Where are all the people?

watch out for tumbleweeds when windy

The first question I asked Stan upon landing in Mildura---where are all the people? (see "First Step in Aus"). The first big culture shock was discovering how few there really were. To put this in context, Australia has a population of 22 million scattered over 7.68 million sqkm for a population density of only 2.9 per sqkm, if you include all the uninhabitable land (70%). Now Mildura has a population of 60,000 spread out over 48,000 sqkm which makes for a population density of a lonely 1.2 or less than two people for every square kilometer. No wonder people say the Mallee (the general area which Mildura belongs to) is a good place for those who don't want to be found. Images of tumbleweeds rolling down seemingly deserted dusty country roads accompanied by the opening notes of some western movie flashing through my mind only to realise I'm not imagining it, I am actually in it. 

elbow-to-elbow heaving Manila population

Boggles the Pinoy mind doesn't it. Sure boggled mine. Coming from Manila with 12 million people crammed into only 638 sqkm that's a staggering 18,800 people elbow-to-elbow in each sqkm!! The entire Philippines registers at 307 per sqkm (a suffocating 92M people sharing 300,000 sqkm). I imagine THAT's mind-boggling to the Aussies. We have the dubious honour of ranking 43rd most densely populated country in the world. Australia ranks near bottom at 233rd (bottom was Greenland @ .03; does that include the penguins?) The US ranks 178th with 31.6---chances of being found if lost = quite high. 

Now why am I laboring over this? Aside for my fascination for stats and numbers (getting nerdy in my old age) I have since figured that population is key to understanding why things are the way they are, why systems work the way they do and why they don't, why possibilities exist or don't exist, why opportunities abound or don't abound. The basic law of supply and demand has influenced my pragmatic world view; my background in economics has something to do with it perhaps. A wise reader commented in my Philstar article  last week about the overabundance of people in the Phils. accounting for the luxury of cheap labor (echoed my observation that where there are so many lives life can be cheap; see "Driving on the Wrong Side").  

kids sports @ Saturdays

The opposite can be said of Au. With so few lives, each life gets a fair shot at the many available resources. This is  clearly evident in sport (singular is how they say it, not plural). Australia is well-known for its growing and continuing domination in the world of sports. This, of course is not by accident, it is by design. It starts with school-age children who are given every opportunity to play whatever sport they want; not just one but all available (football, netball, tennis, cricket, soccer, rugby, basketball, archery, rowing, athletics, gymnastics, track & field, swimming, etc.) and if it's not offered by the school the kid can access it in the community for free. How lucky is that? Talent scouts are continually on the look-out for the rising stars. Once identified, the kid is invited to join the commonwealth-funded institute of sport that sponsors him/her with sport clinics, equipment, professional coaching, etc. everything the athlete would need to reach his/her full potential. 

My step-nephew Jordan, at 10 y.o. was invited to the institute for showing promise in golf. His talent got him into the system which funnels the best and the brightest to eventually represent the country.  He comes from a small town of 18,000 and was selected from a handful of golf-playing children. His talent is obvious but if he were born in a larger town, he would have had to compete harder. Less people, less competition, more resources to go around. He met Tiger Woods (before his fall) and had front row privileges at the Australian Masters. How well-placed was he?  He's 14 now and is looking at a career as a pro golfer.   All this to say, having less people certainly increases one's chances of accessing funds and taking advantage of golden opportunities. Another clear example is in the workplace. The smaller the town, the smaller the talent pool. It's not unusual then to find unqualified people occupying senior to top positions. Especially true in government and government-funded agencies (sounds familiar?); not so much in private enterprise. I had this perception of Au as a very advanced economy lead by forward-looking dynamic people, being a first world country and all (I've also had interactions with Au and Aussies in my previous life working for an American company which fed this perception). So when I came as a permanent resident, I was quite taken aback to discover that this is not always so. I was even shocked to discover that some parliamentarians (politicians that govern the country) do not even have degrees! 

It never ceases to amaze me (e.g. dumbfound or impress, whatever the case may be) that in this vast and wondrous land of opportunities, it is not so much what you know but what you do with it (experience) and for the top positions who you know, that gets you the job. This latter bit would be the same back home. I had to downplay my degrees when job hunting here because they almost seemed irrelevant. My son, through sheer hard work was promoted manager in only four short months. He hasn't finished his degree but he has a treasure trove of knowledge and experience in the fitness and nutrition industry that was duly recognised and acknowledged by his bosses. Yes, I am very happy for him and rest assured that Au is the best place for him to realise his goals. Best decision ever. I doubt if the same could have happened in Manila where a degree is basic requirement for most entry level jobs, more so for management.  

Singing Cooks & Waiters resto in MNL; yes even
the security guard sings! must go see

On the other end of the scale, having less people means lots of DIYs (do it yourself). Multitasking abounds. For example, most small cafes have perhaps two people working at any one time--the cook and the waiter. Both wear several hats. The cook is also the dishwasher (puts dirty dishes in the dishwasher and takes them out). The waiter is also the maitre d', the cashier and the cleaner-upper. In the Philippines, every task has a person assigned to it. Employment generation for the masses. Don't forget the security guard. Manpower is cheaper than electronic security devices and industrial dishwashers. I swear, I will tip more generously on my next visit to Pinas. 
I get very annoyed (even angry) every time I hear people here complain about this, that or the other. I'm sure if they knew how people in less prosperous countries would kill to have what they have, they'd complain less. Maybe not. What to me are privileges, many Aussies (mostly the ferals) consider their right. Feeling entitled, it becomes almost a disincentive to work hard.  Strange but true. Very alien concept to where I come from where  one has to earn everything, nothing comes for free. And that's from having too many people that stretches our dwindling resources. Imagine if we had half the population with double the GDP, how much better off everyone would be. Until the Catholic Church stops demonizing population control, a prosperous Phils (circa 1960s-70s) would remain a dream. Case of less is more. So there.

Lure of the Great Outdoors

dining outdoors with friends @ Robe, SA

It's obvious that the average Aussie has an enduring love affair with the great outdoors. Having 4 seasons with temperate climate helps. Weather is not as predictable as it is back home where it is easy to take the lush tropicana for granted. But I believe it's more than that, they appear to have a close affinity with the land. It's so refreshing to hear them speak so positively, almost lovingly about mother nature. There's usually an element of awe too. This is evident in their expansiveness---gorgeous, fabulous, fantastic, beautiful---are words more oft used to describe how they see their environment even in the driest, greyest, dullest drought-stricken areas (oops I just revealed how I see it ha!). Sun-worshipping is their favorite outdoor activity (small wonder why Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world!). Outdoor dining wins hands down over indoor. 

water-skiing @Murray River, campers at back

They also love going barefoot anywhere they can get away with it. And going hatless even in the heat of day. I have taken to wearing hats to avoid the sun (a favorite outdoor activity of Pinoys: sun-avoidance) rather than use an umbrella. Umbrellas are almost nonexistent here. Even in the hottest of summer days, warm fresh air trumps stale airconditioned air anytime. A trend slowly picking up in Manila although I would hesitate because of the horrendous pollution and the sticky humidity. Quite uncomfortable rendering one looking like a limp rag. In Manila, I'll take the stale air-conditioned indoors over the warm carbon monoxide-laden outdoors anytime thank you. 

Mildura motor show draws a good crowd; default 
dress code for most everything is CASUAL

Events and activities they will do outdoors if they can help it. Water-based events such as ski races and fishing comps are very popular. Land-based such as motor shows and market days are convenient excuses to celebrate the great outdoors. They do know how to have fun. I am loving it. I've always been an outdoorsy person, but I am more so now having married a man of the bush.

caravans, a common sight on the road

This love affair extends to their golden years. Grey nomads. The common goal of the true green-and-gold Aussie---to explore the country on wheels in their greying years---at least the baby boomer generation of which I am told I'm part of (I don't mind, even though I feel and look more gen x. Heck I'll take both and enjoy the best of both!). Something like retiring on the road. The wander years. Fun! Entire magazines are dedicated to it dishing out advice on caravans, camping gear, destinations, hot fishing spots, stopovers, toilets guide, etc.  It's a common sight---a car or 4WD towing a caravan, a smiling relaxed older couple at the helm. 

typical caravan park

The countryside is replete with very comfortable caravan parks, a friendlier alternative to motels. Now, motels in Au do not have the same seedy connotation as they do in the Philippines, e.g. infamous for quickie illicit liaisons, places of ill-repute no self-respecting Filipina would be caught dead in. In fact, they're quite respectable places offering accommodation, nothing else. Hotels, at least in rural Au, are not the same as hotels where I come from e.g. high-rise places offering accommodation, fine food, conferencing facilities, entertainment. Hotels are in fact pubs where the community congregate after work for drinks, a feed, a game of darts or billiards, or watch some sport on the telly; normally no accommodation offered. 

my neighborhood pub/hotel

It's where the latest goss is shared between gulps of one's favorite ale. It's a good place for the traveling grey nomad to get the latest news from the bartender who would normally be the owner-publican (no not the anti-Christ character of the Bible, but the person that mans the pub. I felt so silly reacting like an offended Catholic upon hearing that word for the first time ---images of Christ being persecuted by a mob of publicans and sinners flashing through my mind ha!).

tyranny of distance; Mungo park 
far from everywhere

Travel, in general, seems to be in their blood. And why not? It'll take a lifetime to explore all 7.68 million sqkm of this vast and wonderfully diverse land. It's kinda by default that they have to travel anyway to cover tremendous distances. They even have a catch-phrase for it--the tyranny of distance. It used to boggle my mind  that it was nothing to them to drive 100 km for a meeting or a party then drive back the same day. What with such good roads and little traffic, 100 km would only take an hour to drive. As a Manilena, driving that far meant an overnight stay and certainly at least two hours of stressful driving one-way. I remember doing the commute from Subic (where I lived and worked for 4 yrs) to Manila and would pride myself if I covered it in under 3 hrs, all 160 km of it!! Must be better now with the new highway that's supposed to cut travel time by half. The only times I would come back the same day was when I hired a driver. Otherwise, it was too much for me. Now 4 years onward, it's nothing to me to drive for meetings 200+ kms away and come back in time for dinner. Certainly distance does not impinge on my quality of life these days. Most, except the ferals (remember this from Strine II?), are even overseas travel-literate which accounts for their warmly accepting manner. Nothing like exposure to other cultures and way of living to expand one's understanding and raise one's level of tolerance for human differences. 

@ Mungo Park lookout; the vastness behind us

Our personal homage to the great outdoors is our humble nipa hut (see The Aussie Barbie). It allows us many hours of outdoor enjoyment in comfort. Not to mention the business that Stan runs allows him to stay in close touch with it.  Me too from time to time when they need a female perspective or a spare cook. Someday, we will hit the road like a couple of smiling  relaxed grey nomads and carry on the happy tradition of our generation. Until then, we will strive not to let work get in the way too much of our travels.