I've been skimming through this thread and just felt so compelled to write something I signed up to do it.
The amount of misinformation, generalisation and general stupidity that has flowed through this thread is beyond belief.
Australia is a very small country (population-wise) with a disproportionate amount of society. I'm sure everyone here would agree that more crime (per capita) happens in big cities...? Well, about 95% of the Australian population lives in large, metropolitan cities. Our population is not spread out as much as other countries. It makes sense then that these figures may be higher than other countries. It doesn't mean there is more crime here than in other countries - it just means that more of the population is potentially exposed to it. Remember, this data is all presented PER CAPITA which I think a lot of you don't seem to understand fully. Imagine doing this same survey for say some small rural town vs Los Angeles - you would get very different results. That's all that's happening here.
Citing figures such as 'a 300% rise in gun-related deaths in Victoria' is the kind of shock analysis the media is famous for. You need to look deeper into the figures. A 300% rise in deaths could mean a raise from 3 deaths to 9, maybe even because of one incident. Percentages mean jack all unless you can look at them within the correct context. Crime in Australia also tends to be limited to small socio-economic groups. The majority of the Australian population are not a part of these groups. If you're part of an ethnic gang, fighting other ethnic gangs, then yeah you're in for some crime. A lot actually. But if you're not - no problems. Our general society is safer than most - we don't have everyday people carrying weapons and performing hate crimes nearly as much as other western societies...
Finally, you guys have REALLY got to let go of the whole 'colonised by criminals' thing. It's hilarious because it's just so god damn inaccurate. It is true that some of the first white people here in Australia were convicts. Some. In that first batch there were also just as many non-felons / free settlers. Following that there were intense periods of migration from the UK, Europe and many other places to Australia of perfectly normal immigrants. Point is - the vast, vast, vast, vast majority of people that arrived in Australia to colonise the country WEREN'T criminals. I would challenge you to find an Australian descended from an original convict settler. You would have to search very long and very wide to find one. In any case, these 'criminals' that got shipped over were usually in prison for things like stealing some bread to feed their families, not rape and murder (there were some, sure, but not many). Show me a family anywhere else that has a lineage in which no-one has ever committed any crime whatsoever, small or large, and I'll eat my hat. It's a shame that this myth still exists, even among 'intelligent' commentators who use it for their lame jokes. Imagine if I suggested every single American wears giant buckle hats because they are all descended from pilgrims. It's totally bogus.
All in all, Australia is by and far one of the safest countries to live in the western world. The idea that this is a dangerous place is absurd. It's an absolutely retarded assumption. Australia could not be safer if the government wrapped everyone up in bubble wrap. Those lists skew the figures because of disproportionate population factors. Write down the populations of each county and you will see what I mean.
Last edited by VinghNigh (2007-03-21 18:28:54)