| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Australia suffering 'man drought' |
| 2008-08-31 |
| An analysis of new census figures has shown that Australia is suffering from an unprecedented "man drought". The statistics have revealed that there are almost 100,000 more females than males in Australia. The problem is worse in the coastal cities, where women have moved seeking better jobs and lifestyles, while many men have gone overseas. Thirty years ago Australia was with flush with men thanks to immigration policies that favoured males. That position has been reversed because thousands of Australian men in their 20s and early 30s have gone overseas either to travel or to work. It has caused a gender imbalance that is having far-reaching implications. Major cities in Australia now have concentrated groups of unattached women, along with dwindling numbers of the opposite sex. Demographer Bernard Salt says the exodus of young men to foreign countries is leaving its mark. "If you go into the United Arab Emirates census you'll find there is around 12,000 Australians living in Dubai, mostly male, mostly in the 25 to 34-year age group. "Here is an example of one country that has drawn out a specific age demographic out of Australia which has contributed to the 'man drought'." But the situation outside of the larger towns and cities is very different. Vast numbers of women have abandoned the countryside seeking better jobs or education in metropolitan areas. They have left behind communities overloaded with younger males. In the town of Glenden in the northern state of Queensland there is one single female for every 23 men. Demographers have compiled a so-called "Love Map" that shows how the various clusters of unattached men and women are distributed across the Australian continent. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #10 That would bring wymens, thousands and thousands of tiny... hey wait a second, what blog is dis? |
| Posted by: .5MT 2008-08-31 16:59 |
| #9 AzCat: Only since the 1950s and the invention of the swamp cooler has Phoenix been barely tolerable; and still didn't get going until air conditioning. The city went from 50k to 2M in about 35 years. What I would recommend for the Australians would be to somehow pump sea water inland to make a "dead sea", which really isn't that dead. They might build a solar tower in the middle of it that would gradually desalinate the lake. They are already building a 1-km tall solar tower for energy, so why not a much smaller one to concentrate heat and boil water, to separate the salt from the clean water. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-08-31 16:32 |
| #8 TW, when I first read that I was reminded of the old adage, "Nothing is impossible for the person who doesn't have to do the job." The things that completely don't occur to me, Jolutch Mussolini7800, and not just because I haven't a hope in hell of becoming an economist. I was thinking of marriages, not professions, and being a bit sarcastic about cultural causes. If I'd actually thought what you thought I did, I would seriously deserve to be slapped. My apologies to the women of Australia. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-08-31 15:41 |
| #7 I remember the days when Australia was the land "Where men are men and sheep are nervous" Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2008-08-31 15:12 |
| #6 Perhaps Fred can organize a tour to OZ to help reduce the testosterone level generated by his Good Morning pics..... |
| Posted by: Phock Smith4218 2008-08-31 15:04 |
| #5 Clearly the 100,000 Australian women will save the excess millions of males of China and India. TW, when I first read that I was reminded of the old adage, "Nothing is impossible for the person who doesn't have to do the job." After that, I thought, "those are going to be some extremely busy women." Then the economist in me kicked in and I thought that at even a relatively modest charge, "those are going to be some extremely busy women who will become extremely wealthy very quickly." This has the potential to do wonders for Australia's balance-of-payments situation... |
| Posted by: Jolutch Mussolini7800 2008-08-31 13:30 |
| #4 Clearly the 100,000 Australian women will save the excess millions of males of China and India. There, that's solved. Would the next problem step up to the window, please. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-08-31 11:53 |
| #3 Thanks for rubbing it in, AzCat. ;) |
| Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields 2008-08-31 11:17 |
| #2 Phoenix is a recent phenomenon as is Vegas, at least as a large city. People go there because Phoenix summers are far more comfortable than midwestern and upper midwestern winters. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2008-08-31 01:16 |
| #1 I suspect the demographic imbalance reflects on a lot of things not mentioned. For example, even though the US has a lot of people on its coasts, inland there is at least one big city in every State, whether or not there is an obvious reason for there to be a big city in many States. Truthfully, there was no reason, so we made different reasons. So why doesn't Australia do the same? It could create a reason to have big cities out in the middle of nowhere, connected by a freeway system. And then, it would have to figure out how to support those cities. Many jobs would be created and sustained. Why is there a Phoenix? With nothing else, it focuses on electronics. Las Vegas? Gambling. Pretty soon such cities come up with their own motivation. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-08-31 00:32 |