There is a wide impression around the world that Australia is not a safe place to visit.

How would you advertise the safety of Australia? Remember, it’s advertising so doesn’t have to be true.

Ideas that I came up with:

• No bears, cougars, leopards, rhinos or other large land predator.
• Few kalashnikovs and uzis.
• Few nuclear weapons.
• Further away from pandemics.
• Sure we have crocodilians, buth then so does Asia, Africa and N and S America.
• Sure we have spiders, but our most dangerous spider is related to the Black Widow / Brown Widow which is also found in Asia, Africa and N and S America.
• Law-abiding citizens, fewer people in prisons.
• Shark nets.
• The water is safe to drink. (Would someone please tell John Hopkins University this)
• The food is safe to eat, unlike England where the eggs can kill you!
• Australia is not a nation of drunkards. The alcohol is watered down. There’s less alcoholism than in Asia, Europe, N and S America. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Alcohol_use_disorders_world_map-DALYs_per_million_persons-WHO2012.svg
• No hustlers.
• Safe roads.
• No poison ivy or poison oak.
• Hardly any pollution.
• No blizzards.
• No malaria, TB, rabies or Aids.
• No civil war at the moment.
• Our largest land predator is the size of kitten, and only lives in Tasmania.
• Fewer snakebite deaths per year than any other populated continent (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_of_snakebites).

No native predators, but there’s feral pigs. I would not care to be incapacitated and have a feral pig discover me.

Redbacks the most dangerous spider? There much debate to be had there – funnel webs.

No malaria? Not in mainland Australia, but still makes appearances on Torres Strait Islands – and it’d be back here again, if it gets half a chance. Let’s not forget we have Ross River fever, and dengue still makes regular re-appearances. TB and rabies? Just waiting for the opportunity…

Water safe to drink? Yeah, that’s pretty right. One of the great unsung joys of this country, not appreciated until you’ve been where tap water is lethal.

It’s pretty good, but it hasd its hazards, too.

It’s about kitten sized.

mollwollfumble said:

There is a wide impression around the world that Australia is not a safe place to visit.

How would you advertise the safety of Australia? Remember, it’s advertising so doesn’t have to be true.

Ideas that I came up with:

• Sure we have spiders, but our most dangerous spider is related to the Black Widow / Brown Widow which is also found in Asia, Africa and N and S America.
• No hustlers.
• No malaria, TB, rabies or Aids.

These are wrong.

poikilotherm said:

mollwollfumble said:

There is a wide impression around the world that Australia is not a safe place to visit.

How would you advertise the safety of Australia? Remember, it’s advertising so doesn’t have to be true.

Ideas that I came up with:

• Sure we have spiders, but our most dangerous spider is related to the Black Widow / Brown Widow which is also found in Asia, Africa and N and S America.
• No hustlers.
• No malaria, TB, rabies or Aids.

These are wrong.

Also:

blue-ringed octopuses, box jellyfish, stone fish.

And we have trees that will sting you like billy-o if you come into contact with them.

sibeen said:

It’s about kitten sized.

Not dangerous.

• The Tasmanian devil is. OK, I should have said mammal.

Australia doesn’t have any of the most dangerous lizards of turtles, those are in N and S America and Malaysia / Indonesia.

> Feral pigs.

You think other countries don’t have pigs?

Also:

• No secret pollice.
• No anti-gay laws.
• Few Molotov cocktails. (Unlike France).

If you want to emphasise the safe aspects of visiting Australia, you could point to:

the low incidence of violent street crime

Strict gun laws that vastly reduce your risk of being confronted with one

Effective and generally honest police who will actually help you if you need them.

Reliably uncorrupted public servants, independent and (reasonably) fair courts.

Consumer protection laws, health and food safety regulations, transport safety laws.

Good hospital/health systems (COVID notwithstanding).

Reliable public transport, generally good roads.

mollwollfumble said:

sibeen said:

It’s about kitten sized.

Not dangerous.

• The Tasmanian devil is. OK, I should have said mammal.

Australia doesn’t have any of the most dangerous lizards of turtles, those are in N and S America and Malaysia / Indonesia.

> Feral pigs.

You think other countries don’t have pigs?

Also:

• No secret pollice.
• No anti-gay laws.
• Few Molotov cocktails. (Unlike France).

I know there’s feral pigs, but the OP said ‘no…other large land predator’. That there’s feral pigs here negates that.

Easy stroll to the top of the tallest mountain.

captain_spalding said:

poikilotherm said:

mollwollfumble said:

There is a wide impression around the world that Australia is not a safe place to visit.

How would you advertise the safety of Australia? Remember, it’s advertising so doesn’t have to be true.

Ideas that I came up with:

• Sure we have spiders, but our most dangerous spider is related to the Black Widow / Brown Widow which is also found in Asia, Africa and N and S America.
• No hustlers.
• No malaria, TB, rabies or Aids.

These are wrong.

Also:

blue-ringed octopuses, box jellyfish, stone fish.

And we have trees that will sting you like billy-o if you come into contact with them.

And we have inconsiderate people who smoke their neighbours out with stinking toxic wood heaters.

Bubblecar said:

And we have inconsiderate people who smoke their neighbours out with stinking toxic wood heaters.

Quiet, you.

Do you want to jeopardise a multi-billion dollar industry?

captain_spalding said:

blue-ringed octopuses, box jellyfish, stone fish.

And we have trees that will sting you like billy-o if you come into contact with them.

Other countriies have deadly sea creatures, eg. the lions mane jellyfish for England. Orcas. At least Australia’s are small.

I already mentioned poison ivy and poison oak. Unlike Australia, these are found in the locations where the population density is highest, like New York.

The stonefish are like scorpionfish and lionfish, found in every populated continent. Even Europe.

mollwollfumble said:

There is a wide impression around the world that Australia is not a safe place to visit.

in FY18-19 direct revenues from domestic and international tourism was worth almost $61 billion

seems to me a lot of people disagree with the fundamental premise of your statement.

captain_spalding said:

If you want to emphasise the safe aspects of visiting Australia, you could point to:

the low incidence of violent street crime

Strict gun laws that vastly reduce your risk of being confronted with one

Effective and generally honest police who will actually help you if you need them.

Reliably uncorrupted public servants, independent and (reasonably) fair courts.

Consumer protection laws, health and food safety regulations, transport safety laws.

Good hospital/health systems (COVID notwithstanding).

Reliable public transport, generally good roads.

Hey thanks, that’s good.

diddly-squat said:

mollwollfumble said:

There is a wide impression around the world that Australia is not a safe place to visit.

in FY18-19 direct revenues from domestic and international tourism was worth almost $61 billion

seems to me a lot of people disagree with the fundamental premise of your statement.

$61 billion worth of thrillseekers.

‘I went to Australia, and got out alive.’

7th is moderately popular…

No active volcanoes and little seismic activity compared to many other parts of the world

Speedy said:

No active volcanoes and little seismic activity compared to many other parts of the world

Ooh, yeah, forgot about that one.

Just look at NZ. Lovely place, but at any moment, the ground itself could open into a yawning pit beneath your feet.

And sunlit uplands.

Peak Warming Man said:

And sunlit uplands.

Some times a little bit too sunlit, but there you go…

I do not believe orcas pose a threat to humans in the wild.

poikilotherm said:

7th is moderately popular…

That’s much higher up the list than I expected.

So, is Australia safer than the other seven? Germany safer?

Italy isn’t, it has occasional people who delight in hurting tourists.
In France beware of violent demonstrations.
In the UK the food isn’t always safe, if you value your life then avoid their hospital system, and if you have an accident in the street then poeple will literally step over you without even pausing.

Bogsnorkler said:

I do not believe orcas pose a threat to humans in the wild.

Even if they were called Friendly Whales, I still wouldn’t like to swim with them.

Speedy said:

Bogsnorkler said:

I do not believe orcas pose a threat to humans in the wild.

Even if they were called Friendly Whales, I still wouldn’t like to swim with them.

they are called killer whales cos they kill a whale or two.

Speedy said:

Bogsnorkler said:

I do not believe orcas pose a threat to humans in the wild.

Even if they were called Friendly Whales, I still wouldn’t like to swim with them.

A good rule is to avoid anything that has bigger teeth than you do.

But this does not mean that you shouldn’t be wary of e.g. piranhas.

captain_spalding said:

Speedy said:

No active volcanoes and little seismic activity compared to many other parts of the world

Ooh, yeah, forgot about that one.

Just look at NZ. Lovely place, but at any moment, the ground itself could open into a yawning pit beneath your feet.

Excellent point. I get nervous when visiting Auckland because of the number of faults and volcanoes there.

Japan is relatively safe – but slight earthquake problem.

!https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/238342357_4890130374333984_7805696541742082998_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=ae9488&_nc_ohc=rdwmgybvwokAX8qvDoq&_nc_ht=scontent-syd2-1.xx&oh=6def901e7454b216a5b79b22f5f9b3d3&oe=6151A098!


Visited by grandchildren. There was an art attack.

Sorry. *mentions that some parts of Tassie have boil only water.

Also the Americans bang on about how dangerous Aussie animals are but 99% of them seem to have Lyme disease.

• No skunks

Likewise, blue ringed octopus are widely distributed around the Indo-Pacific region, and not unique to Australia. There’s a few different species that can be found from Japan to Fiji and Vanuatu in the Pacific, and from Thailand to the Maldives and India in the Indian Ocean.

We have a very high level of confidence that Australian beef comes from cows and not horses,

mollwollfumble said:

• Safe roads.
  

This may discourage tourism. Yungas Road in Bolivia, also known as “Death Road”, kills about 300 people per year, and is a popular tourist attraction, attracting about 25000 tourists per year. Maybe Australia should build its own death road, one that kills even more than 300 people per year, and sell it to the world as even more dangerous than the one in Bolivia.

captain_spalding said:

Bubblecar said:

And we have inconsiderate people who smoke their neighbours out with stinking toxic wood heaters.

Quiet, you.

Do you want to jeopardise a multi-billion dollar industry?

I still have suspicions that having the same person as Minister for Police and Minister for tourism was what got Lindy Chamberlain thrown under the bus to save NT tourism.

Kingy said:

captain_spalding said:

Bubblecar said:

And we have inconsiderate people who smoke their neighbours out with stinking toxic wood heaters.

Quiet, you.

Do you want to jeopardise a multi-billion dollar industry?

I still have suspicions that having the same person as Minister for Police and Minister for tourism was what got Lindy Chamberlain thrown under the bus to save NT tourism.

Nah, I was in Darwin at the time and everyone thought she did it.

party_pants said:

We have a very high level of confidence that Australian beef comes from cows and not horses,

LOL

Bogsnorkler said:

I do not believe orcas pose a threat to humans in the wild.

Neither do rhinos, but let’s not let facts get in the way of a post.

Arts said:

Bogsnorkler said:

I do not believe orcas pose a threat to humans in the wild.

Neither do rhinos, but let’s not let facts get in the way of a post.

Since when have there been humans in the wild?

Kingy said:

captain_spalding said:

Bubblecar said:

And we have inconsiderate people who smoke their neighbours out with stinking toxic wood heaters.

Quiet, you.

Do you want to jeopardise a multi-billion dollar industry?

I still have suspicions that having the same person as Minister for Police and Minister for tourism was what got Lindy Chamberlain thrown under the bus to save NT tourism.

Not really a big secret.

furious said:

Arts said:

Bogsnorkler said:

I do not believe orcas pose a threat to humans in the wild.

Neither do rhinos, but let’s not let facts get in the way of a post.

Since when have there been humans in the wild?

I have to go into the out almost every day now… it’s a jungle out there.

Arts said:

furious said:

Arts said:

Neither do rhinos, but let’s not let facts get in the way of a post.

Since when have there been humans in the wild?

I have to go into the out almost every day now… it’s a jungle out there.

Yeah, but you’re still within your colony…

Arts said:

furious said:

Arts said:

Neither do rhinos, but let’s not let facts get in the way of a post.

Since when have there been humans in the wild?

I have to go into the out almost every day now… it’s a jungle out there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBdF3E2NVI8&ab_channel=RandyNewman

furious said:

Arts said:

furious said:

Since when have there been humans in the wild?

I have to go into the out almost every day now… it’s a jungle out there.

Yeah, but you’re still within your colony…

It’s scary and weird.

poikilotherm said:

mollwollfumble said:

There is a wide impression around the world that Australia is not a safe place to visit.

How would you advertise the safety of Australia? Remember, it’s advertising so doesn’t have to be true.

Ideas that I came up with:

• Sure we have spiders, but our most dangerous spider is related to the Black Widow / Brown Widow which is also found in Asia, Africa and N and S America.
• No hustlers.
• No malaria, TB, rabies or Aids.

These are wrong.

Yep. Very wrong.

Arts said:

Bogsnorkler said:

I do not believe orcas pose a threat to humans in the wild.

Neither do rhinos, but let’s not let facts get in the way of a post.

They do if you are sitting around your camp fire.

Bogsnorkler said:

Arts said:

Bogsnorkler said:

I do not believe orcas pose a threat to humans in the wild.

Neither do rhinos, but let’s not let facts get in the way of a post.

They do if you are sitting around your camp fire.

White Rhinos tend to be quite placid. The smaller black ones are a bit toey.

sarahs mum said:

Sorry. *mentions that some parts of Tassie have boil only water.

Also the Americans bang on about how dangerous Aussie animals are but 99% of them seem to have Lyme disease.

Where in Tasmania? Looks it up.

• Taswater “Current Boil Water Advice. There are no Boil Water Alerts”
• “21 Aug 2018 — TasWater has announced that the days of boiling water in Tasmania to make it safe to drink are over for now, but challenges remain”.
• “28 Aug 2018 — Public health boil alerts have been removed from all TasWater connected water supplies”.

OK, so safe. Apparently, even where there is a boil water alert in Tasmania, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the water is unsafe to drink., only suggests that it might me.

> Lyme disease

Noted.

mollwollfumble said:

sarahs mum said:

Sorry. *mentions that some parts of Tassie have boil only water.

Also the Americans bang on about how dangerous Aussie animals are but 99% of them seem to have Lyme disease.

Where in Tasmania? Looks it up.

• Taswater “Current Boil Water Advice. There are no Boil Water Alerts”
• “21 Aug 2018 — TasWater has announced that the days of boiling water in Tasmania to make it safe to drink are over for now, but challenges remain”.
• “28 Aug 2018 — Public health boil alerts have been removed from all TasWater connected water supplies”.

OK, so safe. Apparently, even where there is a boil water alert in Tasmania, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the water is unsafe to drink., only suggests that it might me.

> Lyme disease

Noted.

There is no Lyme Disease in Australia that we know of. But lots of people look it up on the internet and self-diagnose. There may well be a tick-borne disease in Australia with similar symptoms.

Michael V said:

mollwollfumble said:

sarahs mum said:

Sorry. *mentions that some parts of Tassie have boil only water.

Also the Americans bang on about how dangerous Aussie animals are but 99% of them seem to have Lyme disease.

Where in Tasmania? Looks it up.

• Taswater “Current Boil Water Advice. There are no Boil Water Alerts”
• “21 Aug 2018 — TasWater has announced that the days of boiling water in Tasmania to make it safe to drink are over for now, but challenges remain”.
• “28 Aug 2018 — Public health boil alerts have been removed from all TasWater connected water supplies”.

OK, so safe. Apparently, even where there is a boil water alert in Tasmania, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the water is unsafe to drink., only suggests that it might me.

> Lyme disease

Noted.

There is no Lyme Disease in Australia that we know of. But lots of people look it up on the internet and self-diagnose. There may well be a tick-borne disease in Australia with similar symptoms.

This.

Is it safe

Some more:

• No killer bees
• No murder hornets
• No quicksands
• No deadly bogs

mollwollfumble said:

• Not much malaria, TB, rabies or Aids.
  

Fixed that for you.

No endemic malaria, not much TB, cough Lyssavirus / cough and 30,000 Aids cases.

mollwollfumble said:

Some more:

• No killer bees
• No murder hornets
• No quicksands
• No deadly bogs
  

You haven’t been in some of the bogs I’ve been in then.

captain_spalding said:

No native predators, but there’s feral pigs. I would not care to be incapacitated and have a feral pig discover me.

Redbacks the most dangerous spider? There much debate to be had there – funnel webs.

No malaria? Not in mainland Australia, but still makes appearances on Torres Strait Islands – and it’d be back here again, if it gets half a chance. Let’s not forget we have Ross River fever, and dengue still makes regular re-appearances. TB and rabies? Just waiting for the opportunity…

Water safe to drink? Yeah, that’s pretty right. One of the great unsung joys of this country, not appreciated until you’ve been where tap water is lethal.

It’s pretty good, but it has its hazards, too.

Redbacks are far from our most dangerous spider. We haven’t even found some of our more dangerous spiders yet.
I’ve seen where the pigs almost had all of his leg off before anyone could get him away from the pigs in his own pigsty.

poikilotherm said:

mollwollfumble said:

There is a wide impression around the world that Australia is not a safe place to visit.

How would you advertise the safety of Australia? Remember, it’s advertising so doesn’t have to be true.

Ideas that I came up with:

• Sure we have spiders, but our most dangerous spider is related to the Black Widow / Brown Widow which is also found in Asia, Africa and N and S America.
• No hustlers.
• No malaria, TB, rabies or Aids.

These are wrong.

Yep. I’ve had TB and I’ve never been out of Australia.

roughbarked said:

poikilotherm said:

mollwollfumble said:

There is a wide impression around the world that Australia is not a safe place to visit.

How would you advertise the safety of Australia? Remember, it’s advertising so doesn’t have to be true.

Ideas that I came up with:

• Sure we have spiders, but our most dangerous spider is related to the Black Widow / Brown Widow which is also found in Asia, Africa and N and S America.
• No hustlers.
• No malaria, TB, rabies or Aids.

These are wrong.

Yep. I’ve had TB and I’ve never been out of Australia.

Say “grifters” instead of “hustlers”? The US is a nation of grifters. The middle east is full of hagglers.

No significant new TB cases now. Used to be a TB problem, both my parents had TB. My mum was in the last specialist TB ward in Sydney when it closed down.

For AIDS, all the WHO will admit is that Australia has fewer than 200 new AIDS cases a year.

For rabies. That’s in India and Nigeria etc.

Death rates per capita from Rabies.