Learning About Australia

[stormtrooper]

jibbby, Australia is very diverse to, we have alot of Asian food places but also a large variety of European places as well. If you ever get a chance go to Darwin during the dry (less flies) and eat out in the open air at any one of a large number of places and eat food from all over the world. Northern Queensland is similar although it is more Japanese and South East Asian influence there. Melbourne is Greek and Lebanese. Sydney used to be Greek Lebanese and Italian, Newcastle is just brilliant and you are flushed for choices, Adelaide German, Hobart was typically British (cause its cold there even in summer), but Darwin has always been very multicultural. Brisbane well I don't know and I don't really care cause their Premier (like your state governers) has just gone and stuffed their tourism industry with one fell swoop so it will be a long time before I go back their again and I have never eaten out in Brisbane. Perth I don't know about as its the only capital I have never been to but I my parents reckon its good for eating out. Someone mentioned Jazz festival before, we have them at Ayres Rock and at Vinyards in the Hunter Valley. We are a very cultured country despite the best attempts of the Colonial Brits to stuff us up (only kidding) by sending us their gutter trash.

 

[jibbby]

I sense a little hostility towards the Brits in general by my neighboring Aussie friends... Is this the case, and why?...

Come to think of it I still think alot of Americans dislike the French in general though... I can't even tell you why either... I would say we yanks don't perticularly like the Arabs all that much either now since the war started in Iraq..

Do the Aussies have anything against any other nations or races? If so and why, and don't say Americans either....

I must say traveling thru Europe several times I did notice most Americans are generally not liked and or welcome.. It must be because we are the big boys on the block, we wear baseball caps and drink budweiser maybe?...,etc, etc.......Most Americans definetely don't fit well in Europe... I guess I can see that...

I also noticed the Jews are not well recieved either still in some parts of Europe...

 

[stormtrooper]

Its not really hostility towards the Brits, I am a 1st generation aussie on my dad's side afterall, but more of a feeling that we don't need them, or the USA either for that matter, anymore. There is alot of bad feelings towards some groups but it is highly unjustified to my way of thinking. In my local area the council did all it could to stop Sudanese refugees from coming here to the point that a local official told lies to try to stop it. Newcastle has had similar issues to but the Neo-Nazis were behind alot of the trouble there. Then we had the Cronulla riots which were started by a bunch of guys that wanted a rumble and it turned into a race riot against middle easterners. Newcastle had a race riot shortly afterwards against the Sudanese and other groups. There was also a huge issue about an Islamic school development at a place called Camden (used to be called the Cow Pastures in the colonial days) a very traditional area and the amount of people (great hairy unwashed actually) that turned up for a meeting wanting it stopped was amazing. One woman went on tv saying "we dont want Orstralya to Islamifie any more" (she went on with more tripe but you get the idea), my stomach just started to rise at the feeling that some people are still so uneducated that they have to resort to scare tactics and racial slurs instead of talking about things like adults.

 

[striker]

my stomach just started to rise at the feeling that some people are still so uneducated that they have to resort to scare tactics and racial slurs instead of talking about things like adults.

I cannot agree more!

 

[jibbby]

Stormtrooper and Striker - I think you see alot of that kind of behavior in every country and not just in Australia...We have alot of that kinda stuff going on here in the USA.... The lastest discovery was a guy with a compound in the state of UTAH as he had multiple wives, and was having sex with minors in the same family, basically children having children, etc.. It was all over the news recently..

I guess if you isolate some uneducated people for a long enough period of time in the middle of nowhere, get them going in religous kind of way, and anything is possible with the human imagination... It's just crazy...

I think the world needs to keep an eye on the extreme religious fundamentalist groups in every country, and that goes for every religion too as they can really get out of hand with their way of thinking and actions.. In the Middle East especially...That's just my take...

I'm not jewish but have a friend from Isreal and he tells me this...Isreal is having big trouble with the Orthodox jews onslaught in Isreal (extreme Jews) where they are populating like crazy and slowly taking over government and basically changing the normal way of life for everyone in Isreal..

Islamic extremists in other neighboring Arab countries are trouble too.. If you don't conform to their beliefs and way of life you are considered evil and basically the enemy.. So then what do you do with evil? You try and eliminate it and destroy it so you can go to heaven...

It's kinda crazy when you think about it... Other extreme religous groups are no better, I just chose to talk about the Middle East, and I am sure that goes for everywhere in the world....

Maybe the Omish and some Buddists monks are the exception, ha ha...


Just look at history in general, some of the biggest battles and wars went on in the UK many moons ago just because of their differences in religous beliefs.. I'm done preaching...

 

[stormtrooper]

Just look at history in general, some of the biggest battles and wars went on in the UK many moons ago just because of their differences in religous beliefs.. I'm done preaching...

My dad is a Protestant Scot, born and bred there, who migrated to Australia. His thoughts about the Irish are, to me anyway, just as bad as the uneducated woman in Camden's view of the Arabic peoples.

The problem with religion is it takes over a persons lifestyle and the more "fundamental" the person is the more extreme they will be with their religion. Having said that secularism is just as bad, the French with their ban on Islamic head scalfs is just plain wrong. 99.9% of Islamic French people are just as good a people as 99.9% of non-islamic French people yet who got targeted. Religion isn't the only thing that is making problems in the world today, the whole ramming down peoples throats that they have to be like everyone else is the real problem. I want the freedom of choice to do what I want to do with my life, I dont want Britain, America or some one in the middle east telling me I have to do things their way, I want my free choice. All these wars are people telling others they have to tow the line or else.

Of my soap box now, you know this issue will never calm down. There is over 1000 years of war and hate and mistrust not only between the west and Islam but also between the West and Africa, the West and Asia and everytime some one rattles their sabre (nuke or other armaments) to make a point then it all just goes right back to the beginning again and we are no better off than we were 1000 years ago, infact we are worse of because the weaponry is much more destructive. For to many people ignorance of "others" is bliss, yet we all bleed, we all have feelings, and we all want to live in freedom.

 

[XR8tt]

Ha this is the life style lol...Crackatinnie tribe...

 

[MWP]

Ewwwww VB

 

[Zuffen]

Two things America and Australia (and I suppose Canada) has in common is we are nations made up from Immigration as 300 years ago there were only natives in each country.

I think this makes the majority of us quite comfortable with multiculturism and mixed race families.

Whilst I have a British background I have plenty of friends from othe rcontinrents and we all treat each other as equals.

This is how it should be.

I can understand the typical Aussie getting miffed when a new arrival tells us we should live by their rules not ours.

But as we all say you chose to come here and you can choose to leave anytime.

 

[SteveDunn]

Hallo. I'm one of those gutter-trash poms that is soon to be joining the west coast of Australia.

I've got a question for the Western Australia locals, thats sadly after these 8 pages of non-car interesting talk, is about cars.

What are the police's views on highly modified cars like? Over here in the UK if it passes the yearly roadworthyness test then it's fine. I've got a 1UZ swapped into a Nissan 200SX/180SX, with rollcage, very low suspension etc. I've spent FAR too much on it to sell it at a massive loss before I leave, so am planning on taking it with. Will I be able to register something like this on the road, or is it going to have to be a trailer queen?

Anyone from around Busselton way? My old's emmigrated to there earlier this year and are loving every minute of it

 

[jibbby]

Well I can tell you a little about the cars the police use here in the States..

Police built cars...Hmmm? Well for as long as I can remember the police cars have always been Ford Caprice's, etc..Always Fords.....Heavy V8 built Fords with roughly around 250bhp and fairly slow... Don't handle to great either.. However, they tend to be built very tough, rumors of built trannies over stock, too.. Infact, most cab drivers in the US buy the older cop cars at police auctions to use for there daily rides.. The cab drivers tell me the x-cop cars last forever and are built to last.....

How are the cop cars in Aussie land?...Slow Toyota 4 bangers would be my guess.. If so can you evade easily if you possess a fast car, or do they call back up and air support in a hurry like they do in the US?:nono:


Ps. In a few States the Police are just now starting to use the Dodge chargers as police vehicles...

 

[simmo9]

Steve Dunn, sounds like it may be a trailer queen if you bring it too WA. Highly modified cars have lots of engineering hoops to jump through before becoming licenced. Busselton is a nice spot down the south coast, about 2 1/2 hrs from Perth.

Jibby, australian police use many different cars for many different purposes. Our highway patrol cars are usually v8's, SS Comodores or XR8 Falcons at times (or modified standard v8's to ss type specs), and i think Qld even has some FPV Typhoons in service (upgraded turbocharged 4.0l six). I also recall NSW at some time had STi WRX's.

 

[TundraEddie]

Are there a lot of Lexus dealers in NSW,preferably near Sydney? I'm thinking of moving,but I'll need a job of course.

I guess I can't ship my Tundra and Supra over because they're LHD. The shipping costs will probably kill me anyway

 

[MWP]

Our patrol cars look like:

Color scheme, etc changes from state to state.

 

[Zuffen]

They're not just colourful.

They are very fast as well.

Not too many vehicles can outrun an Aussie Police car.

Assuming you can outrun the Police you also need to be faster then their radios!

 

[XR8tt]

Are there a lot of Lexus dealers in NSW,preferably near Sydney? I'm thinking of moving,but I'll need a job of course.

I guess I can't ship my Tundra and Supra over because they're LHD. The shipping costs will probably kill me anyway

Shipping a car from U.S to Aussie is around $3500.00
I guess U.K is about the same ??
We have safety and EPA requirements..
There are loops etc to get through importing a car into Aussie..
You need someone here to get it certified..
The local Lexus guys are not too keen on imported cars..
But the Soarer wasn't realy sold here, so it's no big issue..
Make SURE paper work is done BEFORE you ship your car or it could sit on port for some time!! Costing heaps...
Here's some info.. It has changed since I imported a car ...
http://www.aaa.asn.au/touring/bringing.htm
http://www.cargoonline.com.au/?gclid=COOgn82W7JMCFRIuagodbGm1VA

 

[jibbby]

That's funny people whom move to the US do not bring their cars, they buy them cheap over here...

Those import taxes on vehicles are insane in some countries and islands... Sometimes more money then the car is worth... Australia seems a bit steep too, but not like some places I've been... I wonder why? Why don't they just let you bring your ride over as long as it is in your name and only one car.. Like a one time import tax exemption on your car..I don't see the big deal with that, that would help alot of people out for sure... It's such a deterant in my opinion and it stops those countries and islands from really getting nice looking cars on their roads more often.... Import a Ferrari or Lambo to some of those places and your in debt for the rest of your natural life...

Those cop cars in Australia are awesome, fast enough to uphold the law for sure... In the UK you mainly see the little Toyota cop cars as I remember, slow and weak.. Not all that much better here in the States...You Aussie's got it down right sure...

 

[SteveDunn]

Thanks for the information

Yeah the UK's police cars are generally little 1.8 litre or less 4 cylinder Fords. The traffic police generally get faster stuff - but they're being phased out and replaced with cameras

To go back to an earlier point about fuel prices. My parents phoned me recently from Western Australia. Fuel prices appeared in the conversation, as over here in the UK prices are flying up. We've just hit £1.30 ($2.55USD/2.69AUD) per litre for super (98/99RON) unleaded. They were complaining that the same litre over there in Australia is the equivelent of about 75p a litre! I envy you guys!

 

[Cobber]

Steve,

You will need to get your car engineered but once it has been over the pits you won't need to bother again as we don't have to go through an inspection every year. There are plenty of highly modified cars on the road you just need to make sure it's done right that's all. You may need to tweak a few things to get it through.

Or just sell it and start again, you need a hobby in your new country right? Lots of cheap jap imports, 1uz's, turbo's & superchargers around to play with.

Plenty of very good paying work over here as well.

 

[Retox]

I used to live in a place called Millicent and another called Tantanoola near Mt Gambier in South Australia. It was the wettest part of the driest state of the driest continent on earth. Seriously it was cloudy and grey and drizzly for 10 months of the year. That district called the Green Triangle had the highest suicide rate for South Australia per capita.

Now to get back to work.

Holy ****... I used to live in Tantanoola as well... Played footy there as a kid... was only there for a year (year 8 in high school) in 1990.

Moved to Adelaide after that