Reply to: Why you guys don't rule the world anymore

[Hart-floot]

I don't agree that it is 'quietly ignored', but it is a hugely complex problem and if it bothers you then you do something about it.

Seems to have touched a raw nerve here then

Who says 'Sledging' doesn't work

[Mailman]

Took you a while to google that one !

How does GB 'work' with it's immediate neighbours exactly ?

Well GB sents a lot of my tax dollars to prop up those minor principalities in Wales and Scotland!

Mailman

[Lucy]

I don't agree that it is 'quietly ignored', but it is a hugely complex problem and if it bothers you then you do something about it.

[GeorgeGregan]

Took you a while to google that one !

How does GB 'work' with it's immediate neighbours exactly ?

In what way will it 'catch up with Australia' ?

If the poverty in Australia bothers you so much what did you do about it ?

Think there are two seperate points here.

Australia does engage with it's neighbors, e.g. Solomons, Fiji, PNG, in the form of aid and peacekeeping troops regularly. Australia gave a few billion dollars in aid to Indonesia after the tsunami.

Sadly there is extreme 3rd world style poverty in Aboriginal australia. Nobody really seems to know what the solution is so it's quietly ignored by most of the population.

[Lucy]

Yeah .. right apart from the Age & SMH etc. Australia, for good reasons maybe, keeps its "distance" from its neighbours. Occassionally fly's in the troops to keep the natives in order.

My argument is that GB works more with its immediate neighbours than Aussie does. PNG is only 50 miles away from cape York/Torres but the economic gulf is massive. One day this will catch up with Australia

As for poverty, yes all countrys have it. But what exactly is the life expectancy of an Aboriginal Male in Australia? Somewhere around 45yo i believe. The absolute poverty i've seen in australia over the years, especially in outback NT & WA has no equivalent in the UK.

Took you a while to google that one !

How does GB 'work' with it's immediate neighbours exactly ?

In what way will it 'catch up with Australia' ?

If the poverty in Australia bothers you so much what did you do about it ?

[Hart-floot]

Australia has an enormous focus locally, it has to.

Umm, well, there is incredible poverty in the UK too. What are you doing about that ?

You might have lived there but you obviously didn't read a newspaper.

Yeah .. right apart from the Age & SMH etc. Australia, for good reasons maybe, keeps its "distance" from its neighbours. Occassionally fly's in the troops to keep the natives in order.

My argument is that GB works more with its immediate neighbours than Aussie does. PNG is only 50 miles away from cape York/Torres but the economic gulf is massive. One day this will catch up with Australia

As for poverty, yes all countrys have it. But what exactly is the life expectancy of an Aboriginal Male in Australia? Somewhere around 45yo i believe. The absolute poverty i've seen in australia over the years, especially in outback NT & WA has no equivalent in the UK.

[Lucy]

???

[Ardesco]

In that case you are now Comedy Lucy

[Lucy]

Born in HK actually.

I have spent a bit of time in Australia though.

[Ardesco]

I take it you are an Ossie then Lucy

[Lucy]

Just that Aussies winging about GB keeping its distance from Europe is a bit hypocritical. Dont see Australia merging with New Guinea, its nearest neighbour, and encouraging free movement of Labour etc! I think GB engages with its european neighbours a bit more than the Aussie's do with theirs.

Fact is, apart from NZ, nearly all the countries that surround Australia are very unstable, one or two have civil wars right now or have huge ethnic & religious tensions (Fiji, Indonesia, irian jaya, timor, New caledonia etc etc).

Trouble is Aussies, like Americans, dont really care about the countries that surround them and to large extend dont care about some of the people i.e. the Abo's that live within their borders.

Firstly, Britain is a member of the EU, Austrlia has only historic ties, and is not in a customs union with New Guinea, there are no law harmonisations or cultural ties. They are independent states that get on together, they don't have to be bound. Australia is one of the largest doners of aid to PNG and ran it until 1975.

New Caledonia has none of those problems, and is a part of France - treaty signed 20 years ago.

Australia has an enormous focus locally, it has to.

Umm, well, there is incredible poverty in the UK too. What are you doing about that ?

You might have lived there but you obviously didn't read a newspaper.

[GeorgeGregan]

Trouble is Aussies, like Americans, dont really care about the countries that surround them and to large extend dont care about some of the people i.e. the Abo's that live within their borders.

Must admit you do have a point there.

[Hart-floot]

Not sure what your point is.

You've obviously not lived there recently.

Last lived in Aussie 6 years ago and do love the place. have heaps of family there.

Just that Aussies winging about GB keeping its distance from Europe is a bit hypocritical. Dont see Australia merging with New Guinea, its nearest neighbour, and encouraging free movement of Labour etc! I think GB engages with its european neighbours a bit more than the Aussie's do with theirs.

Fact is, apart from NZ, nearly all the countries that surround Australia are very unstable, one or two have civil wars right now or have huge ethnic & religious tensions (Fiji, Indonesia, irian jaya, timor, New caledonia etc etc).

Trouble is Aussies, like Americans, dont really care about the countries that surround them and to large extend dont care about some of the people i.e. the Abo's that live within their borders.

[Lucy]

Indonesia is a bit on the islamic side, to be fair. What with the odd bomb going off, and poking the Timorians with pointy sticks.

Indonesia is a liberal democracy with a free political process. (Re the bombs, you could have said this about London in the '70s and '80s or even last year !)

Australia is peace keeping in East Timor, to assist the elected government to maintain law and order.

[wendigo100]

Not sure what your point is.

You've obviously not lived there recently.

Indonesia is a bit on the islamic side, to be fair. What with the odd bomb going off, and poking the Timorians with pointy sticks.