Australian Spending like its stuck in 2006

Not too concerned about the ghost cities. It's sunk cost, if people don't live in them it doesn't matter. At 6%+ GDP none of these things worry me much.

The biggest concern I have is the huge amount of debt China owes, as does Australia and Canada. Looks very reminiscent of the American and European economies a decade ago. If I'm not mistaken, China actually owes more debt than USA. And yes it's multiples bigger than the US reserves they hold.

Which means the 6% GDP growth is simply coming abouts through credit expansion - which then means indirectly this country's growth is driven by credit expansion. For a while that works and buys you time. At some point it stops working, otherwise every country would just print more notes to repay their debt. Lucky they still have a trade surplus but again is that debt funded? Very hard to understand the whole dynamics but something certainly seems amiss in China and the China-led countries (eg Aus, Canada, Korea).

 

On speaking to several tour guides as well as locals, it is amazing how quickly they are moving people into these apartment buildings.

Roads are the big thing that reminded me about how inefficient we are here. There were so many new roads and huge bridges under construction, everywhere as well. Hmmm.....how about we build roads before we need them....or maybe more than two lanes?

 

They were complaining about traffic when I was there and I was thinking this is nothing, it's a decent day in Sydney. I live about 30 minutes from our airport on a good run, took me 3 hours to get to international the day I left just before 6am!!!

Did you try the bullet train when you were there? Fantastic quick way to get from city to city. You can only dream of stuff like that here.

 

We're getting there, lots of transport and infrastructure spending in Sydney.
Could become the next QLD if the economy turns though.

 

No, we were with a tour group, flying & taking coaches around the place. I'm going to Japan in August though, with our eldest daughter & will be taking the train there.

They were always complaining about the traffic when we were there as well. I didn't think it was that bad either, although their following of the road rules is terrible.

 

I love to visit China again... I feel I am being left out here.
It's always fun and plenty of things to do at every hour of the day.
You can make it go as fast as you like or as easy as you want.
Some days, you can be in like NY style fast lane, then the next day - its like you have been transported back 300 years back to Ming Dynasty.

Back to Australia - we can only dream of it or in the dream times.
Hopefully we get a massive crash as Australia just need a bloody wake up call.

 

The closest I got to China was the local dine in/take away restaurant where I usually order the deep fried dim sims.

Over in the mainland I hear the cuisine is a little more varied.

Ruff Ruff. lol.

 

There is a secret way to change this. Don't live in Sydney. I try to avoid even visiting the place.

 

We just need another 100 million people and we'll get one.

Or; fund it by paying a lot more tax now, or take a lot of money away from other things we spend money on.

$200m proposed for crocodile rangers in the NT and other sensible programs..would be a good start.

 

What the government should do is stop the handouts and subsidiaries to people and various corporation.
Drop all that and just give everyone a tax rate of 15% regardless of where you are. People will work for a wage when they have nothing and can get money knowing it isn't taxed to the hill.

Unfortunately, the Australia I know now is stuck in the nanny situation and can't get off that.
Sad state of affair...

 

I agree, except the boat has sailed, but I guess if looking for future stability I would pick Melbourne for long term growth

 

What's your recommendation for old style Aussie Chinese?
The type with the orange coloured sweet & sour pork, beef & black bean and mongolian lamb?

 

You're description is making my mouth water!

Hmmm...don't forget the garlic king prawns.

If the restaurant has red coloured wallpaper then I know it's gonna be genuine Chinese cuisine!

 

I think we all need to remember that public infrastructure projects in countries with 1400m people move a lot quicker than ones woth 24m people like ours.

In fact, only Aus and Canada really have to deal with the challenge of having such a low populaion distributed over such a large geography.

It is not viable or affordable to build so many roads and trains over these large countries for such small rural populations.

Furthermore, when did we decide that endless development of roads is the right thing for a country of our low population?

As regional populations continue to move to cap cities (since many of their regional jobs are drying up) the only infrastructure projects worth investing in are really the urban projects.

Look at the cities in Australia ranked #10 - #30 in population size. How many of those 20 cities/regional towns have sustainable, growing, multi-diverse economies with actual growing populations? And how many are declining?

China will pay the penalty for their excessive over-development and money printing. They will pay it in many ways as they breach several tipping points: environmental ones, food-security ones, over-population ones (even though statistically they are an ageing population like ours, the relaxation of the one child policy is seeing for an emerging baby boom again).

My two cents? We here in Aus seem fixated on this idea that our (and other) countries' prosperity is heavily dependent on China's success. And that may be true to a degree for now. At least if you are playing the short game.

But I think it'll flip, and in my lifetime. China will eventually become more dependent on everyone else as it struggles to feed itself with nutritional, contamination-free food. Food security is the long game and that is where Aus has a chance to play to win.

China has already over-fished its own coastlines (legally and illegally - some scary Netflix documentaries I have watched confirm this) and is looking to secure as much new fish-able ocean as possible (Spratly islands, arctic fishing route claims). People think it is about the shipping routes. That is only partially true. For every extra piecd of ocean it secures, China gets more fishing waters to exploit.

China has started diverting major rivers that flow to southern countries (meaning the Vietnams, Thailands etc. Lose out when their rivers grt cut off). This is done in pursuit of fresh water security. They don't want the fresh arctic waters that melt and trickle down from Russia, to leave through the south of China.

In major agricultural areas in China, the water, soil, and air are so polluted now that once-arable farmlands are no longer producing the crops they need.

China's food security issues are driving it to future-plan and prepare for a hungry country. Once people go hungry too long, civil unrest ensues, and things only get worse from there. This is why they are buying agricultural land, farms, food products, and anything food-relevant, now, from around the world before **** hits the fan. China basically owns much of west Africa's arable farmland. Though the deals with those governments meant that local workers were protected and some food needed to stay in Africa, much of it now goes directly back to China.

Countries that can find a way to "sell them the milk, but not the whole damned cow" will do well.

Enter Australia, Spain, NZ, Brazil and other countries with mass-swathes of exportable agricultural capabilty, and our economy will come good again full circle. Who cares if we can no longer sell China metals and minerals they now no longer need, when we can sell them so much food and foodstuffs to replace the mining revenue anyway?

Providing... of course, well sell them the food from the farm but not the whole farm. If we sell the goose that lays the golden eggs, we will be idiots, then we will deserve whatever economic consequences may ensue. ..

 

2006 was a year of highs and lows for many :

- Cycle Larry wrecks NQ, along with its banana industry
- We lost Steve Irwin, Peter Brock, Pro Hart and Harry Siedler
- Yellow Wiggle gets replaced (the first time)
- Eddy McGuire became CEO of Channel 9
- Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard seize leadership of federal opposition
- Melbourne hosts the Commonwealth Games
- Qld starts the first year of their long winning streak in State of Origin
- Australia win the Ashes on home soil
- Socceroos perform well at the World Cup
- Fields of Omagh wins his second Cox Plate
- No 1 song was “I wish I was a Punk Rocker With Flowers in My Hair”
- ASX 200 closes at 5411.02
- Annual Median House Price was $521,500 (Sydney) $415,000 (Perth)
- Last Blue Heelers episode goes to air

 

Good stuff.
We used to have one here, but they finally closed and became another indian restaurant.
Too many authentic choices in Ashfield, need the old style fix!

 

Nothing to do with population. The Chinese are just good at running societies. Don't seem the same enthusiasm for say Indian infrastructure

 

The Yellow Wiggle was replaced?

 

Sure. Founding member Greg Page stood down on health grounds and was replaced as lead singer by Sam Moran. How could you forget this significant event ? Lol

 

I feel like I'm suffering from some kind of Amnesic Deja Vu, ie. I'm unsure, but I think I might have forgotten this before.

The next thing you'll tell me is Argentina has invaded the Falklands, or even worse, ACDC has hired Axl Rose as it's lead singer...