FORGET the lucky country - Australia has been branded the land of the great, big rip-

[csv8]

Australia: From lucky country to land of rip-offs
by: Karen Collier From: The Courier-Mail December 14, 2011 12:00am


Date/Time: 2011:12:13 21:13:48

FORGET the lucky country - Australia has been branded the land of the great, big rip-off.

Staples such as fruits and vegetables are several times more expensive than in Europe; DVDs and books can be bought far cheaper offshore; the same cars cost twice as much compared with overseas and housing is less affordable than some of the world's biggest cities, says a Centre for Independent Studies report.

The pro-business think-tank wants property stamp duty axed or slashed and first home buyer grants and negative gearing scrapped to reduce the cost divide, claiming the policies have added to the housing affordability crisis.

And it says import restrictions should be dropped for bananas, cars and books.

The paper labels the nation one of the priciest on the planet, blaming successive governments for key essentials now being steeper than in London, New York and Singapore.


"That Australia is now one of the most expensive addresses on the planet was by no means unavoidable ... what we got instead is a country in which both products and land are much more expensive than in most other countries."

But a federal government spokesman said tariffs had been progressively reduced over three decades to promote free trade and lower consumer goods prices, and that a strong biosecurity and quarantine system was needed for imported-food risks.

Personal tax cuts, higher pensions and other policies had eased cost pressures.

The CIS researchers examined price data for bananas, books, cars, real estate and some retail goods.

They found houses that once cost three times the median household income were now up to nine times that.

Retail rip-offs driven by high rents, outlandish CBD carparking rates and restrictive planning and zoning regulations pushed shoppers to foreign websites, they said.

Outdated copyright laws meant local stores regularly charged double or triple for books.

The report estimated car prices would fall by up to 50 per cent if import duties, the luxury car tax and bans on used vehicle imports were abolished.

[Iggypoppin']

Haha removing taxes? It'll never happen. When has the government ever implemented a tax then removed it? They sniff $100 bills and they won't want to give that up.

[Cheese3]

I have been saying this for years, i have recently came from backpacking around europe for 6 months and its amazing the price difference. I know its relative too what we earn but its still out of proportion. I buy everything for overseas now. 2 years ago i needed a new pair of snowboard boots, they were $400 in the shop in AUS and i got them for $120 inc postage from america. People can't justify the difference/rip off we get sluged with.

Oh and edit, If people start going blah blah keep the money on australia soil, i will when the goverment starts doing it. So im pretty safe with that bet.

[LTDHO]

Books I find are very cheap in the UK, but are we being ripped of by buying locally? No!
They earn less in the UK, so prices are comparable. We are lucky to be paid more here.
Then look at fuel cost in the UK, they pay a lot more than us.

I'm targeting UK based on my experience there and the english i have spoken too who have moved from UK to here.

[Luke Plaizier]

How is removal of 5% tariff (effectively now 3.5% since most cars are supplied from FTA countries) going to DROP the price of cars by 50%?

And how is it fair that countries like Japan, China and America all slug vehicle importers with 25% tariffs or more to protect THEIR manufacturers?

Our prices are geared to our dollar being around 65c to the US dollar. That's where our biggest problem lies - local prices haven't adjusted to allow for dollar fluctuations, and all importers have to pay Duty which private importers don't have to pay for goods under $900, which has guys Like Harvey Norman up in arms because he has to pay a tax that does not apply to goods purchased direct from overseas. So much so that he is looking to set up shop overseas just to compete.

And now, government has just back-benched the guy that has the Automotive Sector in his portfolio.

And I still think companies that import anything into Australia have to show that all of their employees get paid according to Australian Award Wage law. Otherwise why would companies stay in Australia if just by jumping to another country that law suddenly doesn't apply?


Lukeyson

[Nikked]

I'd rather see our car industry protected then have cheap BMW's avaiable.

[gcg2503]

Luxury items in the UK are close to 50% cheaper than here

I did 6 years in London and saved what would have taken 12 years + here

[pottery beige]

the average aussie is being taxed out of existance.....

[geckoGT]

Although this obviously affect the car industry here the topic is not solely automotive related so I have moved it to the Bar.

[BA GT-HO]

Originally Posted by Nikked

I'd rather see our car industry protected then have cheap BMW's avaiable.

No thanks.

Give me a cheap BMW.

Why do we the consumer get penalized to support an industry that is not viable and supplies us with a rubbish product made by pockets of lazy SOBs who want a cushy job for life, yearly pay rises and hide behind the union when they are questioned on their value to the business?

[flappist]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

the average aussie is being taxed out of existance.....

Well the problem is that the taxes are need to pay for:

Medicare.
All of the centrelink benefits.
The plethora of public servants.
The roads and other infrastructure.

The other reason why things are so expensive is:

Wages are so high with awards that allow even the most incompetent idiot to be given much more than they are worth.
Conditions such as sickies, 4 weeks hols with leave loading, unfair dismissal, workers comp etc etc.

I always find it amusing that those who scream about how expensive everything is in Australia are actually the REASON why everything is expensive in Australia.

There is this push to buy overseas and save money at the expense of Australian small business.

I wonder what the reaction to fly in fly out workers from Asia doing all the mine work at $200 a week? You know, like what happens in Europe etc.

Or how about all the union members in the cities being offered the same rate as they can get from overseas workers, take it or leave it. And if you leave it there is no dole just like USA and most of the rest of the world.

Things are expensive in Australia because it is full of Australians.........

[tweeked]

Yeah, we should organise our finances and tax systems just like Europe and America.

Hang on, they are all going broke

I dont think we have it far off the mark.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by BA GT-HO

No thanks.

Give me a cheap BMW.

Why do we the consumer get penalized to support an industry that is not viable and supplies us with a rubbish product made by pockets of lazy SOBs who want a cushy job for life, yearly pay rises and hide behind the union when they are questioned on their value to the business?

You heard it here first, Australian cars are rubbish and built by "lazy SOBs".

Im sure the 10000 odd people involved in australian car production would love to see you...

[ltd_on20s]

Originally Posted by flappist

Well the problem is that the taxes are need to pay for:

Medicare.
All of the centrelink benefits.
The plethora of public servants.
The roads and other infrastructure.

The other reason why things are so expensive is:

Wages are so high with awards that allow even the most incompetent idiot to be given much more than they are worth.
Conditions such as sickies, 4 weeks hols with leave loading, unfair dismissal, workers comp etc etc.

I always find it amusing that those who scream about how expensive everything is in Australia are actually the REASON why everything is expensive in Australia.

There is this push to buy overseas and save money at the expense of Australian small business.

I wonder what the reaction to fly in fly out workers from Asia doing all the mine work at $200 a week? You know, like what happens in Europe etc.

Or how about all the union members in the cities being offered the same rate as they can get from overseas workers, take it or leave it. And if you leave it there is no dole just like USA and most of the rest of the world.

Things are expensive in Australia because it is full of Australians.........

no.

Medicare.

it's the duty of the government to provide medical care and education free of charge to it's people. these are civic, moral and ethical duties that should be enforced by any government in the world. even gaddafi and saddam(not that i agree with all their policies) provided this for their people.

alcohol, and tobacco are two of our biggest financial and health problems, for the people and government.

" In the 10 years from 1995-96 to 2004-05 an estimated 813,000 Australians (aged 15 years and over) were hospitalised for alcohol-attributable injury or disease (Pascal, Chikritzhs & Jones 2009). "

fix that, you can clean up the health budget.

All of the centrelink benefits.

should be means tested, some will always try to rort the system, when found to be frauds, chuck them into the street.

The plethora of public servants.(and pollies)

wages should be cut, government officials should be banned from having wage increases any higher then cpi, lifetime super should be killed off, no pollies should be allowed to hold a job in any sector they have been involved in while in government for 5 years after they retire/get fired/kicked out.

EDIT- some pollies have jobs and contract work outside of government, while on the public payroll.

not only that, every single donation from anyone should be publicized and updated daily.

The roads and other infrastructure.

i already posted on this previously. less then 50% of all road revenue (road tolls, fines, levies, stamp duty rego's etc) goes back into roads and road infrastructure. where is the rest of it?

everything is expensive thats why people ask for wage increases.

"There is this push to buy overseas and save money at the expense of Australian small business"

well obviously when retailers want to make a 75% markup on everything.

EDIT- housing prices are also quite ludicrous.

you want cheaper stuff? you need 50 million plus people in australia. quantity sales equate to lower prices.

a tariff needs to be introduced on fast foot, and that should go to subsidizing healthy food.

and the lsit goes on.

but we keep sitting on our hands, and accepting useless government officials.

we get the leaders we deserve.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by BA GT-HO

Why do we the consumer get penalized to support an industry that is not viable and supplies us with a rubbish product made by pockets of lazy SOBs who want a cushy job for life, yearly pay rises and hide behind the union when they are questioned on their value to the business?

Looking at my company, we manufacture emergency vehicles.

I 100% agree, we do a real dodgy product in my eyes.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by ltd_on20s

no.

Medicare.

it's the duty of the government to provide medical care and education free of charge to it's people. these are civic, moral and ethical duties that should be enforced by any government in the world. even gaddafi and saddam(not that i agree with all their policies) provided this for their people.

alcohol, and tobacco are two of our biggest financial and health problems, for the people and government.

" In the 10 years from 1995-96 to 2004-05 an estimated 813,000 Australians (aged 15 years and over) were hospitalised for alcohol-attributable injury or disease (Pascal, Chikritzhs & Jones 2009). "

fix that, you can clean up the health budget.

All of the centrelink benefits.

should be means tested, some will always try to rort the system, when found to be frauds, chuck them into the street.

The plethora of public servants.(and pollies)

wages should be cut, government officials should be banned from having wage increases any higher then cpi, lifetime super should be killed off, no pollies should be allowed to hold a job in any sector they have been involved in while in government for 5 years after they retire/get fired/kicked out.

EDIT- some pollies have jobs and contract work outside of government, while on the public payroll.

not only that, every single donation from anyone should be publicized and updated daily.

The roads and other infrastructure.

i already posted on this previously. less then 50% of all road revenue (road tolls, fines, levies, stamp duty rego's etc) goes back into roads and road infrastructure. where is the rest of it?

everything is expensive thats why people ask for wage increases.

"There is this push to buy overseas and save money at the expense of Australian small business"

well obviously when retailers want to make a 75% markup on everything.

you want cheaper stuff? you need 50 million plus people in australia. quantity sales equate to lower prices.

a tariff needs to be introduced on fast foot, and that should go to subsidizing healthy food.

and the lsit goes on.

but we keep sitting on our hands, and accepting useless government officials.

we get the leaders we deserve.

Yep everyone else's fault but yours.......

[ltd_on20s]

Originally Posted by flappist

Yep everyone else's fault but yours.......

your opinion.

where did i blame everyone else?

[DJR-351]

And we wonder why the tourist industry is up the creek, i mean, why come to Australia just to be gouged.....!!

[Geez Louise]

Australia - The land where everyone has a go.....At you!


I went food shopping today and the prices here are disgusting. Much cheaper everywhere else in the world. When you have a monopolised system...prices will always creep up!

[Carby]

Originally Posted by flappist

Well the problem is that the taxes are need to pay for:

Medicare.
All of the centrelink benefits.
The plethora of public servants.
The roads and other infrastructure.

The other reason why things are so expensive is:

Wages are so high with awards that allow even the most incompetent idiot to be given much more than they are worth.
Conditions such as sickies, 4 weeks hols with leave loading, unfair dismissal, workers comp etc etc.

I always find it amusing that those who scream about how expensive everything is in Australia are actually the REASON why everything is expensive in Australia.

There is this push to buy overseas and save money at the expense of Australian small business.

I wonder what the reaction to fly in fly out workers from Asia doing all the mine work at $200 a week? You know, like what happens in Europe etc.

Or how about all the union members in the cities being offered the same rate as they can get from overseas workers, take it or leave it. And if you leave it there is no dole just like USA and most of the rest of the world.

Things are expensive in Australia because it is full of Australians.........

They do get the dole in the US - it's just not forever like here...........

[ltd_on20s]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

"Analysing the nation’s tax returns, the data revealed Australian workers paid more than $583 billion in tax in 2007-08, an increase of more than 9 per cent on the previous year."


that does not include fines / stamp duties/ fees / charges / levies etc etc etc.

that does not include tax paid by companies either.....

that also everyone elses fault but mine flappist? or can't you see we get taken for a ride because we don't actually ever do anything about it?

[BA GT-HO]

Originally Posted by Nikked

You heard it here first, Australian cars are rubbish and built by "lazy SOBs".

Im sure the 10000 odd people involved in australian car production would love to see you...

I said pockets of lazy SOBs, not all. You know the type. In fact I WORK WITH THEM!

Compared to BMWs they are rubbish.

And yes, I have owned a plethora of Fords and my parents have had various BMWs for 30 years.

[XC GXL]

I left Australia 23 years ago and have seen the cost of living increase dramatically while I have been away. I have been back twice (4½ years in total) to live in the last 6 years and found it hard.
Back in the late '80's/'90's Australia had a comparatively low cost of living compared to places like the UK (I know as when I came to the UK the first time I couldn't believe how expensive it was) but that has now changed.
I know a lot of Aussies who would love to leave but can't afford to (never asked why) and I also know a lot of Brits who have lived in Aus for years but can't afford to leave (again never asked why).
I think I'll be staying in the UK for the foreseeable future.

Wayne

[Work Horse]

I was speaking to a mate yesterday who is Portuguese. He lives here a lot of the time but had just spent six months back in Portugal. He reckons many people in Australia don't realise how well off we are.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by ltd_on20s

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

"Analysing the nation’s tax returns, the data revealed Australian workers paid more than $583 billion in tax in 2007-08, an increase of more than 9 per cent on the previous year."


that does not include fines / stamp duties/ fees / charges / levies etc etc etc.

that does not include tax paid by companies either.....

that also everyone elses fault but mine flappist? or can't you see we get taken for a ride because we don't actually ever do anything about it?

And where do you think these taxes are spent?

Your other remark about retailers and 75% margin shows just how out of touch you are with the real world.

Simple example:

You have a corner shop with 1 employee.

The employee earns $39,000 a year before tax ($750/wk or about $600 in the hand)

The employer pays $39,000 + 9% super ($3510) + workers comp premium (at least $1000) + 17.5% loading on hols ($525) + 4 weeks to a casual while the employee is on hols ($3500) plus various other fees, taxes and insurances.

So we now have a cost of this $600 per week employee of at least $46,535.

If there were no other costs such as rent, electricity, phone, internet, insurances, business fees, accountancy costs for BAS, interest on the money used to buy the stock etc. and the corner store guy has to sell:
@10% $450,000 or $8500 per week
@20% $225,000 or $4300 per week

You see where this is going.

But of course this is a 7 day a week store so actually you need at least 3 employees and there are penalty rates for after 5 and weekends so actually it costs 4 times as much.

Jeez 3 employees, $1,800,000 per year and of course the business owner who has all the risk is taking nothing.......oh and all the other overheads have just been forgotten.

Now lets just close the shop because everything is cheaper on line. Well not so good for the 3 unemployed people (and as the major employer in Australia is small business this might hurt).

So how do we fix this?

1) Buy Australian and pay a bit more to keep Australian is work.

2) Remove penalty rates, awards, super, workers comp, PAYG, sickies and all the other benefits and offer $7.25/hr http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._minimum_wages and everything else is the employee's problem.

Now the $46500 is only $15000 so @10% margin only $150,000 needs to be sold.

So would you like to cut your actual income to about 1/3 so everything can be cheap just like in USA?

[tranquilized]

Its a complex issue, and the issues Flappist has raised are very real.

But theres a lot of opportunism going on out there. The price of cars has been done to death on here. And property prices - the most expensive in the world in addition to by far the most stamp duty in the world. NZ has none!

Its the small consumer items that really tell the story - a can of coke in an australian servo is about $2.50? Under a dollar in the States. Are we really 150% better off with our higher wages and benefits?

Heres a clue: No

Thats not to say we should adopt the American way of doing things to lower our prices - they still wouldn't come close due to the size of our market and other reasons. But surely theres a middle ground. We're definitely getting ripped at every turn.

[Nikked]

I don't get the whinging, australia is an awesome place to be.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by tranquilized

Its a complex issue, and the issues Flappist has raised are very real.

But theres a lot of opportunism going on out there. The price of cars has been done to death on here. And property prices - the most expensive in the world in addition to by far the most stamp duty in the world. NZ has none!

Its the small consumer items that really tell the story - a can of coke in an australian servo is about $2.50? Under a dollar in the States. Are we really 150% better off with our higher wages and benefits?

Heres a clue: No

Thats not to say we should adopt the American way of doing things to lower our prices - they still wouldn't come close due to the size of our market and other reasons. But surely theres a middle ground. We're definitely getting ripped at every turn.

You do realise that the coke at the servo would be lots cheaper if the servo was only open 9am to 5pm on week days........

[tranquilized]

Originally Posted by flappist

You do realise that the coke at the servo would be lots cheaper if the servo was only open 9am to 5pm on week days........

You do realise that not every servo in the USA is open 9am to 5pm weekdays.....

[Kieron]

Isn't that a chicken and egg thing though flappist?

ie, To leverage the investment on infrastructure and running costs 24/7 of the fridge that houses that can of coke, the service station opens longer hours, therefore has more potential to sell that can of coke which would otherwise be only available for 8 hours a day.

Sure, an employee has to be there but of course it's more than just about selling that can of coke.

In my view, your right though and I believe Australia is still a very lucky country. I spent time in SE asia, in particular Maaysia where it smore or less a free for all, people who say Aus is a rip should check out how the likes of Malaysia works.