When I think of Australia, I think of the crocodile hunter, koala bears and friendly folks. I thinks of the beautiful coral reefs, waterfalls and beautiful landscapes. Did you know that 80% of the animals and plants found in Australia are not found anywhere else in the world?
Although Australia is over 9,000 miles away from us. They seem to be being effected by some of the same political dilemmas that are effecting us here in the USA.
I honestly never think much about the political system of Australia, being I am not a political person myself. What I never knew about Australia is that there are currently some concerns in their political system that is leading to talk of a possible change in the future of their government, according to this article from smh.com. It gives a look at the current dilemmas that are facing the country's political structure.
There has been talk of the left and right parties and how changes from globalization is leaving the middle of the road political leaders with little or no room to govern.
It seems that they believe that some of the problems from political instability in other countries could be carrying over to theirs in the future, leaving leaders to talk about how the changes will affect their country by those who challenge the political practices of the post war world we live in.
Many feel that if things don't begin to stabilize in other countries, it may carry over into theirs causing discord or revolt.
Another area that is seeing change is their higher education system. It seems that many fear that they will begin to see a higher default in the higher education system due to higher tuition fees. Right now it is practically impossible to default on student loans in Australia
The changes to HECS are as follows:
• Currently, repayment starts when you start to earn more than $54,869. However, this is going to drop to $42,000 from next year.
• The current repayment rate at $54,860 income is 4 per cent. However, the new repayment rate at $42,000 income will be only 1 per cent.
For a graduate who earns $42,000 and has the average HECS debt from a three-year university course of $23,500, under the changes, they will be required to pay $4.50 per week in mandatory HECS repayments.
The main concern of these changes is that they will deny young people the opportunity to enter the property market and hurt their savings.
After reading these articles, it seems that Australia faces many of the same struggles that we here in America face, only on a more structured scale. Isn't it amazing how countries that are so far apart can face a lot of the same challenges? I am very curious to see how the beautiful country of Australia continues to address these issues that are challenging them.
You can read more about these and other concerns and changes at:
You can read more about these and other concerns and changes at:
This is a sponsored post. Opinions expressed by me are my own personal opinion and are based on what I read in these articles only.
Photo source: Pixabay.com