@hippie

rankings are taken from the web...
you can find them quite easily..mostly from independent sources

you are right, the remarks are purely mine

this rankings were done sometime back as i was having a discussion with one of my mates in this small farming town
he was ranting endlessly about the great australian nation
till i said something like "are we that great anymore?"
30-40 years ago maybe, but not now
he got mad at me and challenged me.. asking for facts

so... i listed some of the broad categories and did a quick scan on the web

a. economic power
b. wealth
c. contribution to the world in science and maths and arts etc
d. military might.. Gross Fire Power
e. sports

of course there will be others
please feel free to add and do your own research
you will come to the same conclusion... we are now passe

we do well in looking at our own shortcomings, work hard and stop preaching to the barbaric and cruel indons

@hasbeen

yes and no

please note my opening post is to highlight the fact that we are NOT a major player at the world stage...so please do not talk as though we are

listening to how the govt talk about sending troops here and there makes me sick
we are so weak as a military power and yet we talk as though we are up there

i doubt boats came this way because we are a major player
it is more like there is this attractive (albeit unsustainable) medicare in place and definitely because this is a beautiful country

we definitely want to be up there for

a. contribution to science...nobel laureates
b. total olympic medals
c. high PPP GNP

dont you agree?