Much as we love our dear motherland of Australia, it’s fair to say that there are a few things about the place we could see putting outsiders off. Sky-high rental and property prices are one thing, while our swarms of resident beasts are another.

However, its rare that the public is asked to vote on one of their nation’s worst or — specifically — most backward features. And yet, you can always count on Reddit to ask the questions you’re always too afraid to ask yourself and, more importantly, answer them with brutal honesty.

What is the most backward thing about Australia?
byu/Fit-Parsnip9888 inAskAnAustralian

As my intro foretold. Housing prices were one thing that came up again and again in the comment section, with users decrying how housing is treated by those with the means to invest as an asset, rather than a home first and foremost:

“Housing is an investment first and a home last.”

alstom_888m

Another one that surprised this recent transplant to the antipodean world was the lack of viable nightlife options, with many feeling that the nation — or, specifically, its largest city — has failed to recover from the notorious lock-out laws of the 2010s, while much of it has never had a reasonable nighttime offer to begin with, especially for those that aren’t on the grog:

“Lack of late-night socialising options that don’t involve noisy and/or boozy places.”

teashirtsau

In a similar vein to this was a sadness about the pervasiveness of one of the few ubiquitous nightlife options that — for the unfortunate addicted — often becomes a daytime and days-long affair too: gambling. Summarised succinctly by this commenter:

“The pokies were bad enough, the damage was immense, but only to the tiny fraction of people that use them. But now the gambling apps are everywhere.”

[Anon.]

Another issue that really struck a chord, appearing multiple times in the comments and coming in at 2nd place overall, was Australia’s energy industry. Specifically, how the industry produces and swallows up massive amounts of money that, in the eyes of many, could and should be reinvested back into the nation’s flagging infrastructure:

“We absolutely need to follow the Norwegian (Finland? One of the Scandies…) model and put mining $ back towards people programs. School funding, libraries, renewable energy, etc.”

Beingstealthy

However, by far and away the top-voted answer realkted to one particular piece of infrastructure that, evidently, is causing Aussies a great deal of frustration and inconvenience:

“Internet speeds.”

jtc2991

With almost 700 votes — almost 200 more than the 2nd place answer — this is the issue closest to Australians’ hearts and, it seems, needs addressing urgently.

One commenter said that the moment they realised how bad it truly was occurred when they were taking a trip from London to Paris on the Eurostar, and found the WiFi available on a train at the bottom of the sea far surpassed the speeds they could get at home…

Did these answers surprise you? What would you have said instead? Or do these align perfectly with the way you perceive of Australia and all the wonders therein? Let us know.