bringing about changes in the ambience of those communities.
SteeleRedux,
Thus sending property values through the roof & ultimately out of their own reach hence the last alternative being to selling out to wealthy Chinese ?

I haven't been able to respond earlier because
I'd used up all of my postings. Anyway, here goes now:

Tony Lavis,

Good to have you posting once again. Welcome back. I enjoyed your
posts very much. Your sense of humour is entertaining and greatly
appreciated.

Mr O,

You asked who are these "mighty Australian figures of history,"
I refer to?

I won't list them all, there's too many. However there's
pioneers such as Charles Kingsford Smith whose groundbreaking
efforts moved the couuntry forward, artists and entertainers
such as Joan Sutherland who shaped our national cultural identity,
captains of industry such as Rupert Murdoch, who inspired
Australia's love affair with people who amass
phenomenal quantities of personal wealth and
humanitarians such as Sir
Edward Weary Dunlop, Fred Hollows, Mary MacKillop, who found
fame by dedicating their lives to others.

ttbn,

Regarding Ben Pobjie - like the former author, comedian,
satirist, John Clarke who passed away in 2017, Ben Pobjie
is highly regarded. I've read all of his works and am
familiar with his humour and tongue-in-cheek satires.

What does "left" and "right" even mean nowadays? It's no
longer philosophy that divides Australian politics just the
decision about who is worthy of support.

Changing your mind or anyone else's does not interest me.
Providing people with factual information however is an
occupational habit.

Hasbeen,

Our national identity has changed in our own lifetime and it
will undoubtedly continue to change. What will define us in
the future will probably be unimaginably different.
Who can predict the future? All we can do is as Steele and
Paul suggest - not only learn from the
greats of the past like Sir Weary Dunlop,
and all their historical kin but try to ensure that
we can become the Australians we aspire to
be and more importantly create the Australia we
aspire to live in.

Dear Foxy,

As you probably found out in your time overseas, you can learn two things (at least) by living overseas:

* that people 'over there' are often slightly different in subtle ways, more brash/reserved, less spontaneous/thoughtful, smug/reflective, etc.;

AND (when you come back here)

* Australians are indeed different in ways which you can't put your finger on and hadn't thought about before - more casual, open, straight-out, not too deep and/or incredibly generous, etc..

And that, on the whole, people everywhere are, on balance, worth living with, once you get used to living with them, and they to you.

If I hadn't already come to the conclusion that Misopinionated was actually not Australian, but had only just arrived, not necessarily from anywhere else on this planet, I would strongly advise him/her/it to try living overseas for a time, and then come back, to compare (and contrast) what the histories of those other peoples and their shared experiences had thrown up to shape them, compared to those which we have experienced here. And to take his/her/its time, say, twenty years.

Much love,

Joe

LOUDmouth,

I think Foxy would agree with me that you would have made a great Arts graduate if only you had been able to qualify for entry into an Arts program.

But at least you have learned how to read and write during your life which would be a big plus for you and you probably even think your Grade 6 education level is actually equivalent to having an Arts degree. That's the spirit LOUDmouth! I encourage people like you to try to improve yourselves.

Foxy,

Ben Pobje is not "highly regarded" by me; you allege that he is highly regarded by …. whom, apart from you? And, really! What does John Clarke have to do with it? Did he think the same way as you and Ben? You don't say, so you might as well mention Joe Blow. You are responsible for what you think. Telling people how well regarded someone is who is not even in the conversation, who has not presented an opinion on this site, will not add to, or detract from, your own opinions. We are all aware that people other than you hold opinions similar to yours.

I am amazed by your 'left' and 'right' comment. Perhaps you can explain it. I'm even more amazed that you say different philosophies don't divide, it's "just the decision about who is worthy of support".

I don't know how you make your decisions on who to vote for - who is worthy of your vote - but I choose in relation to how a politician's philosophy fits in with my own philosophy, which is right wing. The philosophy of politicians is all that we know about them, all we need to know about them in their professional capacity. Anything else is their business.

On a more trivial matter, it was Sir Edward Dunlop, not Sir Weary Dunlop. Nobody is dubbed with a nickname.

Dear Joe,

We had no intention of ever living in the United
States permanently. We went there for work experience
and much as we thoroughly enjoyed our time there we did
not see any future in that country.

Australia is our home. Our extended family is here. To us
Australia is in short, a well-rounded country. One which
is lead by men and women of vision and talent. Whether
conquering the world on the biggest stage of all, breaking
new ground in political achievement or winning hearts
with simple Aussie enthusiasm, these folk have
propelled us into a new era - and an exciting future for our
grand-children.

We consider ourselves truly blessed.