Australians are miserable and anxious because the media coaches them

Lamentable reporting by mainstream media hacks is a major reason Australia ranks well down the global happiness tables. Alan Austin reports.

AN ARTICLE appeared in the Canberra Times last week with the disturbing heading:

‘Voters despair as economic hurdles cloud future.’

It lamented that ‘Australians are losing hope as economic burdens weigh on their minds’. My goodness!

It claimed ‘one in three Australians has reported financial stress’. It bemoaned that life satisfaction was at ‘its lowest levels since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns’. Oh dear! Terrible.

This is one of countless articles denigrating Australia’s surging economy, urging voters to feel helpless and depressed and, most importantly, to be angry at the Prime Minister. Independent Australia recently listed 53 other such examples here, here, here, here and here.

Economics reporters lie and cheat to deviously derail Labor

Australia’s mainstream newsrooms are deploying multiple devious tactics to persuade voters to ditch Labor.

These contrast dramatically with reportage in Finland’s major newspaper, the Helsinki Times, such as this headed ‘Business satisfaction with Finnish government at all-time high, shows survey’. And this: ‘Finnish grocery chains are most profitable in world, views professor’.

Finland’s daily newspapers – which can be viewed in English, Swedish and Finnish – routinely encourage community pride by celebrating economic achievements.

This is explained by Finland having a vastly better economy. Right?

Contrasting economies

Wrong. The disparity in economic outcomes is stark. Australia’s jobless rate has ranged between 3.4% and 4.2% for the last three years and is now 4.1%. Finland’s is now 9.5%, having fluctuated between 5.8% and 10.2%.

Finland has had five negative quarters of quarterly GDP growth in the last three years and six of negative annual growth. Australia has had none of either.

Australia’s median wealth per adult is the second highest in the world at AU$414,000 – three times that of Finland’s, which ranks 23rd. Finland’s top tax rate is 58%, compared with Australia’s 45%.

Australia has generated budget surpluses and repaid debt for the last two years. Finland has been in deficit since 2008. Finland’s post-COVID inflation was much higher and lasted far longer than Australia’s.

Australia now has close to the world’s best economic outcomes on every significant measure — streets ahead of Finland.

Comparing happiness scores

In 2024, Finland ranked number one on the United Nations’ world happiness index for the sixth year in a row. Australia came tenth.

The 2023 report applied a three-year-average, 2020–2022. This placed Finland first and Australia 12th. The 2020 report used the years 2017–2019 and also ranked Finland first and Australia 12th.

So, do the Finns have more sunshiny days for garden parties, barbecues or relaxing at the beach? No, far fewer. More wineries and better wines? Of course not. Greater variety of fresh local fruits and vegetables? Sadly, no.

Freedom from fear of invasion by a hostile neighbour? Nyet. Finland shares a 1,340 kilometre frontier with Russia which now has border garrisons in place. Lower crime rate? Not even close. Australia’s annual homicide rate is 7.4 per million population. Finland’s is 16.5.

‘Labor big spenders’ myth can finally be laid to rest

Substantial evidence from independent agencies last week has affirmed the Albanese Government’s economic credentials.

Longer life expectancy? No, Aussies live 83.2 years versus 81.2 for Finns. Better sex? This requires more research.

So, why are Finns consistently much happier than Australians?

Media manipulation — destructive and effective

Opinion polls have shown for years that voters believe the Liberal Party manages Australia’s economy better than Labor. The latest Resolve sounding, taken in late January, measured this at 41% to 24%.

Of course, that is ridiculous — that 41% of voters are completely deluded. All evidence has proven overwhelmingly that economic outcomes have been much better under Labor going back to the Hawke/Keating years.

This was partly quantified here last week, whereby 32 key variables were shown to have shifted from near the bottom of global rankings to the top, or perilously close to — in under three years.

What that Resolve poll actually measures is the extent to which mainstream newsrooms have convinced voters to believe the opposite of the truth. It confirms they are succeeding.

Murdoch’s outlets are now running a campaign with concocted “stories” such as one headed ‘Plunging living standards hit households harder than past recessions’. This claimed falsely that ‘Living standards in Australia during the inflation crisis have fallen more dramatically than in any other OECD country’.

That article and its companion pieces are riddled with blatant lies. This does not happen in Finland, nor in most other advanced democracies.

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Australia's incompetent mainstream newsrooms continue feeding the nation anti-Labor editorials as the Federal Election looms. Here's why Jim Chalmers won't take the bait.

Finland's media — evidence of a better way

Susanna Mykkänen Irlès is a multi-lingual Finnish translator working with European institutions.

She told IA that newsrooms in Finland do not foment anger, hatred and anxiety as they do in Australia:

“We have faith in our media. They are independent and not there to sell or make money. There is not someone rich controlling it for their benefit. We often notice good news, like a company creating new jobs or selling their products abroad for example.”

Irlès identified other important differences:

We trust our government, the police, the tax authorities and other institutions. We see where our tax money goes — free health care, school meals, higher education and libraries. We are all treated equally and our bosses trust us to work without supervision. We can work at home, or in the garden.

We have clean forests and lakes near us everywhere. We can relax there and just breathe, without noise, stress and crowds. And our news media is committed to informing, not deceiving.

The way forward for Australians is to turn off the TV, cancel the newspapers and get news from outlets which don’t lie and manipulate. Then voters can stop despairing at the economic hurdles clouding their future and perhaps enjoy a barbecue at the beach with local prawns and fresh mangos — maybe even a Clare Valley Riesling after work.

The Finns wish they were so fortunate.