There are things that only happen in Russia, China, India and so on.
Think it may be interesting to learn your thought/experience on things that you think are uniquely Australian. No right or wrong.
First example from me.
You have just proven you are delusional - comparing USyd with MIT! Ha, ha, ha. You really are a great character. Maybe put a bit more energy in finding some deals for this site instead of insulting me.
See University of Southern Queensland (unless you say that is the absolute top uni in Australia). You do not even know that the CSP are the same fees everywhere.
At Southern Queensland full domestic fee is 17,000+ so after four years you have incurred $68,000 HECS debt. So much for your knowledge. I reckon you should get your data updated a bit before insulting other people. Live with it - I have a different opinion to you.
http://www.usq.edu.au/study/degrees/bachelor-of-education/pr…
Duration
4 years or part-time equivalent
Units
32 units
Approximate annual fees
Commonwealth supported
AUD 6256
Domestic full fee paying
AUD 17490
LOL'd at comparing domestic full fee paying prices. That's why I'm comparing to MIT - it's right up your alley to compare extremes. That is your potato style of argument - you seem to have to resort to logical fallacies. Putting a blanket statement using domestic full fee shows how worthless your appeal to extremes is. The very large majority of education students are CSP students. You can't quote minority prices and use that as a standard.
Waiting for the internet plans and lol at pretending you're busy and not going to reply anymore. so typical. Also very picky with what you choose to respond to.
Discoplus: 5.99 (24 months)
Klarmobil.de: 9.47 (24 months)
Simyo: 8.50 (24 months)
(Prices in Euros)
just to name a few.
Mate, I have to say you really are a bit dumb.
Not everybody gets a CSP - there are lots of domestic students that pay 17,000+ per year. They do not want to but do not have a choice if they want to study.
CSP place at a top uni (according to you): 6256,00
CSP place at average uni: 6256,00
Strange that an average uni can get away with charging as much as one of the top unis in Australia.
I have a client to represent on Wednesday - incidentally for dodgy work done in the house. Since you are just a troll I think we are done. Just admit you went in over your head and have really no idea about tertiary education prices or German mobile plans.
Google a bit and you will find that Australia is the most expensive place for uni (tuition fees and living costs taken together) on average.
While the graph on the following site reflects costs for international students it also indicates how much domestic students pay (as they pay less than international students):
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-cost-of-getting-a-univ…
I hope you have a nice Easter and invest some time in finding deals instead of mounting useless and groundless attacks - clearly you have a problem with people having opinions differing from yours. The aggression in your posts shows that you run out of arguments.
Stop being aggressive and insulting as you will be reported.
And maybe ask recent graduates how much debt they must pay off - you will be surprised. These poor guys cannot pretend like you that such debt does not exist - they will have to pay it.
The reason I mentioned Usyd was a top uni because of you copy pasting the entry requirements, stop being a potato. Might as well post the MIT entry requirements and say its that hard (not to mention, 85 atar and acceptance of 75 atar through second round etc. isn't even that high for one of the top unis!)
All the phone plans you listed are data plans with only 500mb of LTE data and are the equivalent of 35kbps GPRS speeds in most areas. They also require 24 months committment and still equal to 14 aud for just data. Is this the year 2000? You had to pick from any country and you picked these plans? what the?
No, not everyone gets a CSP but the way you argue, you'd think noone does.
Recent HECS grad (two years out), paying off $23 000. First year giving it back to the government.
Again, I am in the boat of no complaints as I have a very enviable job compared to others (IT Enterprise Architect) and wouldn't have got it without accruing something so small in my early 20s.
Are you still dwelling on this mate? I left for 24 hours and you still find things that irk you enough to grind someone else the wrong way.
Meanwhile, I broke bread with family, and caught up with friends, talking about our achievements and things that make us laugh.
Certainly, I didn't talk about the guy who sat on OzB crying that the immigration department wanted his skills but dropped the ball.
Good to hear. But I guess you will agree that some people in some degrees end up with a substantial amount of debt, especially if they cannot snatch a CSP or if there are not CSP for the subject such as in business.
And is it getting more expensive every year it seems.
And how does this make Australia worse than every other country exactly? Because you think tradies are overpaid here and theres no point of studying if you can become a tradie? lol.
newsflash, it costs just as much or more in any other country. and things are getting more expensive every year in every other country. whats your damn point?
you grossly overestimate the money tradies make (virtually asserting that the effort they put in is useless and that the profession is not required) and underestimate just how good people in Aus have it compared to other countries
@Lysander: To be perfectly honest, I have never met a domestic full fee student. Anyone that I went to uni with was a CSP place or international full fee.
Of those that were international full fee, they chose to come here like you.
I am sure their family and them did the cost benefit analysis and saw their future in Australia. Like you.
Not like me I am afraid. I was "forced" to go the student route as I was waiting for one answer re skills assessment from immigration - had they known their own rules I would not have done the course and would have come immediately on a skilled migration visa. If it was not for my girl-friend here I would not have come as education at home is (a) free, and (b) according to rankings and my own experience and belief the standards are higher as it is not a business over there which means business reasons and economics are not a decision factor.
Fortunately, as my expertise is needed here unis offered me scholarships. I would have never paid $130,000 tuition fee which is what my course would have cost. No way.
I have met a good number of full fee paying domestic student and I can tell you they were not happy about the increasing costs and debts. I mean, even the debt you have is too much. Instead of burdening people with debt, they should reward them for their dedication and sacrifice but that is just my personal opinion.
@StewBalls: Years and years ago, any criticism of Australia would elicit the response "If you don't like it here, go back to where you came from".
Things have supposedly changed, as we travelled, matured and got the chip off our collective shoulder.
Or not.
It doesn't sound like Lysander is saying Australia is terrible, or the other countries are far better. It does sound like he has merely stated some things and has defended his views, whilst being insulted and treated with anything but respect.
Since when have we been so thin skinned? Everybody is entitled to their opinion,
he has been unfailingly polite. Disagree, but give the man a fair hearing and a fair go.
here you go again about 'i know x who x'. its getting old.
there is a direct negative side effect for tuition fees being virtually non existent in countries such as Germany, and I am sure that you can guess what it is. the tax rates are insane when compared to most other countries (and australia), of which this policy is a contributing factor. its not like this comes at no cost. the VAT and income tax hikes are high enough to offset any savings in free tuition these policies might have had. the countries you mentioned are known as having some of the most high priced items and taxes anywhere in the world.
the truth is that you yourself didn't pay domestic full fees. majority are CSP, or funded by overseas family. to quote 50k as the norm is the logical fallacy of an appeal to extremes. anecdotal evidence such as 'i know x who x' is also quite useless. i could easily say 'i know x whos the opposite'. arguing with anecdotes (without any backing that they are real furthermore) is completely nonsensical.
Years and years ago, any criticism of Australia would elicit the response "If you don't like it here, go back to where you came from"
Even now, unfair criticism of Australia still deserves the same response…show a little patriotism, champ.
This guy is still pissing & moaning about our country over a clerical error that apparently was resolved over half a decade ago…if that period has elapsed, and he hasn't gotten over it to the point where he's still bitching about Australia in general on a bloody bargain website, he's quite welcome to leave, period.
It doesn't sound like Lysander is saying Australia is terrible
Maybe you should scroll all of the way up & actually read his full manifesto of petty, idiotic complaints.
I wouldn't go as far as to tell him to leave the country, but StewBalls has a point for anyone who has actually read everything from the start. His rant is very similar to Billy Madison's rant - a lot of bull that sounds logical, but his backing points make no sense whatever. Easy to nod your head at points, until you realise its all blabber.
Conversely, everyone has the right to be wrong. Myself included.
This man has nothing positive to speak of Australia and yet has spent much time here, in the war torn region of Brisbane, barely scraping through with his $130 000 degree provided for by way of scholarship. Obviously the dictator overlords prevented his migration which he fought in an international court of justice.
Or he just finds nothing positive in his life and is more indicative of his reality and outlook on life.
I am not personally affected by his negativity, just amazed that someone who lives in Australia, not under duress, can find so many negative things about the country with nothing positive to be spoken of.
Thought I'd give him a ran for his money. It's a discussion forum after all.
It doesn't sound like Lysander is saying […] other countries are far better.
Actually, that's exactly what he's saying. I'm the furthest thing from a nationalist (Australia Day makes my eyes roll) but only someone speaking from a place of extreme ignorance can say with a straight face that Australia is a stifling police state, or say that brutality or surveillance are uniquely Australian problems. He complains about CCTV on one hand, then on the other, holds the UK up as a gold standard; you don't have to be Glenn Greenwald to note the hypocrisy there. I'd love to see him complain about brutal Australian police to someone from Ferguson, or tell an Englishman how intrusive our nanny state is. It's all about perspective and he has none. There is literally nothing on his list that other countries don't have worse and when you list them on a 'only in Australia' thread, it looks petulant and whiney, because there are billions of people who'd love to have those 'problems,' even evidently, people from other industrialised countries.
@StewBalls:
Real Australians are warm and welcoming and acknowledge this is not a perfect country. We struggle to make it better for everyone else and acknowledge that we have it good in most ways but could do better in other ways. Real Australians don't say leave. :)
@takutox: just my 2 cents, to the bloke complaining of tradies. Go do it for a week, and see how your back feels.
I'd rather sit in an office chair any day.
@Lysander: As an immigrant I have to disagree with your position, while understanding how you feel. Australia is one of the best countries to live in. Sure government is not effective in processing visa applications but you do it once and if you have a strong case you'll get the visa and easily you become an Australian with all the entitlements. I did it and it was easy.
I never had an issue with Police and they have been really nice to me in every occasion. So no complaints here.
I didn't pay for education (and was paid living costs including my ticket to Australia). With half of my hard work I think most locals won't pay full fees.
I easily found a job and I believe I am much happier with my job situation than a tradie. It's better paid too and over a course of 30 years I easily get paid twice what a typical tradie earns or will earn.
Yes it's hard to be an immigrant, yes sometimes you doubt what you did, yes it's not ideal, but no Australia is not worse than other western countries.
You know, the funny thing is that I do a lot of volunteer work and help vulnerable and disadvantaged people (mentally fragile people, Aboriginals, poor and homeless people) get their rights from government institutions as often they are invisible to these institutions and a lot of other people (with the exception of Vinnie, some churches and other charities).
I do this without payment and the irony is that due to the government bungles in my case every single one of these people is in a better position than I am rightwise as I don't qualify for any kind of support here had I no income whatsoever.
I also help other immigrants, and while I am glad that alx88 found it an easy process, my professional and personal experience is the opposite. I started with helping one or two people with their immigration issues and since then it has constantly been growing, to such an extent, that I am now being greeted by the immigration people with my first name and being told that they cannot answer my questions as I know the rules much better than they do.
Other things I have written about such as the police brutality have indeed deeply affected me and the people around me and do so up to this day (for example, my partner is virtually paranoid of the police now because they also started harassing her - 5 ID checks within 10 days when she picked me up from the station, same cop that participated in police brutality incident, just to give you an example).
It is easy to write all these things on here when you are not affected but I am very certain that if the people who think I am exaggerating had indeed experienced what I did, seen what I did with the other people, and had been affected the way I have been for almost 5 years now, you would say those things.
And yes, other countries also have problems but to me it is the degree that matters. Yes, the UK has plenty of CCTV cameras but they also have stricter privacy laws (national and EU) keeping that situation in check. Australia does not and that is the problem in my opinion.
Yes, other countries ignore human rights but do the countries Australia sees itself being on par with (which means I am not talking about Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Saudi-Arabia etc.) do so to the same degree, for example regarding refugees?
Australia has a beautiful countryside and I love large parts of the nature here but I do not like a lot of the aspects people have created. However, I am ready and prepared to work to effect change to improve it so it can be again what older Australians I have talked to say it was like 15 years ago (welcoming, more tolerant, less of a nanny state, less entitlement attitude etc.). Telling people who criticise things that could and should be improved to leave does not bring about such positive change but merely perpetuates the status quo.
With that I am out a I believe everything has been said now. If people want to neg me, insult me etc. merely because I have a different opinion, so be it. I know what to think of that.
Good night everybody.
Stricter privacy laws? Over CCTV? The UK has the exact same issues as Australia regarding public use of CCTV. In fact the laws governing public use and restrictions for CCTV for crime prevention are virtually identical. CCTV (and privacy concerns revolving around it) in UK are as big of a privacy issue as they are in Australia, with the laws being just as murky. The laws revolving around private domestic use, for example, both involve a complaint process, of which you'll find endless unanswered complaints in both regions. Cases that deal with this are few and far between. It is not accurate at all to say this issue is any more under control in the UK than it is in Australia. Pretending that the UK has stricter laws because your neighbour 'can potentially' seek legal action for invasion of privacy in UK is as effective as saying you can claim nuisance in Australia for invasion of privacy. Sounds good in theory, but nothing happens in reality. You can count the numbers of cases, fines or restrictions in both regions with your fingers.
It's also hard to believe any of the 'anecdotes' you present, as you were caught exaggerating about the oh so amazing unlimited internet plans you quoted. Unlimited GPRS data for $14 (and possible more taxes/fees) and 24 month contract for a data plan is not amazing. It might have been in the year 2000, but 2G or 2.5G is no longer fast enough to support most modern content which consumes several MB even for one of today's basic websites (ever tried just browsing around? No videos or HD streaming. it's very easy to burn through data). It's especially not amazing when the actual phone plans cost significantly more than Australia (something you failed to mention?), which really is pathetic when the data plans are not even that good.
So it strikes me as delusional when all you post is anecdotal extremes about the millions of people you know as examples who support your viewpoint to a T, when you can't even be honest about something as simple as a phone plan. Can not be honest about not posting anymore (it's your fourth time saying that), and refuse to accept the reality of CCTV being just as huge or more of a problem in the UK.
One other dead giveaway is citing that Australia used to be more tolerant and welcoming… said no ethnic minority ever. I'm beginning to think these people you know are not as numerous or real as you make them out to be.
I'm sure you won't post anymore as you've said for the fourth time though, because you are definitely someone we should believe.
Why don't you move?
This sums up everything I have said so far. Still no real reason.
Hooome Ice Cream we like
Bogans - thanks Kylie Mole
TV shows like "Australia your standing in it!" With brilliant Rod Quantock and the rest of the crew.
Stickers on cars like "DILLIGAF"
magic aussie ya cant beat it!
Proud to be a fair dinkum 100% sandgroper from a line of sandropers.
Long service leave
Corruption has deffinatly gotten worse and its not just queensland or the unions
Democracy does not equal capitalism
You all have to stir off your asses
complacency is killing your country
also ozbargain and the internet are great but no substitute for a life
and have you noticed its getting hotter ?
not ot mention that bikie gangs are having more influence than what unions use to have. we must be up there behind canada….think parts of that country have basically been surrended to bikies.
Things dont happen in russia, russia happens to you.
Anyway here is my fav thing of australia, the she'll be right attitude to everything.
Deadly Animals (Come to Australia): http://youtu.be/wy_TB6onHVE
things "homemade" are more expensive than branded.
The middle/upper income earners are not rewarded- basically the taxes paid by them subsides people at home.
regularly saw girls only with bikinis walking in shops n chat in proud at Manly
Clearly you haven't been to Miami.
Hitting a kangaroo with your car
Sounding your car horn when you leave someone's house no matter what time of night, but not using to avoid a collision as it's to aggressive.
Crappy TV shows which revolves around cooking and renovation shows.
how bout fishin??
Nah, the UK is full of that rubbish too.
aurora australis
Drink your hot chocolate or cappucino with Tim Tam as the straw
Tony Abbott
Beetroot is an essential part of your tasty burger
I had a burger in the USA and asked for beetroot on it.. After finally convincing them that I wasn't trying to get taken to the nearest lunatic asylum, they came out with some cubed beetroot on the side.. They simply couldn't put it on the burger like I asked… But the burger did have a heart-attack inducing quantity of kettle crisps in it.
Bottled water costing more than soft drinks at cafes
Never understood a reason for this. How can producing water can be more expensive than producing soft drink? I doubt if it's an issue of economy of scale either.
water costing more than beer in some places.
Queen Birthday Public Holiday
Not to mention its a different date in WA and QLD!
Public holiday for Gambling : Melbourne Cup Day
need to push this nationwide not only melbourne :)
What about the day off we get for footy?
having a foreign head of state for whom the laws do not apply ie not being fined for not voting, not having a medicare card, not paying tax to the Australlian taxman. Also no or limited access to fireworks. Being forced to wear seatbelts in cars, yet allowing people to ride push cycles or motorbikes on the same roads. Having public transport e cards that only work in each state and not compatible australia wide, yet private tollway e-readers work wherever one drives
Are you seriously complaining about being forced to wear a seatbelt in your car?
no but my body my choice, just like tatoos, earrings, vaccinations etc. Lets minimise the nanny state, for adults at least
Excellent idea, you cover 100% of all you medical costs as part of reducing the nanny state.
as per your logic, we should ban rugby, afl, parachuting, racquet sports etc and if anyone wants to do these things they should first cover 100% of their medical costs. How many aussies go overseas and ride bikes, mopeds and go in taxis without seat belts. Plenty, but i don't see them stopping travelling because 'safety' isn't built in
Stores closed by 6 on weekdays (except thu at 9) and can be as early as 4 during weekends.
Tell me about it…
Hook turns
Only in Melbourne haha.
School drop outs can earn more than people who have studied a degree.
I doubt you will find many places in the world where tradies can hit the $100k mark without much effort.
Unique and gifted song writing abilities only found in Oz
Having leftovers at a restaurant and being told you cannot take it home because "improper storage and repreperation can cause illness".
Better shut those butcher and fish shops. Could've killed myself when I decided to prepare my week old unrefrigerated squid by cooking it with a heatpack covered in engine oil.
really? never had that before!
I've had it a few times in Adelaide and Melbourne. Maybe you're still safe where you are. I've heard salmonella prefers restaurants in southern coast metropolitan only. They may move along the east coast depending on property price and cost of living.
hahaha.. nice one! :)
ACCC and Fair Trading, so stupid
Getting set on by a dropbear while bushwalking but luckily some bloke tackled it and yelled 'Crikey! She tried to do the bloody death roll on me' but fought it off anyway. That man was Steve Irwin and I owe him my life.
True story.
2 dollar coin smaller than the 1 dollar coin
If the point is that a coin with higher denomination is smaller than a coin with lower denomination, then I don't think it's that uncommon. The Hong Kong $10 (~12 AUD) coin is also smaller than the Hong Kong $5 coin (~6 AUD).
Oops, yea I had converted it twice by mistake.
It's in many countries. HK and India are a couple of them. What's a bit odd though is that 20 cents coin is so big here.
Its not about the length, its about thickness.
GFs comment - It's not about size, it 's how much it is worth : )
Yea it's how you use it that counts
Xdiep, u must be kiwi?
And 50 Cent coin is the largest ;)
Also Aboriginals are on one side of the 2 buck coin when in other coins there's animals and the monarch mascot…
Having vegemite for breakfast
Having your home girt by sea.
ITT: uninformed people getting up on their high horse. But I guess that isn't unique to Australians.
Sick pay. I wonder if any other country does this?
There is an acceptable culture to just 'chuck a sickie'
Have the feel that I will be sick on Tuesday (post Easter). Can't cancel my appointments now : (
If its for a legitimate reason i.e. you are actually sick then that's fine.
I've seen ppl 'chuck a sickie' to catch a flight/ go to the beach.
Other countries have 'personal days', do they not? Just consider 'chucking a sickie' taking a 'personal day'.
chuck a sickie to attend cricket test match and seen by the boss on live tv - on a superman suit drinking VB and eating KFC.
@eatwell365: Chucking a sickie to play a local golf tournament, winning, getting picture and article on the back page of the local paper, showing up at work with boss reading aforementioned paper.
compulsory voting… couldnt imagine too many countries stupid enough to enforce that…
having a state 30 mins behind another state that is 3000km west (qld to sa)
30 mins ahead of qld for daylight savings.
Not sure why you think it's stupid to compulsory vote. Australia has proven to have a robust political landscape partly because of our voting system.
cos ppl just write batman if they don't know any better or don't care. No vote should be compulsory, it's a privilege not a chore, if it is good why does no other country do it.
And what proof is this?
Compulsory voting is a civic duty, much like paying tax. It ensures that the representatives of state and country are put there by the entirety of the people. This gives a better representation in parliament and ensures people in parliament have the entire country in their best interest as the entire country is their constituents. Look at America, where politicians only focus on the middle and upper class in their legislation and campaigning because this is where the votes will come from. This leads to the imbalances you see in American politics.
If voters do wish to vote for Batman thats great. Its their right to not vote for anyone and the vote is declared invalid and not counted. But giving everyone the opportunity to vote is very important for a balanced functioning society and ultimately keeps a majority of the population interested in politics and how the country is run.
@triple675: it encourages donkey voting, ppl picking who ever rammed the most junk in their mail box, I picked the bloke who had the best sausages age sizzle last weekend, not an intelligent choice
It shouldn't be a civic duty, it's a civic right… Wtf should I have to drive 80km each way to vote on my day off, and get fined if I don't… Sounds like North Korea.
If it is so awesome, ask yourself why no other western country does it…I guess all of Europe, USA, Canada, no and so on have it wrong
FYI : everyone has the right to vote in a non compulsory vote so that makes no sense. U only reference USA, are you saying na, U.K., Europe, Canada, etc all have unfair elections too…
@unclesnake: start a thread and ask the question, you could even ask the mods to force everyone to do so
North Korea is the polar opposite of a country that actively engages with the people to ensure that the democratic processes of voting are upheld. If taking 1 day in four years off to exercise your democratic right is too hard maybe you should try moving to a country that doesn't value you opinion so much.
@triple675: North Korea has compulsory voting, albeit only one candidate.
You just said my right, my right = vote if I want to, compulsory voting isn't a right, it's an obligation.
P.s. I have moved
@Lysander:
Quoting Usyd (one of top unis for education) international student prices for a 4 year course is like saying all degrees in US cost 200k then quoting a MIT course as proof. Sheesh, all you can do is appeal to the logical fallacy of extremes.
It's like saying there's a 20 aud phone plan in Germany with unlimited internet (still waiting for links) when the average there is 30-60 EURO with 1-3g LTE Dara (and you could have picked any country in the entire world!!). You couldn't even list 3 plans in Germany with prices in this range (20-22 aud remember, stop bullshitting). I double dare you. At most you'll find one plan that barely fits the description. That's called the logical fallacy of extremes, mate.
Potato logic at its finest. Extremes and single anecdotal examples that are actually strawmen that can't be proved (my friend X and I know X that X) or dumb arguments such as telling people to YouTube police brutality Australia (acting like the results won't be the same no matter what country you type in).
Show me 3 plans in Germany costing 20-22 aud with phone and unlimited internet. I want to show everyone this guy is full of sh*t and delusional.
Stop pretending like you're not gonna reply and don't really cate. no-one is fooled. That sentiment is so damned tired (everyone and their grandma says their busy and won't reply anymore. You've said it like 3X in this thread alone).