Archive for the 'Facts About Australia' Category

Australia Voted the World’s 3rd Most Friendliest Nation

Published on December 26, 2009 in Facts About Australia. 0 Comments Tags: .

According to Forbes magazine only Bahrain and Canada are happier nations than the people from the land Down Under:

Canada, which ranked first in a similar survey last year, fell to second place on HSBC’s integration score, which measures how easily foreigners and their families can settle into a new country. Australia, Thailand and Malaysia rounded out the top five. Foreign workers in these countries found it easy to make local friends and said they enjoyed a higher quality of life than in their native countries.  [Forbes]

I have actually been to a number of the countries in the Top 10 of this list and can vouch that places like Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong are quite “happy” places to visit.  For those wondering the US was number 10 and unsurprisingly only one European nation, Spain made the list.

You can view the Top 10 here.

Australian Homes the Largest Per Capita In the World

Published on December 6, 2009 in Facts About Australia. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Australians are now not only supposedly fatter than Americans, but even have bigger homes:

Australia has overtaken the United States, the heartland of the McMansion, to boast the world’s largest homes, according to a report by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Research commissioned by the bank’s broking arm, CommSec, shows the Australian house has grown on average by 10 percent in the past decade to 214.6 square meters (2,310 sq ft) — nearly three times the size of the average British house.

By contrast, the average size of new homes started in the United States in the September quarter was 201.5 square meter (2,169 sq ft), down from 212 square meter (2,282 sq ft), with the average U.S. home shrinking for the first time in a decade due to the recession.  [Reuters]

What Australian Men Think

Published on July 23, 2009 in Facts About Australia. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Do you have an Australian boyfriend and do you ever wonder what is on his mind?  Well wait no longer because the truth has come out:

THE majority of Australian men can’t get no satisfaction, but for many it may be due to their own shortcomings with half saying they would like a larger penis.

The modern Aussie bloke is a fickle beast with a survey showing that while many men appear to be embracing traditional values, they also harbour thoughts of infidelity and would dump their girlfriend if she put on too much weight.

The survey by online magazine AskMen.com found that 46 per cent of Australian males believe that being a good father or husband that takes care of his family is what makes a man “manly”.

They are a sensitive lot too with 94 per cent of the 1500 Australian men taking part in the global survey saying it’s okay for men to cry.

More than half (58 per cent) lamented a decline in moral standards in business and more than 70 per cent believe in the institution of marriage.

But while it appears there has been a re-emergence of traditional values, 69 per cent of men also fantasise about sleeping with their partner’s friends, and 44 per cent admit they would dump their girlfriend if she became fat.  [AAP]

Click the link to read the article, but I am curious to what the same survey would find with American men?

Lesbians Win Right To Women Only Parties in Australia

Published on July 23, 2009 in Facts About Australia. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Australian lesbians have won the right to have women only parties Down Under:

A PARTY company specialising in dances for lesbians and bisexual women has won the legal right to ban men.

Pinkalicious was given the green light to stop men because they might pester women for sex.

Director Julie MacKenzie hailed the VCAT decision a landmark, saying it made Pinkalicious the only women-only party in Australia, the Herald Sun reports.

Ms MacKenzie complained to the tribunal she couldn’t stop men attending the parties “even if I know they intend to hit on women”.

Fellow organiser Samantha Stevens argued men should be banned because they would be intimidating and deter lesbian and bisexual patrons.

“In my experience feminine lesbians are often the target of heterosexual male fantasy, and therefore subject to more intrusive attention from them,” Ms Stevens said.

“It is a major concern that heterosexual males will attend the Pinkalicious event in the hope they can achieve their desire for a sexual experience with multiple women.”  [Herald-Sun]

Personally I have no problems with lesbians wanting women only parties, but what I am wondering is what would the reaction be if a party organizer wanted to discriminate not on gender, but on race?

Australian Expats Among the Richest in the World

Published on July 14, 2009 in Facts About Australia. 0 Comments Tags: , .

So says this survey from HSBC Bank Australia:

AUSTRALIAN expatriates are among the richest in the world, with one in five earning more than $US250,000 ($322,000) a year.

But almost a third are planning to return home, blaming global economic turmoil for limiting their career prospects.

Research by HSBC Bank Australia, based on a survey of 3100 expats working in 50 countries, found Australians working overseas are living the good life, whereas foreign expats working in Australia have the lowest salaries of all the countries surveyed.

Almost half, or 46 per cent, of Australian expats have an extra $US4000 or so in disposable income each month and have hired help such as nannies or cleaners.

However, foreign expats in Australia are the poorest of those surveyed, with 63 per cent earning less than $US100,000 a year.

Graham Heunis, the head of personal finance services at HSBC Australia, said expats in Russia, Asia and the Middle East were the highest paid, with those in Belgium and Australia the poorest. [Herald-Sun]

When I was an expat in Australia I can assure you that I wasn’t making over $100,000 a year that’s for sure.  Good on ya if you can make that kind of money though even if you have to live overseas.

Which Australian Workers Has the Most Sex?

Published on July 12, 2009 in Facts About Australia. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

You won’t believe the answer:

AS SEXY workers go, the humble butcher doesn’t immediately jump to mind.

But a recent survey of Australian workers has revealed that butchers are the happiest employees in the workforce - and they’re having the most sex, The Daily Telegraph reports.

A Galaxy poll of consumers, which rated the perceived happiness and job satisfaction of a range of professionals, ranked butchers as the most friendly and contented.

Thirty per cent of consumers perceived butchers as happy with their jobs - a figure confirmed by 76 per cent of butchers surveyed who reported feeling healthier, laughing more at work and having more sex than other workers interviewed.

Service station attendants, bank tellers and sandwich hands featured at the lower end of the survey, with less than 10 per cent of consumers perceiving them as happy at work.

Butchers are having 60 per cent more sex than other workers.

More than half the 295 butchers surveyed had no sick leave last year and 60 per cent described their work as fun.  [The Australian]

Judging by the butchers I see over at the Victoria Market in Melbourne is sure doesn’t appear those guys are having as much fun as this article claims.

Picture of the Day: Becoming an Australian Citizen

Published on July 12, 2009 in Facts About Australia. 0 Comments Tags: , , .


Australian citizens … Brisbane Lord Mayor Frank Roberts guides men and women who took the oath of citizenship at City Hall, Brisbane, on June 9, 1954. Picture: The Courier-Mail Photo Archive.

You can view more pictures here.

Working Holiday Visa In Australia Opens to US Citizens

Published on July 10, 2009 in Facts About Australia. 0 Comments Tags: .

For those Americans that are interested in spending some time Down Under, but don’t have the money to do it; well Australia’s working holiday visa program may just be your ticket to the fun and sun of the Land of Oz:

Australia recently opened up their working holiday visa program to U.S. citizens, which means young folk (18-30) can head Down Under, get a job and stay awhile. Forget stuffing envelopes or waiting tables back at home. If you are going to have a bad job, it may as well be overseas, right?

Especially for those who are trying to avoid being yet another causality to the poor economy, these working holiday visas could be the perfect way to sweat out the economic crisis and get in some traveling while you are at it.

With plenty of good paying jobs (mostly on farms or in the service/tourism industry), there are a ton of great opportunities for those looking to pick up some work to fund their adventures as they travel. In fact, with fruit picking jobs and the like offering nearly $17/hour, with just a few months of work with few living expenses could fund several more months of gallivanting around the islands off the Queensland coast, hoping over to New Zealand and getting into trouble all around Oz.  [BootsNall Travel]

Read the rest of the article to find out a whole lot more information about the working holiday visa and how to apply if you are interested.

Picture of the Day: $32,000 Australian Opal

Published on July 9, 2009 in Facts About Australia. 0 Comments Tags: .

Via Fortress Australia.

Australian Government Moves to Close Uluru Climb

Published on July 8, 2009 in Facts About Australia. 2 Comments Tags: , .

I actually posed the question back in April about whether or not it is ethical to climb to the top of Uluru.  Well now it appears there is a new push to claim it is not ethical:


THE Northern Territory Labor government and the federal opposition are furious with a federal plan to close the climb to the top of Uluru, saying Peter Garrett is slamming the gate on a world famous tourism experience.

A 10-year draft management plan for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, released yesterday, indicates the days of climbing the rock are coming to an end: “For visitor safety, cultural, and environmental reasons, the director and the board will work towards closure of the climb,” it says.

Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said the closure was Environment Minister Peter Garrett’s idea. “Under the Garrett plan, visitors from around Australia and the world would be stopped from completing the majestic and exhilarating journey,” Mr Hunt said.

“I have always suspected that closing the rock to walkers was on Labor’s agenda. Today we see the start of their plan to end one of the great tourism experiences in Australia.

“The Prime Minister cannot allow Peter Garrett to go ahead with his plan to close the climb.”

Kevin Rudd’s office said it was for Mr Garrett to comment. Mr Garrett refused to give his view and his office said he was waiting for public feedback.

About 100,000 people — a third of the visitors to Uluru-Kata Tjuta — climb the rock each year, despite signage from traditional owners asking them not to do so. Park managers say they are tired of rescuing people who panic and freeze halfway up the climb. [The Australian via Andrew Bolt]

This goes back to what I said in my earlier posting that the Aborigines cultural concerns has to do with people who are not fit enough to climb the rock:

When I went to Uluru I asked one of the local Anangu people if his people would be really offended if I climbed the rock.  He said the local Aborigines actually don’t mind people climbing the rock, but they just try to discourage people from climbing rock in effort to get people who may be elderly or out of shape from climbing up the rock and killing themselves from exhaustion or heat stroke.  He said that when someone dies on the rock the locals have to conduct an elaborate ceremony so that the spirit of the deceased person leaves the rock.  This is highly annoying to them when they have to do it over and over again because of people who shouldn’t be trying to climb the rock in the first place die for whatever reason.

This is a perfectly legitimate concern.  However, I thought this at the time and I don’t understand why the federal government doesn’t think about this either, but why not have all climbs to the top of the rock be by guided tour only?  It still allows people to climb the rock while at the same giving the traditional owners discretion on telling people who are unfit to climb to turn around.  Best yet it provides more employment for local Aborigines.  It seems like a win-win for everyone involved.