Australia in Decline: How Every Australian Can Fight Back
Inspired by Greg Sheridan’s article in The Australian, May 24, 2025
Australia’s trajectory of decline, as starkly outlined by Greg Sheridan in The Australian, isn’t just a policy debate for politicians—it’s a wake-up call for every Australian. Sheridan paints a grim picture: a nation slipping across economic, social, health, education, and military metrics, not because of external forces but due to choices made by a “comfortable, coddled, and second-rate political class.”
Labor, Greens and the Liberal Party are systematically destroying Australia, and have been for some time. The talent pool for the political class in Australia is about as low as it can be. They are either clueless, or are dancing to the beat of a darker drum.
This decline affects every Australian in profound ways—higher costs, fewer opportunities, and a fraying and divided social fabric. The changing face of Australia does not have to been our final destination—there is hope. You, as an individual, can take steps to challenge this trajectory and reshape your environment.
How Decline Impacts Every Australian
Sheridan’s analysis, bolstered by voices like Nationals senator Matt Canavan and former deputy prime minister John Anderson, highlights a nation squandering its wealth and potential. Here’s how this decline hits home:
Economic Strain: Soaring home prices—nine times the average income nationally, 13 times in Sydney—lock younger Australians out of homeownership, eroding the Australian dream. Federal debt hitting $1 trillion, plus state debts like Victoria’s $200 billion, means higher taxes and interest payments ($27 billion this year alone) that burden every taxpayer. To frame this in layman’s speak, debt per capita is expected to reach $35,000 by 2027-28. Falling productivity and real income (down 8% in three years) shrink your purchasing power (something I have spoken about in video’s and previous Substack articles, making essentials like groceries and bills harder to afford.
Education Failures: Australian students lag four years behind peers in high-performing nations like Japan and Singapore in math, with one-third failing basic reading and math tests. This means your children or grandchildren face a future less equipped for global competition, limiting their career prospects.
Health and Wellbeing: Two-thirds of Australians are overweight or obese, and mental health issues have surged, with suicide the leading cause of death for those aged 15–44. This touches families, workplaces, and communities, increasing healthcare costs and emotional tolls.
Energy and Industry Losses: Policies pushing net-zero emissions by 2050 have spiked energy costs, driving industries like urea, plastics, and nickel offshore. This means fewer jobs and higher prices for goods, hitting your wallet and local economies.
Security Risks: A shrinking and outdated military—59,000 ADF members for 28 million people, down from 69,000 for 17 million in 1990—leaves Australia vulnerable, affecting national pride and safety.
Lack of Transition: We have lost the art of handing down skills and information and skills to future generations. There was a time where skills and information were part of the family structure, yet those days seem a distant memory as we loose touch with life’s true successes and rely on AI or Google for our information.
Sheridan’s core argument, echoed by Canavan’s policy-driven rebellion, is that Australia’s leaders are choosing mediocrity over ambition. The “cultural cringe” of blindly following global trends like net zero, while ignoring practical realities, risks turning a resource-rich nation into a shadow of its potential.
What You Can Do to Change Your Environment
You’re not powerless. While politicians make these changes, individual and community actions can shift the needle. Here’s how you can respond to Australia’s decline:
Engage Politically:
Vote with Purpose: Research candidates who prioritise economic reform, education improvement, and pragmatic energy policies. Support those, like Canavan, who challenge the status quo on issues like net zero or industrial relations.
Contact Your MP: Write or call your local representative to demand accountability on debt, education, and energy costs. Share Sheridan’s statistics—like the $1 trillion debt or 1.44 fertility rate—to ground your concerns.
Join or Support Policy Groups: Back organizations like the Page Research Centre, which provide data-driven insights to counter complacent policies.
Invest in Education:
Support Your Kids’ Learning: Supplement school with online resources like Khan Academy or tutoring to bridge the gap in math and reading skills. Encourage them to learn about money, inflation, and store of value assets to prepare them for the world that awaits.
Advocate Locally: Join school boards or parent groups to push for better curricula and teacher training, addressing the NAPLAN failure rates Sheridan cites. If you can, pull them out and homeschool them. Granted, this is a luxury few can afford because finances do not permit. Oh the irony.
Promote Health and Community:
Lead by Example: Prioritise personal health through diet and exercise to counter the obesity epidemic. Share healthy habits with family and friends to build community resilience.
Mental Health Advocacy: Support local mental health initiatives. Organise community events to foster connection, reducing the isolation driving the 50% rise in youth mental health issues.
Economic Empowerment:
Live Within Means: Budget to mitigate the impact of rising costs and taxes. Explore shared housing, tiny homes, leasing land, or regional moves to afford homeownership.
Get out of debt. It is the chain that keeps you tethered to a corrupt system.
Support Local Businesses: Buy from Australian manufacturers and farmers to bolster industries hit by high energy costs and offshoring. It is much easier to stroll into Woolworths or Coles, yet this is one of many fatal conveniences.
Challenge the Net-Zero Narrative:
Educate Yourself: Research the economic costs of net zero versus its climate impact, using sources like the Page Research Centre or global energy reports. Understand why Sheridan calls it “fraudulent” when major emitters like China and India delay action.
Speak Up: Use social media or community forums to question policies that raise energy bills without clear benefits.
Build Community Resilience:
Connect Locally: Form or join neighbourhood groups to discuss issues like crime or cost of living. Collective action amplifies your voice.
Mentor the Next Generation: Encourage young people to pursue trades countering the low fertility rate and skill shortages by investing in their future.
A Call to Action
Sheridan’s piece, published in The Australian, isn’t just a critique—it’s a mirror showing where Australia could end up without change. Every Australian feels the pinch of declining living standards, failing schools, and a weaker nation. But by engaging politically, prioritising education and health, and questioning costly policies, you can help steer Australia away from mediocrity.
Start small—write to your MP, support a local school, or spark a conversation about energy costs. As Sheridan warns, ignoring decline assumes it will be gentle. History, from Nauru to Britain, suggests otherwise. Act now to reclaim Australia’s ambition.
This article draws heavily on the insights of Greg Sheridan’s column in The Australian, with thanks for his incisive analysis.