Australian Economy

In order to get a better understanding on how Australian fits into the world it is important to look at its economy.

            According to Countrywatch.com Australia has one of strongest economies in the world. Like other liberal democracies their economy has moved away from an agricultural centered economy to a service directed economy. This type of service centered economy focuses on tourism, industry, insurance, property, retail, communication, and transportation. And although their economy is dominated by services, agriculture and mining still play a big part in revenue of Australia, contributing to over 50% of Australia’s exports. Australian economy is also supported by many structural reforms and policies that protect not only businesses the people.

            Once Australia began to establish a highly recognized and respected economy they began to focus on how to best support Australia. To create a more prosperous country the economy began to support more internal competition, and became more export oriented. To accomplish this they reduced tariffs and set up systems to protect the dollar exchange rate.  But because of Australia’s remoteness it has a very small domestic market so it is important that Australian maintains a healthy amount of foreign trade and investment.

            Although Australia has seen relative economic stability, recently it has been it affected by the economic down turn, surprisingly not as much as other countries. Although their economy wasn’t affect as much as the United States, it still had set backs. For example commodity prices fell, domestic markets were strained, currency depreciated, and prices of real estate dropped.

But how could have Australia avoided some of the crippling effects that other countries experienced? According to countrywatch.com it was due to their vast amount of commodity exports with China, which continued despite the economic downturn. Another thing that protected the economy was the government’s timely response to the by setting up strong policies which protected the country. And lastly Australia has a very strong banking system that helped maintain Australian’s ability to obtain credit and provided many stimulus to improve the economy.

            Because of the stability of Australian economics many citizens have had long record of comfortable living situations. Currently the unemployment rate in Australia is 7.1 % compared the America’s 8.7%.

Current news- Freedom of Speech in Trouble

Although Australia is a country of Liberal Democracy there are still debates on what core values should be upheld. It today’s News, the Sydney Morning Herald printed an article about how freedom of speech may be in jeopardy in Australia.

Recently two of Sydney Morning Herald’s reporters wrote an article criticizing Australia’s Crime Commission, which is Australia’s national criminal intelligence agency. This particular agency is very secretive and has a vast amount of power. Having the ability to tap phones, collect personal information, and search homes without knowledge or consent of the individual.

            Once the articles were printed the Crime Commission made an announcement that it wanted to seize the reporter’s phones and SIM cards in order to discover their sources. If this demand is granted the reporters could be held in contempt if they refuse to give up their phones and private information. Recently the courts enacted the Federal Evidence Amendment Act, which allows disclosure of a source if it is in the public’s interest. Because of this act, the reporters in question may be forced to give up their sources.

            In this article this is a strong stance against the Crime Commission and the new Federal Evidence Act. The author believes that the act should be amended as soon as possible because if sources no longer feel safe to disclose information to journalist, Australians will miss out on reliable news. It will also force many Australians to stay in the dark about behind the scenes corruption because in most cases, these stories leak out due to inside sources, who may no longer come forward.

            The most powerful statement in the article states “Freedom of speech has no meaning if the government and their agencies are above public criticism and being accountable.”

Out of the whole article I felt that was the most important sentence because it really shows the importance of freedom of speech. By being able to openly talk about government, we the people are also holding the government accountable. If journalists are allowed to keep their sources in confidentiality the Australian public can keep a closer eye on government, even behind closed doors.

If the reporters are forced to give up their information  it will be a huge violation of Australian human rights.

Understanding the Australian Healthcare system

One of the main problems that Australia faces today is the poor health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I also want to see how the current health system of Australia could improve these conditions. But before I can do my detailed research I decided to get some background that explained what Australia’s healthcare system is like. 

            Over all the health status of Australians is good, life expectancy is about 81 years of age, but these numbers can be deceiving because the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a poor health status. When it comes to Australians of European descent they are generally healthier than the indigenous Aboriginal people. So how does such a successful sounding healthcare system fail so many of their people?

Currently in Australia there is both a private sector and a public sector which together, insures that all Australians, New Zealand citizens, and holders of permanent visas obtain health coverage. Their goal is to provide a health care funding system that allows for universal access to health care while still allowing their citizens a choice between a private sector and a public one. In 1946 Australian health care took a new direction with a new amendment to the constitution which stated that the Commonwealth would start to provide health benefits and service in addition to the service offered in States and Territories. Funding and decision making for health care is divided up by these two entities. The Commonwealth heads policy making in health care and research. They also help fund services out of the hospital such as residential aged care and also health research. States and Territories directly fund many health services. They also join forces and help fund community care such as meal deliveries.

            In Australian both private and public health care is known for providing quality care, offering a wider variety of service and hospital options. These systems are also strongly centered on residential and community care programs which are aimed at improving the lives of Australia’s elderly. Here the health care system can provide delivery meals, at home help, or nursing homes. They also help to provide a wide variety of affordable medicines. Inpatients are provided with medication free of charge. The common wealth also works closely with the Therapeutic Goods Administration which imports and monitors the quality of prescription drugs.

            A major part of the health care system in Australia that needs mentioning is Medicare which helps provide health care with little to no cost to the people. Medicare is largely financed by a wide range of taxes and also a levy which began in 1984. In order to fund Medicare both States and Territories can apply for grants provided by the Commonwealth. Also under Medicare all armed forces and veterans are covered.

            When citizens are covered under public health care they are entitled to choose hospital locations. Private patients are free to choose not only their location, but also their doctor. And although Australia has a health care system that is available to all citizens, the Commonwealth encourages citizens to obtain private health care because it helps cover many services that Medicare does not provide such as dental, optical, and physiotherapy. They also encourage private health care because it is not only affordable but it also allows the government to reduce pressure on the public system. Despite the fact that the government encourages citizens to take out private health care the Commonwealth still protects and regulates private insurance companies to ensure that they are charging everyone the same premium regardless of health status or claims history. This protects Australian and New Zealand citizens from getting denied based on chronic illness.

            Although Australia seems to have a very well established and fair health care system, there is still a population of Australians that are neglected and experience poor health. Just recently the Commonwealth has started up a program to help citizens obtain healthcare regardless of how far they live. This includes Royal Flying Doctor Services which delivers care to remote areas by aircraft, community controlled health services that meet special needs of the indigenous people, and also community programs that are aimed to help the aged. Despite their attempts many aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are still behind in their overall health compared to Australians from European descent.

Political Conditions Part 2

The second part in my research of political conditions really focused on Australian discontent and divisions over the support in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan. These opposing views led to a string of political consequences. Its crazy how one issue, granted a large issue, can cause so many political changes.

Like the United States, a huge point in recent Australian debate has been on the war on terrorism. When the 9/11 attacks occure in the United States Prime Minister Howard was in office.  After the attacks the Prime Minister took a strong role in the fight against terrorism sending as many as 2,000 Australian troops over seas. Then in 2002 there was terrorist attack at a nightclub in Bali leaving 90 Australians dead. This terrorist attack caused the Prime Minister  to react in much the way that the U.S. president reacted. Soon after the attack Howard took “pre-emptive strikes” against terrorist groups in Asia. Many Asian communities were shocked because they too lost many citizens and they couldn’t believe that Australia was taking on such an aggressive policy. Later it was reviled that the Prime Minister had received warnings against the Bali attack months before. This could answer the question as to why the Prime minister was so aggressive.

            By 2003 many Australians began to question Prime Minister’s tactics in handling the Iraq crisis. Australia’s parliament then launched an inquiry into Australia’s participation into the war and claimed that Australia was pressured to participate by getting false information. Once the 2004 elections started there were political talks about removing Australian troops from Iraq. It was at this time that the U.S. began to openly criticize Australia, causing mass opposition to the United States. Labor Party President Carmen Lawrence stated “the U.S. was inserting itself into Australian politics to propel the election of Prime Minister Howard, and Australians would not like to be told how to vote.” Up until the election Prime Minister Howard vowed to continue participation despite the growing opposition.

            In October 2004, thousands of citizens attended an anti-war protest in the streets of Australia.

In the elections of 2007, the Australian’s discontent would finally be known with Prime Minister Howard running against Kevin Rudd. Kevin Rudd’s initiatives were very different from Howards, he wanted to enact reforms in healthcare, employment, education, and he promised to withdraw Australian troops. Once the ballots were in it was clear that Kevin Rudd had a clear majority, which demonstrates how the people's discontent with Iraq related to how they voted. And as promised, he withdrew all troops causing many changes in the foreign relations between Australia and the U.S. Another thing the Rudd did that many other Prime Ministers did not do was having the government publically apologize for the ill treatment of Australia’s indigenous population. He also ended the policy of asylum seekers in detention centers. In all, Rudd moved toward issues that were very strong within the population.

            Although these policies appealed to the people, in June 2010 the Australia’s ruling Labor party, along with a leadership vote, ousted Prime Minister Rudd, who was replaced by Julia Gillard, the first female Prime Minister in Australia.

This secondary part of the article really made me happy because it demonstrates how much power the people can have in a liberal democracy. Participation and voting are vital to democracies such as Australia because it forces the government to carry out the wishes of the people.