to the atrocities that occurred to their relatives by government policies.
4. A 40 year old woman has had a mental breakdown and had to leave her work due to remembering child sexual abuse committed to her when she was a small child. She has 2 teenage children to support.
I could go on with thousands more examples; the Newstart payment is barely enough to survive on (especially if you live in a city like Sydney) but this is what the above people are forced to live on as a punishment to get a job.
I find it difficult to understand how Australian society who have always had a ‘fair go’ attitude believe that if you hit people with a big stick, and say you are bad go get a job and if you aren’t going to get a job we are going to make it near impossible for you to live, think this is going to work. Family and community breakdown, abuse and violation, prejudice and bias Government Policy, are usually the things that cause people to go on welfare. I don’t think it is a welfare system that breeds entitlement I think it is a broken society that creates isolation and people in need of support and Government policies that exacerbate the vulnerable.
I agree it is an oversimplification and I certainly agree that there are some harrowing cases where people have fallen through the cracks or simpy don’t have enough money to survive on. I applaud Australia for having a generous welfare system compared to other countries. But what if instead of the broad distribution of welfare, we were more targeted with our welfare help and support services and therefore could be more generous to the people who are in genuine need?
i couldn’t agree more. I would also like to see welfare policy based on sound research not on winning elections. looking at long term solutions not what looks good in the current election cycle. That is my main point we are often quick to judge people on welfare but it is the way in which welfare policy is created and distributed which is the real issue.
I also want to add i think our welfare system is an amazing attribute to Australian society and should be applauded but we need to be wise in the way we invest the money. both sides of government try and make short term gains instead of investing in the long term future. this is why we are losing money (life) not gaining.
I think this situation would be improved if wages were also improved. It is now not only unemployment but 1 income families that now need to seek help to put food on the table. Society over simplifies the problem by the mantra “get a job”. When there is no work in your town, or work goes to who you know or who the interviewer “clicks” with, rather than those in desperate need or most qualified, it is IMPOSSIBLE. Then add the mix of mental health, physical health, abuse on top of the general need then fixing this is difficult indeed. I believe the “entitlement” breed is far fewer and that society and media generalises ALL in need.
I believe that our government has a lot to answer for. They increase their own pay and benefits while about 40% live below the poverty line. They don’t support Australian farmers or manufacturers, and as a result jobs go overseas. This leads to disillusionment in the populous in general, and leads to excessive drinking as they have no values or beliefs in an almighty Creator, and increases crimes and drug and alcohol abuse.
The most urgent thing at the moment is the erection of trade tariffs. We cannot compete wit Asia on low wages or countries that assist their industries whilst our government increases taxes and regulations adding to costs. Todays news is that Ford Motors are closing in three years.
We also need to look at penalty pay rates for Sundays and public holidays. Many people now work casual and part time. If they work under 38 hours a week and some of those hours are Sundays and public holidays, normal rates should apply.
We should withdraw from some of the UN directives that we have subscribed to. Discrimination means that the an employer cannot select who he wishes without good reason.
We should also withdraw from World Heritage and make our own decisions on what we want to preserve.
Agree Tim.
I agree with Stuart Wilson. many of our social problems are brought about by bad government and excessive taxation and regulations.
Agree Stuart. The govt has no strategy for poverty eradication in this country except to throw welfare at it.
But throwing welfare at it IS helping. No use providing program specific socutions and well meaning platitudes when the person in need cant travel to the program because of (no transport, sick, sick family, be home for the kids, mentally despondant etc etc) And then penalising the person in need for not being able to comply with societies “well meaning” rules. Rules for the poor….yeh, because everyone in need is there from their own fault.
I was thinking some more about this list and the discussion around poverty etc. Not sure if people are aware that:
One in three girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused in some way before the
age of 18 years.
34 per cent of women who had a current or former intimate partner (including boyfriends) experienced at least one form of violence from a partner during their lifetime (since the age of 16).
It is no wonder with these stats we have increased mental health, drug and alcohol, relationship breakdown, child removal- Along with lack of respect, feeling of hopelessness etc
Perhaps if we focused more on the actual issues then the symptoms we might have better outcomes too?
And organised religion….the biggest problem not only in Australia but the world!!!!!
The biggest problem in the world? I wonder if the 27 million people who are part of the human slave trade would agree with you. And the 850,000 who will be sold, kidnapped or tricked into joining the 27 million people in 2013.
Organised Religion is the biggest problem? Really. I wonder if the 2 billion people who live in countries that are caught in the cyclical poverty trap and live on under $2 a day would agree.
Don’t use your bad experiences to make generalised accusations and comments. You only appear ignorant
Violence and drunkeness are another. These things are considered so normal for many youths. I am a uni student and I hear conversations about who is going to get drunk, fight, have s*x, etc, every day at uni. It is honestly, absolutely revolting.
The Blatant misguide by media and of course politicians. At the Hands of Shareholders it seems the general public is being deliberately misguided in order for these Shareholding types to increase there profits.
Deliberate suppression of amazing inventions that could revolutionise our world and make it a better place. Like for instance the two new catalysts developed by the Adelaide University that convert green house gases into cheap gas. The Golden EGG of energy Sustainability. Future energy companies that will dwarf the likes of Microsoft, google and apple combined.
I am doing an assessment on a contemporary Australian Issue. Please help me. What topic should I do?
Same Sex Marriage
Bullying
Domestic Violence.
Immigration
Banks
Au is one of the most conservative countries in the western world. the only use of a Gvt is a strong welfare state: ppl will always compete for status. w/o welfare, your wife’s brother ends up on your couch. single failing cascade through families and communities. it is also economically healthy, keeping funds circulating. idc if they spend it on drugs and jo all day: as long as it is off my couch, and thr children have a chance no matter what poor choices thr family makes. not “sins of the father” multi generational harms.
beyond that point, i agree with you i think. though i prefer things a little more hands on:
1. *censorship* has to be fought at all costs, free speech is the single most important battle of our generation (so i agreee w that whole hearteddly. my number 1 as well.) which means removing protections of exclusionary policies by (yes private) companies. theyre too big now, we cant have them banning sitting politicians (trump is the best, tho not only, example), blocking texts or posts of political rivals (like the hunter biden story). discussion has to be allowed.
2. *making education free* . to go to school wo debt no matter your parents mistakes. and to be able to change careers mid and late life: which is needed in the modern economy.
3. *honor and respect of others* (i agree w): including bodily autonomy (right to refuse forced medical interventions, including vaccines). if a disease is serious enough, vaccines are not a hard sell. abortion too, up to the person. anti abortion religious institutions do not as vocally care about the homeless or children after they are born (except to sexually assault them it seems. in every single one. wo exception). this means it is a power, not genuine, position. autonomy best be the rule. ppl can guide thr own beh.
4. *anti corruption independent agencies* . (it is an unending battle, but important)
5. *banning short selling (entirely) & insider trading enforcement against politicians* . most large, negative social harms come from corporate socialism & insider trading from politics interfering w free trade, such that thr hasnt ever really been a free trade sys. companies are not allowed to go under when they fail. products are subsidized. some of these actions are not automatically bad, but they require real scrutiny. if corporate socialism is required to keep a company afloat wo crashing the economy – then teh Gvt now owns that company, bc the dirs have proven they arent good at business (negligently so. also, if they knew bail outs were compulsory buy outs: maybe some of the too big to fail disaster capitalism would go away too). the pandemic again highlights all these problems. & as does a space race between 3 dudes, who all fluked thr money by being near computers when they were in vented or cutting overhead, paying staff poorly, & buying out competition rather than competing – these ppl are not smart, definitely not geniuses. that is just crime. & they are old tactics.
6. *religious freedom is very important* . all freedoms come from thr. it is amazing to me how many things are dismissed bc they are Christian. thr are a lot of Christian (& jew & muslim) scientists. thr is certainly a feeling that we are suppose to pretend this isnt true.
7. *transparency* . in funding. in decision making, even of private corporations.
8. *respect for others* : aka, just leave ppl alone and live your life. i agree w this one.
9. *codified bill of rights* . we need something to point to. common law protections are not good enough.
10. *stronger welfare supports, & no corporate socialism* : elder care has a royal comn every 2 yrs – nothing changes. people need to be able to fight thr employers for fair treatment, not just rich kids. welfare give (some) ability to quit your job f you have to. you may still lose your wife, house and kids – it wont be gr8 – but youll be able o eat, and have a chance to get back on your feet.
11. *mental health support & access* : it is very important. alcohol is the worst drug (opinion), though i would never tell someone what to do w thr own body – if people want to quit, they best have access to help. rural communites are neglected. this has to be fixed.
12. *corporate accountability* : thr is none. poison drinking water, open fake bank accounts in peoples’ names, track and sell information on everyone – for marketing! not national security.
13. *strong transparent warrant system* : for the courts & law enforcement. also tougher sentencing. i am not big on jail for non violent crimes, but ive seen multiple child rape & violent assaults/stalking charged w max of 10yrs, but in reality being 2 w time served pr-trial meaning even found guilty of all charges, they are out in 6mths. it is not realistic that the positive effects of removing these people from situations 7 allowing them to access help can be done in that time. not fair on the victims and ppl who testify.
14. *no privatization of fundamental systems* : no private prisons, no private healthcare, no private chinese cellular & electricity companies. the fraud, abuse, money laundering and waste is unending. bureaucracies suck, absolutely, and face some of the same problems: but never to the extent that is seen in the private sector (tho they own the news coprs too, so people dont seem to be aware just how wasteful & how much socialism is in the “private” sector. idk how to fix media. but probably removing the large funding interest does most of that too.)
15. *jail time for predatory capital practices* : these should be charged as murder 3, if they kill ppl foreseeably in just a few steps. & the board & major share holders should all face charges. it will make people investigate where they invest more thoroughly. currently not even company dirs ever face anything. and, like the child rapists who never face serious prison terms, they know it and abuse it. it is all calculated risk.
16. *rural access to all medical services* : this is another private capital problem. the fact that it is harder to make money in rural areas should not mean substandard care is available. if gvt rum it doesnt have to be this way. & clinical teams best accept that some time rural is required to keep you license. thr is no excuse for it. & the money is thr. hospitals, drugs (medical) & scans should not be huge money making industries. at all.
17. *media & reporting* : i dont have a full answer for this yet. but omg is the media a problem. & it self feeds corruption in politics too. more speech & removing financial incentives (in news at a minimum) is key. but that means investigative reporting likely has to be a statutory public service, paid for by a levy. bc only “click bait” makes money so (like absolutely everything, just about) the “private” sector can not solve it. & is the cause. & politicians wont want to be investigated, so it has to be a more permanent set up, like the IG/Ombuds systems.
18. *digital bill of rights* : bc something needs to be done. when you click on those “i agree” 900 page terms of service, that is predatory capital behavior. again. no one is agreeing to anything, and it should be treated as such.
19. *international agreements to shut down tax havens* , and serious jail time for harms caused by predatory business practices & extreme tax evasion. people can be rich. they just cant be criminals.
thx for this post! it was gr8. got me thinking.
JC
Thanks for your detailed reply