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.