Which means we are doomed to be the poor white trash of Asia, especially when all the true results of our thinly veiled feelings of racial and cultural superiority come home to roost.

I suppose our upcoming Asian overlords will be happy enough if we act like the same happy puppy to them as we have to our current masters.

Australia is already a low salary/wage country. Any professional who has worked in the US, Europe or Asia knows that. I can recall during Keating's tenure that there was a fear that Australia was the white collar slave shops of Asia. Our white collar professionals being much cheaper than their Singaporean, Japanese or Korean equivalent.

When I come back to Australia, I will be taking a massive pay cut, solely because Australian business doesnt pay as well as American business does. It is not like the cost of living is higher, Washington DC is just as unaffordable as Sydney is. There are many Australian professionals in the diaspora who probably cannot afford to come back to Australia.

Cameron,

is not the minimum wage in the US lower than that in Australia? Is not the welfare state in the US less generous?

Gary, The US spends tonnes on welfare. Health and Welfare at the federal level consumes $600 billion a year, more than the Australian GDP. That does not include the states, counties or cities spending on health and welfare either. The recent US Medicare legislation carries liabilities of 8 trillion - more than China's GDP.

There is a welfare state in the US, it just doesnt work very well, and is dominated by political bungling.

The Lowy Institute study on the Australian Diaspora found that the demographic of the diaspora was changing to what they called "gold collar" workers. These people arent going to come back if Australia cant compete with the rest of the world for salaries.

I know of several people that have gone back to Au from the US and taken a fifty percent pay cut in doing so. There is really no impetus to go back home if you can earn more overseas. Salaries are going to have to compete with the rest of the world if people are to remain in Australia, otherwise Australian youth will nick of overseas as part of the global labour pool, seeking adventure and greater remuneration.

A diaspora of 5% will quickly become 10% if salaries stay low. The only thing holding flight back will be nation-states trying to control immigration and where people can be. It is hard enough as it is to get a work visa because of nation-states.

The government has to cut back the size of the state. Mainly the federal government, it has been expanding its revenues each year, and handing it back as electoral bribes and middle class welfare. If Howard wants to make Australia competitive he can reduce taxation on middle income earners, so that salaries at least become competitive.

LITTLE, lying, deceitful johnie howard is making us into another America. Whether that is orders from G.Bush or perhaps johnie's crawling is debatable. Changes to the health, employment, drug policies and others. The Australian electorate, like the pre-war germans, are just too stupid to see this man as he is. numbat

The paper by george zhibin gu is interesting, which shows that the world and China are closely linked to each other. Therefore, finding rational solutions to settle differences is a must.

CNOOC, a Chinese oil company, attempted to buy a US company Unocal, a Californian energy producer, for $US 18.5 billion.

I say attempted because the bid aroused a political storm in the US that sank the bid.

So much for all the preaching by the US about free trade, the free flow of capital and the global marketplace.

Waht would Treasuer Costello, given the free trade agreement talks with China, do if CNOOC bid for Woodside?