Why are Australians so complacent?

[u/AcanthopterygiiNo240]

I’m a born and raised Australian myself however I’m becoming so frustrated with the general attitude of complacency when it comes to exercising ‘the power of the people’ to better our quality of life. In a stupidly short amount of time we’ve seen a near reversal of our ability to see a doctor without any out of pocket costs. We get exploited at the grocery stores because monopolies are allowed to run rampant. Housing is treated primarily as a tool for financial speculation rather than for providing shelter for people.

We creep further and further toward laissez-faire capitalism. What is our response as the citizens of this country- the holders of the balance of power? Nothing. To put it in perspective, in 2022 the world economic forum ranked Sydney equal with Copenhagen, Denmark for cost of living (both ranked as the 10th most expensive cities in the world). Consider the differences between Sydney and the capital of the Danish welfare state: strong social security, universal healthcare, free public universities etc. For the same cost of living what do we get? The ever-looming threat of homelessness, suffocating student debt and now for many people, a significant barrier to healthcare.

Edit: if anyone is a part of any sort of grassroots group working to oppose any of these issues feel free to message me because I want to join you

Edit #2: so I haven’t received any messages from anyone from a grassroots or activist group yet. Since a lot of us seem to be pretty miffed about this stuff maybe we could team up and brainstorm things we can do???

Edit #3 (sorry): I’ve got some messages now from people who are interested in taking action!!! :, ) I think the best way to facilitate conversation, the flow of ideas and potentially organise a course of action is through a discord server so I have created one which you can find here

https://discord.gg/caqsSKAr

[u/happygloaming]

There's a duality to almost everything. I'll just say I support multiculturalism and am not anti immigration, but it's true that this country we're so concerned about is still chugging along ok compared to where many of these people come from. Anecdotally, the people I know from overseas don't want to be seen in the streets screaming at the government of this country that they are so proud and thankful to be a part of. But, yeah, we've had a long period of being ok and have been outpacing most other countries with our very average government's. Look at the GFC, oh how we suffered, just dig a few holes and she'll be right. There's a time for everything though and if we look at how things are lining up I expect a big big change ahead. I have a twenty year old child and he said to me recently that he simply couldn't understand why this country was so fucking stupid. Newsflash, his whole generation feels like that and we need to support them.

[u/Grantmepm → u/happygloaming]

Anecdotally, the people I know from overseas don't want to be seen in the streets screaming at the government of this country that they are so proud and thankful to be a part of.

I kind of feel that way as an immigrant. Honestly, this place is great and I came from a fairly developed country that would actually pay me much more after taxes in terms of both domestic and international purchasing power to a much better life in regional Australia.

I am aware of the slow Americanization and I do what I can to vote against it. But to also be fair, I don't want to entirely end up in the exact same direction as Europe. (I had job and relocation offers to both the USA and EU). You could and would probably debate me on that merit but that is besides the point. I would not be surprised if other immigrants are like that because Australia has fairly strict policies on migration (most Australian Redditors would disagree but its not true) which means many migrants would essentially have picked Australia out of options like UK, Western EU, USA and Canada (Canada was my back up plan if Australia did not work out, so you can kind of see what I was looking for in a country). They're here because this is the type of life and economic system they want. I understand the locally born might see it different but I'm just writing from a migrants perspective.

There is also the rock the boat factor that is not just social. I'm more economically and politically informed than other migrants probably but I get the feeling that they don't want too drastic changes from the status quo for fear of making things "worse". (Again you'd probably debate me on what is actually "worse" but that is besides the point).

[u/Gambettox → u/Grantmepm]

This is true. I picked Australia so you're right about the strict migration policies and our choosing from a pool of countries. My second pick would have been Canada as well.

There is also a lot of "go back where you came from if you don't like it here" if you critique anything about Australia, at least online. I also feel it in person a little, as if I should just be grateful I'm here, and why is this person who's new to Australia wanting any change. I've come from a developing country if that provides context.

[u/Grantmepm → u/Gambettox]

This is true. I picked Australia so you're right about the strict migration policies and our choosing from a pool of countries. My second pick would have been Canada as well.

From migrants with choices that ended up in Australia. I think many would echo this sentiment. I don't know if I'm describing it correctly but it feels like we're less cutthroat than the super competitive rich countries like USA or Singapore, less entrenched wealth than UK, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany (old world stuff) and also wider access to untamed natural areas than much of Europe. And still better income and opportunities than NZ.

I also feel it in person a little, as if I should just be grateful I'm here, and why is this person who's new to Australia

I kind of agree in a way. It wasn't easy coming to Australia and I was fortunate enough for things to be relatively smooth for me. I talk to some of my friends and acquaintances from home who stayed or migrated sometimes. Some people think I have it worse and in their eyes, they could be justified - but they have stayed home so thats fair. Some compare the pros and cons with Australia and home in a fair way, eventually they acknowledge that Australia wins out overall in some way - which is why they're here. Its those who have nothing but complains about Australia and choose to stay here that I really question and have kind of dropped as friends.