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Australia votes

by whateverpedia
10 replies
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NB: This is a community service announcement, and is not an endorsement for any party or candidate.

PM Julia Gillard today visited the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and issue writs for an election on August 21.

If you are unregistered you have until 8pm on July 19 (this coming Monday) to do so.

If you've changed address since the last election, you have until 8pm July 22 (Thursday) to amend your details.

You can register/update at the Electoral Commission website at Australian Electoral Commission.

For those interested in the issues/candidates/polls, the ABC has cool interactive site devoted to the election at Australia Votes - 2010 Federal Election - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    WP, can I ask a non-partisan question about the Aussie election?

    Will the election campaigns of your political parties be mainly focused upon Australia's economy?

    (I'm assuming that Australia has experienced similar national economic problems to those that we've seen in Europe and North America.)
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  • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
    Hi John. Good question. The economy is always an issue at every election.

    Australia weathered the GFC better than most nations, and is one of the few nations not to slip into recession due to having a lot of resources that China, India and other developing nations need (Canada is probably in a similar position). As long as demand for these resources remain we will continue to chug along.

    That doesn't mean that the GFC bypassed us though. The gov't though acted quickly though and as mentioned we managed to avoid recession.

    Also, because our banks never got involved in "subprime" lending, they remain strong and none are in any danger of collapse.

    Hope that answers your question.
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    • Profile picture of the author rondo
      Originally Posted by whateverpedia View Post


      Also, because our banks never got involved in "subprime" lending, they remain strong and none are in any danger of collapse.
      Actually the banks were in a very precarious position before the gov guaranteed bank debt and deposits.

      Remember our banks have some of the highest exposure to property in the world, very high foreign debt, and we have the highest levels of personal debt in the world!



      Andrew
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      • Profile picture of the author seasoned
        Originally Posted by rondo View Post

        Actually the banks were in a very precarious position before the gov guaranteed bank funding and deposits.

        Remember our banks have some of the highest exposure to property in the world, and we have the highest levels of personal debt in the world!



        Andrew
        With such expensive realestate, and variable rates, I would be surprised if that WEREN'T the case. HERE if the stock market seems to do "TOO WELL", they may raise rates to cause a crash. If they did that so capreciously in Australia, it would cause a WILD whiplash! It could be worse that the 1928-1933 era. Things went GREAT! Everyone was HAPPY, etc... THEN, they were DESTITUTE, MISERABLE, and wanted to kill themselves.

        Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    So what is the real estate market there like? How much for a 2500 sf(about 289sm) home in a nice area? And what are the terms for a loan for a person with good credit?

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author tryinhere
      Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

      So what is the real estate market there like? How much for a 2500 sf(about 289sm) home in a nice area? And what are the terms for a loan for a person with good credit?

      Steve
      That all depends if you know how to cook a BBQ, slap on some thongs n Bordy's before hitting the beach and how many tinnies you can down before sunset, get those right and you cop a huge discount on your home loan.

      anything else and your still a tourist, so you pay more.
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  • Profile picture of the author rondo
    Steve I'm in Sydney and the prices are very high, on par with Vancouver amongst the highest in the world compared to wages.

    You won't find an average 4 bedroom family home within 30 minute drive of the city for less than USD700K-800K. So that's the low end of the market.

    Banks are asking for 10% deposit, and most mortgages are variable rate (now approx 7%). We don't do 30 year fixed like in the US.


    Andrew
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by rondo View Post

      Steve I'm in Sydney and the prices are very high, on par with Vancouver amongst the highest in the world compared to wages.

      You won't find an average 4 bedroom family home within 30 minute drive of the city for less than USD700K-800K. So that's the low end of the market.

      Banks are asking for 10% deposit, and most mortgages are variable rate (now approx 7%). We don't do 30 year fixed like in the US.


      Andrew
      YIKES, how can ANYONE, outside of a millionare or someone taking a HUGE risk, own a home? And if you won't do 30, what is it? 5? 10? 15? 20? In the US right now, they will probably let you buy a home worth about 3 times your income. So you would need to make about 250K for that 800K home, and that is at like 6% FIXED.

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author rondo
    Yeah it's crazy. You can go 1 hour further west and get cheaper houses but it's a very long way from the city. Most other cities and states do have cheaper prices than Sydney, but it's still expensive. We are still in bubble mode here.

    Most young people can't afford to buy a house in Sydney. Many of my friends in their 30's are moving away from Sydney because it's too expensive.

    The longest you can fix rates for is 10 years, but you pay a premium so most don't fix at all. A normal 30 year mortgage is all variable rate.


    Andrew
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    • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
      Originally Posted by whateverpedia View Post

      Also, because our banks never got involved in "subprime" lending, they remain strong and none are in any danger of collapse.
      Thanks for the info, WP; this would explain why one of the UK's banks (The Yorkshire Bank) was never connected with the government bailout scheme -- it was owned by the National Australia Bank.

      Originally Posted by tryinhere View Post

      That all depends if you know how to cook a BBQ, slap on some thongs n Bordy's before hitting the beach and how many tinnies you can down before sunset, get those right and you cop a huge discount on your home loan.
      You mean, I have to apply for the loan whilst wearing my budgie smugglers???

      Originally Posted by rondo View Post

      The longest you can fix rates for is 10 years, but you pay a premium so most don't fix at all. A normal 30 year mortgage is all variable rate.
      It's the same in this country -- fixed rate home-loans are almost unheard of. That's why we have so many repossessions when interest rates go up.
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