Big Australia (ABC Documentary)

[Cazza]

'We've done an abysmal job': Australia is struggling to handle its swelling population

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-12/australia-is-struggling-to-handle-its-swelling-population/9535116

A really interesting article here on the ABC about Australia lacking in infrastructure for the future. There are some great (and also very scary) points of public transport and commuting in general.

The full program I do believe is tonight at 8:30 on ABC.

I'm sure many here would be quite interested in it.

[techblitz]

yep will be watching.....probably wont learn anything as i've been aware of the basic issues for 2+ years.....
Anyone following ONP/KAP,SAP or dick smith would be just as aware....

Sadly a vast majority of Blue/Red/Greens supporters are oblivious......falling hook,line,sinker for the classic morrison punchline:
'World leading population growth is in australias best interests'...either that or they are simply afraid too afraid to talk about the issue for fear of being branded the 'R' word.

Go to http://macrobusiness.com.au
The chief editor has been pushing hard on the issue for years as well....has been getting a lot of coverage in the conservative media of late(sky/2gb/Andrew bolt)

Some of todays articles:

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/03/alan-kohler-australia-now-just-people-farming-economy/
https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/03/nsw-opposition-leader-calls-immigration-cut/

some of the regular commenters are hilarious...always joking....but pretty switched on when they are serious....you can learn a lot from that site...

[SurfRail]

The main thing I know from previously reading his articles is that like most economists, Leith knows bugger all about transport or anything else with a technical component.

Economics is not a discipline which gives you the credibility to hold forth on any topic that involves spending money, but many of them do crap on about stuff well outside their area of expertise (which is literally "why does this cost this much?" and nothing more).  Economics does not give one the ability for instance to determine whether a bus or a tram or a train or a rickshaw is better in any given application, but it doesn't stop them.

[techblitz]

He has never stated that he is a transport expert.
Just because he uses the term 'strain on public infrastructure/transort' in a lot of his articles....doesn't mean he is professing to be some messiah on transport issues...
Secondly whenever he does do an article covering transport.....he pulls out cold hard statistics to back up any arguments....

Most of his arguments are backed up with charts......he tends to spend most of his time analyzing the experts....counter acting their arguments......right now he is trying to pick ken henrys brain..

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/03/just-say-ken-henry-australia-needs-cut-immigration/

Expect to see more of Leith.....in fact it wont be long before he hits the MSM as the issue is brought further to light...

PS: Q&A will also be covering this issue tonight as well...

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Is Australia prepared for an exploding population influx?

AUSTRALIANS are feeling the pinch of more and more people every day, with ever-increasing commute times, packed buses and trains, lack of schools and unaffordable housing.

And with population growing at a rapid rate, with almost 400,000 additional people in the last year alone, experts have expressed fears the nation is headed for a fall and isn't prepared for the influx.

The populations of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth have expanded by nearly three million extra people in the last 10 years, with our nation expected to be a population of 40 million by the middle of the century.

Four Corners on Monday night delved into what a "Big Australia" would mean and the tough decisions that will be made if the population explodes as anticipated.

The investigation also revealed megacities are predicted to double their current size and our lack of preparation for such growth, how we got to this point, and if Australia needs a national population policy.

Sydney is on track to hit a population of around eight million in the middle of this century.

Perth will grow from just over two million to four and a half million.

Brisbane is projected to reach four million people — up from around up from 2.4 million.

"What we're facing now is a change in the face of our cities," Infrastructure Australia chief executive Philip Davies said.

"Cities such as Melbourne and Sydney becoming of the scale of global cities like London and Hong Kong.

"And then some of our slightly smaller capital cities, Perth and Brisbane, becoming in the future the same size as Melbourne and Sydney.

"So we need to up our game in terms of planning."

Former NSW Premier Bob Carr questioned what 'planning' would do to natural and beautiful spaces, referring certain methods to control population as creating a 'dystopia'.

"When you contemplate the eastern suburbs of Sydney, access to the beaches, which is a natural space, recreational space, what do you do?" Carr said.

"Do you have fences and turnstiles? When the population around Bondi, for example, reaches the sort of intensified level that means the roads are choked most days in summer, do you start to ration access to the coastal walking trails along the coast?

"And down the national park? Fences, turnstiles, online ticketing. I mean, that's the sort of dystopia that we can see coming at us through the mist."

If the population grew, experts argued there would be no choice but to expand and build, especially when it came to public transport networks.

Co-ordinator general at Transport for NSW Marg Prendergast told Four Corners Aussie's reliance on cars would need to change.

"We're doing everything we can to put public transport as a real option, because single car drivers are just not going to fit on the road in years to come," she said.

"We can't build ourselves out of this growth. We actually need to manage demand better. We want people to travel earlier, to travel a bit later."

NSW is working on getting employers to do shift work hours so that the traffic load can be spread across the day.

But if Melbourne and Sydney are going to become cities on the scale of London and Hong Kong, Ms Prendergast said much bigger changes were needed.

"London and Hong Kong cope because they've got amazing public transport systems. Here in Sydney, we're in catch-up mode."

State governments are also frantically finding a solution for the lack of schools, with Victoria estimating they would need to accommodate for 90,000 additional students over the next five years alone.

Population growth was a move encouraged by the Howard government, who urged parents to have more children.

But it was their immigration changes that created new visas to bring more migrants and skilled workers to Australia, taking off with the mining boom in 2006.

Recent figures show that 63 per cent of our population growth comes from immigration, and around 2.7 million people have been added to our population through migration alone since 2005.

Last month, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Australia should cut the permanent immigration by about half.

Treasurer Scott Morrison dismissed Abbott's claims, saying: "the hit to the budget of that would be about $4 billion to $5 billion over the next four years."

The Federal Government has cracked down on one sector of the immigration program in the way of temporary visas.

The list of approved jobs for foreign workers is much shorter and it is harder for them to stay and become permanent residents.

While that is easing population overflow, on the other hand businesses are worried with a bulk of their employees on temporary visas.

Demographer Dr Liz Allen said migrants were vital for the work force to function properly.

"Migrants are filling a need. The jobs that Australians don't want or are not skilled for," she said.

"And more importantly, immigrants actually drive up demand."

By mid-century, Treasury forecasts say there'll be twice as many of us over the age of 65, with four times as many over 85.

"A mega trend for the next 10, 15 years is of course, the transitioning of the Baby Boomers," demographer Bernard Salt said.

"Five million Baby Boomers coming out of the work force, take their tax paying capacity out. "Then they say, well thank you very much, I'll have an age pension.

"I'll have pharmaceutical benefits and anything else that's going. That is going to a major issue to manage."

Clarence City Council Alderman Doug Chipman argued that a large older population put too much demand on health care systems.

"In the last 30, 35 years, real public health expenditure on people aged 75 and over per person has increased sevenfold. Seven times," he said.

"We can deal with that if we've got a strong economy and if we've got the workers who are paying the taxes.

"They're gonna pay for the older people in the future. So the quality of life of older people in the future is contingent upon the current and future labour force."

To put it frankly, it was just too difficult to plan for it.

Kevin Rudd preached the idea of a Big Australia when he was in power, but the move was canned by Julia Gillard when she took over.

Demographer Liz Allen said that move showed it was too hard.

"It kind of signalled to me, as a demographer, that population was too hard. It was too divisive," she said.

"The anxiety in the groups that I was conducting at the time for Big Australia, was what's your plan here? You can have this bold pronouncement, but what's the pathway between where we are now, and where that's gonna be?" social researcher Rebecca Huntley said.

Since then, the projections are even higher than they were when Rudd was PM.

"We've done an abysmal job. You know, there has been really no serious integrated debate around all the key factors that population growth brings to our economy and our national way of life," Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willoz said.

"It's the Australian way. We just roll along. We don't think too hard about these problems and suddenly we're at a point now where some of our cities are really starting to stress so it's becoming a big problem."

The 'great Australian dream' is likely headed for an overhaul with the overwhelming population growth and demand for infrastructure.

Businessman Dick Smith said he saw "disaster" for the Australian "way of life" he grew up loving.

"Just near here, I used to go through here as a young boy, and there were lots of houses," he told the program.

"They are just around the corner there, they are gradually being knocked down.

"But that's where an Aussie family could live the Aussie dream, they could buy a house.

"You can't do that anymore. You're jammed like a termite in a high rise, or I say battery chooks."

But Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox had a more broad, open minded approach at the feared death of the 'Australian dream'

"Not everyone wants to live in a quarter acre block. Not everyone wants to live miles and miles and miles from where they work, which is the inevitable consequence of this," she said.

"But what we do need to do is to be able to give people choice.

"Affordable, realistic choice and that should be the goal of our policymakers. It's an issue of planning and planners need to get it right so that we are able to accommodate the needs of the community."

Originally published as Australia's expanding too fast to keep up

[#Metro]

Germany has 82 million people. France 67 and UK 66.
Let's not get started on the USA or Japan.

It can be dealt with and has been in the past.

Plenty of space in Canberra, Hobart, Darwin etc.

[not_available]

More people → Less train services?

[techblitz]

I was dumber for watching four corners last night......the real discussion happened on Q&A......where the general struggling public fielded some good questions for the panel...some good ideas raised......including the peak hour road congestion tolling....HSR was also discussed.
Bob Carr was on cue....love how he was highlighting the hypocrisy of certain incumbents with regards to building approvals in their own constituencies.

[Jonno]

I loved (sarcasm) the line that we just didn't predict what would happen! I got out of town planning 20 years ago because no one wanted to hear what was going to happen!! This is a failing of our political leaders! Still is to be honest!

[techblitz]

Bloomberg --> Angst Swells as Australian Population Nears 25 Million

Clare Wimshurst, who moved from London 4 1/2 years ago and settled in a Sydney suburb not far from Bondi, says the thing she misses most about the U.K. is the Tube, which even with its well-chronicled problems beats the transportation network in her adopted city.

Among the central questions are: How many people can the world's driest inhabited continent sustain, and are Australians willing to sacrifice their quality of life to see their economy grow? "The conversation in Australia is long overdue," says Liz Allen, a demographer and social researcher at the Australian National University in Canberra, adding it's bound to "be an uncomfortable one, no matter where you position yourself in that debate."

The consequences of curbing immigration could include falling house prices, reduced workforce participation as the population ages, and shrinking tax revenue. "Strong population growth is a key contributor to economic prosperity," says Su-Lin Ong, head of Australian economic and fixed-income strategy at Royal Bank of Canada. "We are mindful that the population debate is not simply economic, but we also worry that the economic discussion in this context can be distorted and diluted."

The antiforeigner sentiment that's brought Brexit and Donald Trump and propelled nationalists into office from Italy to Hungary is also resonating Down Under, where anti-immigration parties are picking up votes from the fringes. And in Australia, where voters rank candidates on a ballot in order of preference, fringe parties can influence the center.

For residents in cities that have traditionally ranked among the world's most livable, life is getting tougher. Home prices are high, roads clogged, classrooms overcrowded, and wages stagnant. Many Australians blame immigration—and inadequate planning to cope with it—for the problems.

[SurfRail]

I think incompetent planning has a lot more to do with it than the fact of the growth - that and the fact the government isn't prepared to mandate that immigrants live outside Melbourne and Sydney as a condition of their entry.

[techblitz]

indeed...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-30/enticing-migrants-to-the-regions-and-out-of-cities/10040146

In the last financial year, 101,255 migrants arrived in Australia and of these, only 6,637 settled in regional Australia, according to the Department of Home Affairs.

and then we have this issue...
https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/punjabi/en/article/2018/08/01/many-migrant-workers-are-underpaid-or-overworked


Its good to see the msm picking up and discussing these issues more and more....instead of turning a blind eye....which a lot of politicians are doing...

[ozbob]

I have spent some time in regional centres, specifically Wagga Wagga and Townsville.  Great life.  The catch is having a job.  I was in the Army so that was not a problem.  Life can be a lot of fun in regional towns and the like. Heaps to do if you like the outdoors etc.  If they want migrants to settle outside the major capitals there has to be real ongoing employment, otherwise they will just drift back to the big smoke.

[techblitz]

They need to tackle it pronto because there is going to be a sharp downward trend in quality of life for many city folk over the coming years....this will have flow on-effects eg: increase in social breakdown and disorder...

[#Metro]

I'm not going to blame immigrants because doing so is a projection of our own problems onto a third party. Look, our own council cannot reorganise a simple bus network review despite the change requiring no new infrastructure, and QR can't even run low frequency trains properly!

[Gazza]

First time ive heard our bus network called simple.

[techblitz]

I'm not going to blame immigrants because doing so is a projection of our own problems onto a third party.

migrants are now being singled out because they are the biggest source of our well above average population growth....as well as being the main source of worker exploitation....which is just one issue that the politicians struggle to reign in.....on top of other things like strained roads,hospitals,schools.

By all means keep sprouting that 'politicians are the issue not population growth' all you want....eventually you are going to get fed up with politicians NOT being able to keep up with it and perhaps realise that we need to look at the net levels of migration for the benefit of people already here...

[#Metro]

Don't agree with that view Techblitz. Germany has 80 million people, 4x what Australia has, excellent lifestyle and environment.

Nobody immigrated to be exploited- source of that obviously the locals who employ them and support for tying work visa renewal to employers. Once again, a projection of our own failings not theirs.

[techblitz]

Once again, a projection of our own failings not theirs.

and do you think the government has the ability to keep on top of these issues if they just keep bringing more migrants in? Its just worsens the problem and risk of elobarate wage-theft scams.....requiring more resources to keep track of..

Nobody immigrated to be exploited

You are assuming pre arranged contracts/agreements between worker/employer signed BEFORE worker leaves said country don't exist....that's assuming they even know if they are being exploited in the first place...

Where are you coming from the comparison with Germany? We are talking about ability to keep on top of population growth..
Germany has the infrastructure in place to deal with any increases.....WE DONT.....and we most likely wont for decades if we keep it up...
Anyway if you actually looked at the graph above Germany are running at near zero population growth.....your not entitled to compare just on that alone.
Germany and Australia may have both thrived on immigration...hard to disagree with that.....but we are now on entirely different trajectories imho...

[#Metro]

and do you think the government has the ability to keep on top of these issues if they just keep bringing more migrants in? Its just worsens the problem and risk of elobarate wage-theft scams.....requiring more resources to keep track of..

How about the locals who are exploiting them... stop exploiting them?

You are assuming pre arranged contracts/agreements between worker/employer signed BEFORE worker leaves said country don't exist....that's assuming they even know if they are being exploited in the first place...

Most people when faced with a bad employer... resign and find another employer. Resignation is a fundamental protection of a worker's rights. It is my understanding that may not be as simple for someone here on a visa... artefact of the visa system... should be able to leave sponsoring employer if need be.

Where are you coming from the comparison with Germany? We are talking about ability to keep on top of population growth..
Germany has the infrastructure in place to deal with any increases.....WE DONT.....and we most likely wont for decades if we keep it up...
Anyway if you actually looked at the graph above Germany are running at near zero population growth.....your not entitled to compare just on that alone.
Germany and Australia may have both thrived on immigration...hard to disagree with that.....but we are now on entirely different trajectories imho...

Germany very efficient at what it does. Doesn't build a brand new railway and then put one train every 30 minutes on it... (e.g. Kippa Ring).

Migration built Australia, the infrastructure and services. Snowy Mountains Scheme a great example of what can be achieved.

More than 100,000 people from over 30 countries travelled to the mountains to work on the Snowy, with up to 7,000 workers on the site at any one time.

Germans, Italians, Norwegians: The migrant workers who helped build the Snowy
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/germans-italians-norwegians-the-migrant-workers-who-helped-build-the-snowy

[Gazza]

Yeah, Germany has 80m, but has built that population up over a much longer period, and doesn't have such an over reliance on a couple of cities.

Obviously we should implement infrastructure better...Kippa Ring being a great example of the job done poorly.
But I feel we haven't even solved the backlog in established areas.

I don't have a problem with immigration or immigrants as people, and don't mind where they come from.
But in recent years the intake has just been too high, and its really just been a means of plumping up growth figures and generating additional tax revenue.

It's somewhat laughable that they say it would be a $5b hit to the budget, considering all the other revenue they are preparing to forego.

[#Metro]

Australia extended a welcome to our grandparents or ancestors. We should extend the same favour unto others.

Plenty of jobs going in infrastructure and construction at the moment. Really disappointed to hear that people were being rejected by employers on the grounds of so-called "local experience".

Have degree, will work: Connecting migrant engineers to the infrastructure boom
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-28/connecting-migrant-engineers-to-the-infrastructure-boom/9998970

This isn't just another community assistance project. Australia has more than $100 billion worth of engineering projects on the go.

In Sydney and Melbourne alone, there are massive metro tunnels underway and road projects such as WestConnex and the West Gate Tunnel.

The infrastructure boom is driving a huge demand for engineers.

"It's a little bit of a win-win," Mr Hall said.

"We actually need great people in our business, and there's people out there we know ... are engineers that would love to be part of the industry, but they've never been given that opportunity to get a break."

[techblitz]

Australia extended a welcome to our grandparents or ancestors. We should extend the same favour unto others

yes but once again....provided its done at a reasonable rate...and I'm pretty sure back in our grandparents heyday Australia wasn't importing anywhere near what we are now.

Plenty of jobs going in infrastructure and construction at the moment.

always going to be plenty of engineering jobs while we try to play catch up with our infrastructure....
there are other sectors which aren't doing so good.
By all means ramp up migration in sectors which will suffer 'stable' shortages eg: construction....but if we keep bringing in workers for industries in decline then we are only setting ourselves up for more 'gig' workers.....hence more cars on our roads...

[#Metro]

yes but once again....provided its done at a reasonable rate...and I'm pretty sure back in our grandparents heyday Australia wasn't importing anywhere near what we are now.

If you want to talk about rates - first Australian city on the worldwide list is for fastest growing urban areas is ... Brisbane at #213. Plenty of other cities grow faster.

The world's fastest growing cities and urban areas from 2006 to 2020
http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/urban_growth3.html

Now, one wonders if the problems of Brisbane (congestion, full schools etc) are a migration thing or just an outcome of mediocre Queensland Government decisions (e.g. holding up Cross River Rail for 10 years, not building any new schools in inner Brisbane for 50 years, 3 year political terms).

[Gazza]

Lmao Brisbane is the first city in a developed country on that list.

[#Metro]

Lmao Brisbane is the first city in a developed country on that list.

Disagree.

Calgary, Canada #109
Phoenix, USA #129
Orlando, USA #177
Houston, USA #184
Toronto, Canada #200

[techblitz]

Now, one wonders if the problems of Brisbane (congestion, full schools etc) are a migration thing or just an outcome of mediocre Queensland Government decisions (e.g. holding up Cross River Rail for 10 years, not building any new schools in inner Brisbane for 50 years, 3 year political terms).

of course it is the politicians......but when the general public know that they cant get through/can never win with these politicians they then turn to the next-in-line factor which is causing the issues..
Anyway we are talking about big Australia....namely Melbourne and Sydney....they are the poster childs of what we don't want Brisbane to end up like.

http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/urban_growth3.html
checked it and it proves how correct Gazza is...

80 million in Germany and their largest city only has 3.7 million people(4.5%)
Australia only 25 million and our largest city has 5.5 million(20%)

theres your reason why they are probably happier and enjoying a better lifestyle......seriously you just cant compare the two nations.....they have far better infrastructure and move people far more efficiently that we do and their decentralisation fits the with their availability of arid land which is around 35%.

A more likely comparison for Australia would be Russia...must be a joke right?....not really....strikingly similar in agricultural/arable land/permanent crops availability.....abundant natural resources...

russia has far better decentralisation where their two largest cities are running at 16% of total population with 70% urbanisation.
Our two biggest have us at 40% of total population and 90% urbanisation as a result.

You can no doubt put that down to historical factors for Russia but in the end this is what we should be aiming for...better decentralisation
If we had any sense we would start putting more focus into our regions while we have these record runs of migration.
But it seems most of our politicians are only interested in creating the next London/Tokyo or new York..

btw if anyone is curious as to why so many African cities are popping up near the top of that list....two words....chinese investment 

[#Metro]

Australia is much more than just Sydney and Melbourne you know.

Is Hobart full? Perth? Adelaide? Canberra? Darwin? Cairns? Townsville? Toowoomba?

It is just rabble rousing IMHO.

[Gazza]

That's kind of the issue, people who migrate are overwhelming choosing to pick Sydney and Melbourne, so the growth is a bit lopsided.

Its a complex issue, and as I said I don't have a problem with migration, I just don't get why we have to set it at this particular level.

In terms of Decentralisation, I think building up a couple of intermediate cities on the east is the way to go, Im thinking Albury Wodonga, and the coffs coast

[Gazza]

Metro, lets do a simple thought experiment.

You say previous generations were afforded the opportunity to move here, the benefits, and the ability to deal with it.

So why not increase the migration rate to 4million per year, and multiply the benefits and opportunities even further?

[techblitz]

Australia is much more than just Sydney and Melbourne you know.

Is Hobart full? Perth? Adelaide? Canberra? Darwin? Cairns? Townsville? Toowoomba?

It is just rabble rousing IMHO.

the latter districts should be fuller....and the former should stop being so concentrated......not rabble rousing at all....just plain common sense...

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/08/massive-immorality-mass-immigration/

open your mind......its not pretty(warning on the comments) but highlights hypocracy and myths...

[#Metro]

Metro, lets do a simple thought experiment.

You say previous generations were afforded the opportunity to move here, the benefits, and the ability to deal with it.

So why not increase the migration rate to 4million per year, and multiply the benefits and opportunities even further?

Firstly, current migrating rate is 200,000 per year or about 1%.
4 million per year would be a 20x increase in that rate... So unlikely. Rate would be limited by demand.

4 million about the population of NZ. Interesting to note that NZers can set up shop here in unlimited numbers - yet most NZers have decided to stay home.

Could Australia absorb an Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch? Interesting to hear thoughts.

[techblitz]

nzers probably don't find oz attractive anymore.....word has probably gotten around about Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane...

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australia-s-lack-of-people-planning-is-a-road-to-nowhere-20180801-p4zut4.html

Consider, say, the tiny Netherlands, a country that could comfortably occupy a narrow strip of land from Melbourne to Swan Hill. Its people - who prefer bicycles to cars - enjoy a lifestyle envied by the world. Yet it has 17 million people, and bicycles are popular partly because the Netherlands has not one city with a population of 1 million or more.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/NewsTalk4BC/status/1026549156066746369

[SurfRail]

Bloody hell, it's a bit rich listening to Bob Carr go on about how Sydney is full and can't handle its growth when he was the architect of the 2000's strategy of "do absolutely nothing".

[techblitz]

as for QLD....they are a comin folks....after a cheaper slice of that property pie.....prepare for further gridlock.



https://www.realestate.com.au/news/brisbane-knocks-out-growth-while-other-capitals-go-backwards/

This as the latest Housing Industry Association Residential Land report out Friday found per square metre Brisbane lots were cheaper to buy ($572sqm) than all major capitals except Hobart ($221sqm), with Sydney at $1,120 sqm, Melbourne $832 sqm, Perth $751 sqm and Adelaide $572 sqm.

[#Metro]

Bloody hell, it's a bit rich listening to Bob Carr go on about how Sydney is full and can't handle its growth when he was the architect of the 2000's strategy of "do absolutely nothing".

Planned shortage ---> Actual shortage ----> OMG we're full!----> Blame immigrants

Sydney still uses train guards and has a messy bus network.... It still doesn't have fully integrated fares across modes.

I think a large part of the problems with State Govt come down to taxation. Having to wait and negotiate with Australian govt and also argue over GST holds all major infra projects up. If States had direct income tax powers, things would move much faster IMHO.

[Cazza]

[HappyTrainGuy]

I have spent some time in regional centres, specifically Wagga Wagga and Townsville.  Great life.  The catch is having a job.  I was in the Army so that was not a problem.  Life can be a lot of fun in regional towns and the like. Heaps to do if you like the outdoors etc.  If they want migrants to settle outside the major capitals there has to be real ongoing employment, otherwise they will just drift back to the big smoke.

Army and the railways. Now look at both . Aurizon are still winding up contracts and moving crews away from regional areas as they progressively shut down their network.

[techblitz]

'Big Australia' Doesnt look like its achieving much.....so we are all commuting on sardine packed trains or clogged roads all for this??

Take your pick....

'Stuffed Australia'



or

'dumbed down australia'

aka a nation of construction/road workers,miners and gig economy slaves...

https://www.cbinsights.com/research-unicorn-companies

One Australian company in that huge list with the lowest valuation 1 billion to top it off.