Ozzie Castles - Australia

May 2006
As a result of an expanding economy and higher income, many Australian families are looking for bigger homes. They are planning and building houses with all the facilities they dream of, often including a home theatre, a four-car garage and ensuites for all bedrooms. Those new buildings, nicknamed 'mac mansions' because they are fast and easy to build are sprouting all over Australia. Some elderly neighbours are sad to see the leafier traditional suburbs give way to what they call 'a concrete jungle'. They are also nostalgic for a sense of community, which is fading now that 'castle thinking' is catching on and everything seems to happen behind those new towering walls.
Is this ostentatious display of wealth just the result of a competition among neighbours to do better and bigger than others? The owners themselves say they simply whish to provide their kids with a better lifestyle and see their properties as a reward for their hard work.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Australia
• housing
• castles
• extravagance
• lifestyle
• news
• documentary
• current affairs
• journeyman
• journeyman pictures

[pomplumber]

OZ has turned into a fat greedy nation built on credit

[TheUnlikelyBallerina]

If success means living in one of those things(for the lack of better word), no thank you, not for me!

[sighbaru]

So this is where my life savings has gone,fuck you lot,give me land lots of land under the star-ray skies above don"t fence me in.With debt that is,signed homeless bum.

[ilikevines]

I never really noticed just how well (in economic terms, at least) Australia was doing. I'm both proud and ashamed by what I saw in the video.

[Botie2]

Good to see the tall poppy syndrome is still alive and well in Oz.

[Soman74899829]

0:01

[Soman74899829]

@canadastreetmedia using my stalker technique you can! xD jokes but i did find out where it is

[DeafFret]

That's quite a cool little 2 br unit. 

[canadastreetmedia]

the cab driver couple seemed really very nice and down to earth.

its nice to see regular type people succeed so well and be still be happy together.

Id like to hear there story.

[Mollarooza]

I agree 100%

Thats why I am thinking of leaving

[Sunny3438]

this is disgusting. austalia's changed for the worse.

[coasteys]

crazy john ilhan is gone now anyway so hopefully he was aware of the bigger picture. No problem with people building huge houses but young should have the opportunity to own at least moderate sized home