[gravypod]

Australia is a different case due to the lack of many urban areas. If development where allowed to continue at a faster pace with no red tape most of Australia could no doubt be turned into an economic super power much like Japan. The country is huge, has an extremely smart population, and is already known for engineering prowess. The heel that is Australia's weakness is high import tariffs on pretty much anything, poor ISP quality due to monopolies, and a select few urban areas.

This is also coupled with how great of a place Australia is to live to create a pretty high bar in housing prices. To be honest, if some things where changed about Australia I'd move there. It's got low crime, great politics so far, and a lot of things I like. It's just too focused on a select few areas and too pricey.