[solzh]

> Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people's ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lucky_Country

[fighterpilot]

Australia doesn't have to be competent, it can just dig up its vast mineral wealth, share the riches among its very small population, and think that skill and competence had something to do with it.

By comparison, I'm amazed at places like South Korea, Japan and Israel that get by on sheer innovation and technology.

[mmerlin]

The "small population" who benefit most are the corrupted politicians and mining magnates. and their hangers-on.

Average Australians (including heavy manufacturers) often pay approximately double for our own gas, than Japan and China do, even when liquefaction and transport are included.

Victoria is looking to build a gas import terminal to re-purchase Australian gas via a 3rd party country, and this will actually save money, because the system is that bad and Liberal govt refuses to activate the "gas reservation" law they passed in parliament (but never called into action) as a warning to the gas cartel to slightly reduce the price gouging.

As another example, Qatar exports less volume of gas than Australia but their country earns 2000% more royalties that Australia because of our self-interest-first political class playing the "game of mates" for cushy jobs (board of directors etc) for these traitors post-politics.

Norway is a much better example of how to do things with less corruption than Australia.

They created a sovereign wealth fund that has saved well over $100 Billion.

Australia in contrast voted in Tony Abbott whose platform consisted of "ax the mining tax" and like sheep people voted for it to save money for the magnates and collect even less resource taxes for the benefit of all.

Australia does have a "future fund" of saved cash but that is ONLY for politician's financial benefit, not the population in general.

[nsonha]

a very unfair characterization of Australia, we also invest heavily in institutional education, as an export, wine producing, tourism and other pretentious things like that.

You see innovation is about profit margin, technology is for China and that kind of countries.