Guys, guys, guys, most of the points made here are generic, nothing special to Australia.

Big houses, greed, world economy, immigration, pop growth, taking vacations. The same happened in all developed countries, yet Australia has passed the same countries for cost of living in the last 20 years. I find Americans and Canadians have bigger houses on the whole than Aussies. And yeah, right, there is no greed in Europe and N.A, only in Australia...

I sort of see the link between the 17% interest rates during the Hawke era and the subsequent rush to over-commit for over-sized houses. But that cannot explain the whole picture. For instance rates were high in North America at the time as well.

Plus people being strapped into mortgages would not spend as much on other goods, so the prices should not have gone up in other areas.

Perhaps some sort of a coincidence thing between the housing scam and disastrous relaxation related to foreign investments, leading to monopolies, etc.
Not sure.

russh said...

You sound like my dad 30 years ago

Huge country - transport everything - fuel

Small population - spread over that huge country

Import everything electrical - and have to have the latest

Some of the highest relative wages and workcover costs

Too many layers of government

Export and Make maximum profit for major corps and send profits overseas

Grin and bare it - it aint gonna get cheaper

Its probably worse for those in Sydney - one of the worlds most expensive places to live

If its too much buy a shack in the back of bourke hunt and grow your own food and sell some rabbits for some coopers brew kit

Huh, I can afford quite well, I bought my abodes when it was cheaper long time ago, but it still brings the question.

The points you make make no sense: Australia was just as big 30 years ago, look it up. And there were the same layers of gov't when Australia was comparatively cheaper - go ask your daddy.

Have to have the latest - this is common to all western countries. Import everything: always was the case. Australia was also an island then.

Anyone else ?

A doc once said to me "the world is full of dickheads, idiots and arseholes" pretty close to the truth, good people are a dieing breed! natural selection has changed with mans evolution.

Mine only cost $12.oo on ebay

It's expensive because we are used to it. That's it. That's your answer.

I can order anything over the web, get it shipped to me across the world as an individual package, for half the price I can buy it in a shop here, or less. I've ordered a part from Hong Kong that got sent to me for a grand total of 50c, shipping and all. That's cheaper than sending an empty envelope next door.

If I owned a shop here and could sell it for double I would. And they do. They're mad not to if we'll keep on buying it, and we do.

I've watched my local Farmers' Markets go from being really cheap to expensive as it became more popular. Because it could.

Don't go blaming the latest electro gadgets, they are cheap. A TV is still the same price it was in the 80's (could you even buy a 46"?), and we earn a lot more nowadays.

The only reason things are expensive here is because we are used to it, it's what we'll pay, and the business owner is obliged to make as much profit as they can, that's what businesses are for, remember.

I suspect the internet will drastically change things over the next 5 years, as it was supposed to since the mid 90's.

pierrec45 said...

russh said...

You sound like my dad 30 years ago

Huge country - transport everything - fuel

Small population - spread over that huge country

Import everything electrical - and have to have the latest

Some of the highest relative wages and workcover costs

Too many layers of government

Export and Make maximum profit for major corps and send profits overseas

Grin and bare it - it aint gonna get cheaper

Its probably worse for those in Sydney - one of the worlds most expensive places to live

If its too much buy a shack in the back of bourke hunt and grow your own food and sell some rabbits for some coopers brew kit

Huh, I can afford quite well, I bought my abodes when it was cheaper long time ago, but it still brings the question.

The points you make make no sense: Australia was just as big 30 years ago, look it up. And there were the same layers of gov't when Australia was comparatively cheaper - go ask your daddy.

Have to have the latest - this is common to all western countries. Import everything: always was the case. Australia was also an island then.

Anyone else ?

well stop being such an arrogant d!ck and please enlightenus all - its obvious you have all the answers

This is a perfect example. There is no excuse for the price difference. Nothing.

Albums on iTunes for Australians: $17
For Americans: $10

Solution:

Sign out of your iTunes shop account (Store > Sign Out)
Setup a new account with your address in America.

You can switch back and forth between the accounts. You won't lose anything.



pro tip: you can even use the same gmail account; joe.bloggs@gmail.com = joebloggs@gmail.com = j.o.e.bloggs@gmail.com, gmail ignores the dot.

russh said...

pierrec45 said...

russh said...

You sound like my dad 30 years ago

Huge country - transport everything - fuel

Small population - spread over that huge country

Import everything electrical - and have to have the latest

Some of the highest relative wages and workcover costs

Too many layers of government

Export and Make maximum profit for major corps and send profits overseas

Grin and bare it - it aint gonna get cheaper

Its probably worse for those in Sydney - one of the worlds most expensive places to live

If its too much buy a shack in the back of bourke hunt and grow your own food and sell some rabbits for some coopers brew kit

Huh, I can afford quite well, I bought my abodes when it was cheaper long time ago, but it still brings the question.

The points you make make no sense: Australia was just as big 30 years ago, look it up. And there were the same layers of gov't when Australia was comparatively cheaper - go ask your daddy.

Have to have the latest - this is common to all western countries. Import everything: always was the case. Australia was also an island then.

Anyone else ?

well stop being such an arrogant d!ck and please enlightenus all - its obvious you have all the answers

What makes you think I have answers? I was asking a dinkum question.

I was only pointing out to you that the size of Australia has not changed that dramatically in the last 30 years, that's all.

Anyhow, back to actual contributors on comparative CHANGES in the last 30 years, we're getting actual interesting clues, with a couple of posters (Formula above, Mark, couple others) relating negative gearing to housing to Hawke's changes, etc. Interesting stuff.

I'll bet you there's no real equivalent in the US, Canada, UK, Europe, therefore looks like good ideas...

Subsided first homes, booming prices on oil and minerals.



Combine that with a government that wont stop grant mining and drilling permissions until whole Australia looks like a Swiss cheese and the coastline is covered with oil and u have a pretty fast running economy that depends on China.


Australia is pretty much like Norway, everything is expensive but it does not matter since everybody earns ****loads and many of the lower paid jobs are done by immigrants.

scott265 said...

evlPanda said...

EVERYTHING is half price overseas.

It's still half price if you post it across, as an individual item. I don't know what excuse retail has that isn't bull****.

Many products are more than overprice and then sold a huge discounts to make the buyer feel pleased. The price paid after discount is only what the product should have been worth to start with.

So true, you reckon these morons who line up for hours outside Myer waiting for the 'Sales' are getting bargains...of course not. Myer, DJ's etc buy in a heap of cheap quality stuff for the sales, are able to price it lower than the normal stuff and buyers thinks they are getting a bargain but in reality are paying over the odds anyway

HugoH said...

Subsided first homes, booming prices on oil and minerals.

WTF you mean my first home is going to SINK !!!?!?! What do I do about it?

btw this thread had wheezed it's last, why resurrect it a month later?

IMO there's heaps of reasons above why the overall cost of living has risen, inflation etc, but I do really hate that nowdays there's people that own 5+ negatively geared houses and others who cant afford 1 area of living space to live in.

It's just plain greedy!

Another reason could be that we allow all our assets to be flogged off and we "locals" get the scraps. On 6PR talkback yesterday they had the head of the farmers federation explaining why we are paying so much for local produce and why these costs will skyrocket in the near future. The government, in their wisdom, allows any foreign purchase of land under $231 million (per purchase) virtually unregulated so any country can buy Ozzy farms freehold, put in their own workers, plant crops, harvest and send the produce back to their country for nothing. This is happening all over Oz and farms are being purchased at an alarming rate. Can't blame the battling Oz farmer who has been taxed and regulated out of business and takes the money and retires. In a very short time we will have a lot of our farmland sending good produce overseas for next to nothing and the demand increasing here which will send the prices through the roof.

Gunna1 said...

Another reason could be that we allow all our assets to be flogged off and we "locals" get the scraps. On 6PR talkback yesterday they had the head of the farmers federation explaining why we are paying so much for local produce and why these costs will skyrocket in the near future. The government, in their wisdom, allows any foreign purchase of land under $231 million (per purchase) virtually unregulated so any country can buy Ozzy farms freehold, put in their own workers, plant crops, harvest and send the produce back to their country for nothing. This is happening all over Oz and farms are being purchased at an alarming rate. Can't blame the battling Oz farmer who has been taxed and regulated out of business and takes the money and retires. In a very short time we will have a lot of our farmland sending good produce overseas for next to nothing and the demand increasing here which will send the prices through the roof.

do you have any examples of this?

Just asking.