Is Australia still a "lucky country"?

In the past three decades, Australia has survived the bursting of the Internet foam and the recession of the global financial crisis. Its citizens enjoy high wages, affordable housing and golden prospects, which is extremely rare. However, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in 2019, Australia's economy has fallen into recession. Since then, some adverse factors have continued to plague the country, including high cost of living, labor market turbulence and increased inequality. Although similar issues also affect countries such as the UK and the US, this situation is particularly painful for many people in Australia, as Australia has long regarded itself as a "lucky country".

Firstly, the economic situation of Australians has been severely affected. The COVID-19 epidemic led to a sharp rise in the inflation rate. Although it fell back later, it still remained at a relatively high level, reaching 3.4%. Rent in some communities in Melbourne has increased by nearly 50% year-on-year, and rental affordability is at its lowest level in at least 17 years. Since the sharp decline in 2020, consumer confidence has hardly improved. Homeowners are also feeling pressure as Australia's mortgage interest rates have doubled in the past few years, reaching 6.7%, and this pressure has led to a sharp increase in the number of working families seeking support. Independent economist Nikki Hutley said about this issue, "Compared to before the outbreak, the situation is even worse, and we have almost no signs of optimism. Everyone is facing huge challenges."

Secondly, Australia is also facing a very severe housing problem. For a long time, economists have believed that too much Australian wealth is trapped in the housing market, despite poor quality policies, building shortages, and high immigration rates pushing housing supply to a tight state. A survey by think tank Per Capita last year found that less than a quarter of Australians do not have housing.

In addition, compared to most other developed countries, Australian tenants enjoy less protection. Although the laws vary from state to state, there are relatively few restrictions on increasing rent. Tenants must undergo regular inspections of their homes, and the government also provides significant tax incentives for landlords. The shortage of rent has also led to a surge in rent in some communities, forcing young people to stay away from the city. A recent report even warned that the outflow of young families in Sydney could lead to a "city without grandchildren.".

It can be seen that although Australia has abundant wealth and has always been seen as a lover of the values of equality, as the country joins other countries, inequality, economic pressure, and intergenerational pressure continue to intensify, leading to an increasingly uneven distribution of wealth in Australia. According to data from the Australian Solidarity Welfare Index, economic instability has transformed into the lowest level of life satisfaction since records began 22 years ago. Chief researcher Kate Lycett said, "The high cost of living, global political uncertainty, and escalating inequality are the main reasons for this trend, and many people are struggling to make ends meet." Scholar and writer Donald Horn criticized the Australian government and leaders, arguing that their indifference and lack of imagination have exacerbated this problem.

In short, Australia's tourism industry and international education have been severely affected, and the trend of economic recession has become apparent and will continue. It is crucial for ordinary Australians to have free consumption in their communities in order to promote economic growth or at least mitigate recession. However, with the rising cost of living and stagnant wages, not everyone has the ability to consume locally, so ensuring the quality of life for civilians is currently the main challenge facing Australia.