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To give some background, I was born in Iran, immigrated to Türkiye and lived there for seven years, and then moved to Australia five years ago.

I'm genuinely happy with where I am today. I'm working, studying, adapting to Australian culture, and enjoying my life here. I feel incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to live in this country and contribute to society.

However, there's one thing about Australia that I genuinely struggle to understand: the healthcare system, particularly emergency departments.

My experiences with healthcare in both Iran and Türkiye were generally positive, especially when it came to emergency care. If your symptoms worsened or you were experiencing significant pain, you could go to the emergency department and generally receive prompt attention. Even in countries with limited resources and large populations, my personal experience was that emergency care was much more accessible.

Last night, I had one of the most disappointing experiences I've ever had with a healthcare system.

I was experiencing severe abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhoea. The pain was around 7/10, and I couldn't even sit upright. I contacted the hospital and was told the waiting time was around 4–5 hours. Unfortunately, I didn't feel I had another option, so I went to the emergency department.

After registering and undergoing initial tests, I waited for four hours. During that time, I saw only one patient being taken through for further care, and I was then told the waiting time could potentially reach 12–16 hours.

Thankfully, my pain gradually improved while I was waiting. I eventually decided to leave and arrange an appointment with a GP the following day.

But what really upset me wasn't just my own experience. It was watching other people sitting there in pain. People with broken knees, broken shoulders and other painful conditions were waiting for hours just to see a doctor. I felt terrible for them. I even questioned whether I should have gone to the emergency department in the first place, despite the severity of my symptoms.

I understand that emergency departments use triage to prioritise patients according to how urgently they need treatment, and I'm not suggesting that everyone should be seen immediately regardless of their condition. I also recognise that Australia's healthcare system has its own challenges and that my experiences in other countries don't necessarily represent everyone's experience.

But I genuinely want to understand why this happens.

How can countries with significantly fewer economic resources provide what feels like more immediate access to emergency care, while people in Australia sometimes wait 8, 12 or even 16 hours in an emergency department?

I know Australia has a universal healthcare system, and I appreciate that access to medical care isn't supposed to depend on how much money you have. But what does that mean in practice if someone is in significant pain and has to sit in an emergency department for hours before receiving treatment?

I'm not posting this to attack Australia or claim that healthcare in Iran or Türkiye is better overall. I'm genuinely trying to understand the underlying reasons, particularly from people who work in healthcare or have a better understanding of how the Australian system operates.

Why are emergency department waiting times so long in Australia, and what would need to change to improve the situation?

I'd really appreciate some informed perspectives. Thank you for reading.

I grew up in Sydney and lived in Dubai and Hong Kong for a total of three years before finishing high school back in Sydney. My grandparents were Maronite refugees who settled in Western Sydney, but thanks to my parents' education and careers, I had the opportunity to live abroad in different countries.

While in Dubai and Hong Kong, I attended international schools that prided themselves on shaping "global citizens" and fostering internationalism. Yet even in those environments, I regularly got comments like:

• "Oh, but you don't look Australian, you look more Spanish or Italian."
• "You're the first Middle Eastern Christian I've ever met" (yes, even while living in Dubai).
• "You're too good-looking to be Middle Eastern; I thought you were Italian."
• "Huh, I never knew Christians existed in the Middle East."

Mind you, these remarks came from peers who had lived in three to five different countries growing up. It made me realise that many self-proclaimed "global citizens" are just an insular bubble of wealthy expats who view themselves as the pinnacle of cultural open-mindedness, yet paradoxically know remarkably little about the world beyond surface-level stereotypes.

When I returned to Sydney to finish school at St Patrick's College (it's in the Inner West, but much of it's student population is from Western Sydney), where most of my classmates were second or third generation immigrants from Asia, the Middle East, Southern and Eastern Europe, and the Pacific Islands, those kinds of comments virtually disappeared. Because of how genuinely diverse the school was, having classmates who were Maronite, Copt, or Assyrian was completely normal. Frankly, those lads were far more culturally literate than the international school crowd, despite many having lived in Australia their entire lives.

The contrast made me appreciate just how fortunate I was to grow up in such an authentically multicultural place. Western Sydney gave me a grounded awareness of life that elite international bubbles never could, and it made me realise that I’m thoroughly Australian through and through despite it all.

The King surveys his domain after the deluge

Tell us the good things about the town, city or suburb you live in, or a place you like to visit.

Text posts or photos are OK, either in the comments or as a standalone thread.

Please use the tag [Town Talk Tuesday]. Sub and sitewide rules apply.

Surprised?

This is my sisters childhood best friend/stuffed toy. During moving houses she sadly misplaced him, a year later and we can still not find him.
Some information that may help-
-He was purchased sometime between 2002-2008ish
-His name was Harry but I’m not sure if that was just the name given to him by my sister
-We live on the north west coast of Tasmania, though he could’ve been bought on the mainland
Ps. Ignore the finger gun :)

Dalby, Australia —

The first rainfall in months splashes off the windshield as the mayor of Western Downs Andrew Smith drives to the site of a proposed AI data center behind a cattle feedlot in rural Queensland.

It’s feeding time and 16,000 cattle are standing under shade sails waiting for a passing truck to shoot grain into their troughs.

Agriculture is the biggest employer in this area, 260 kilometers (131 miles) west of Brisbane. But beneath the rich vertosol soils that sustain year-round crops lies a massive gas field that’s also turned the region into an energy hub.

Now the AI data center industry has come knocking with a $22 billion proposal from Singaporean developer Zerra DC to build the Western Downs Digital Park, one of Australia’s largest AI data centers, with four buildings each the size of five football fields, and temporary accommodation for 1,500 workers during the construction phase. ....

Back in July, the Australian prime minister vowed to require tech companies to power AI data centers with renewable energy, among a raft of requirements. Within a month, he’d backed down.

Queensland negotiated an exemption, so that if approved, the Western Downs Digital Park will be directly connected to the grid, running on a mix of energy sources that includes fossil fuels – coal and natural gas from one of Australia’s largest gas basins, which sits directly below the site.

Months without significant rain have browned the grass and trees. Rainwater tanks were running low until a downpour last week. Many farmers rely on bore water, but some say their wells have been pumped dry by the gas industry, and their water is now being offered to the developers to help build the AI data center.

Zerra DC says it’ll cool the data center using air-cooling technology, which requires far less water than the evaporative methods that have sparked protests from the US to India to Indonesia.

But air-cooling technology is more energy-intensive, and residents already fear that the center’s energy demands could strain the network, raise electricity prices, encourage more gas extraction, more de-watering, and potentially more subsidence – adding more stress to their daily worries about water.

Zerra DC says the project’s phased development will give it time to work with its customers – like Anthropic – to create new power sources, and while demand for power will increase, it says its battery conditioning system will buffer the grid from load spikes to help “stabilise power prices.”

Anthropic says it intends to enter into virtual power purchase agreements – or deals struck with energy providers – to procure more power for the grid, with a preference for renewables. “The source for this generation will be new build projects – but precisely which projects is an ongoing discussion,” said Masters, from Anthropic.

I see these phone shops all over the place, usually staffed by young Asian people.

I've never seen anyone actually buy anything. Even today I waited 45m near one while my kids had their haircuts. Did not see a single customer. Even the prices of their phone cases are more than double what the online sellers sell them for.

Just wondering how they make money unless it's some kind of dodgy laundering setup?

With the spread of Fire Ants reaching the inner west to Sydney from Brisbane. How far up shit creek have we gotten before realising our paddle was back at camp?

WARNING: This footage and story is genuinely repulsive.

This thing imo deserves nothing more than some one on one time with the parents.

Instead parole in 12mths.

Currently doing my fortnightly plasma donation in the Perth centre. desperately low on plasma nationally, O- & B- whole blood is also low here in WA.

If you can, please donate, to see what your state territory needs, hit this link:

https://www.lifeblood.com.au/donors/blood-plasma-platelets/blood-supply-levels

I’m 32. My husband is 33 and we have two kids (4 and 1) we have only ever rented. I am on maternity leave and will be for another 12 months. We have $20k in savings for a house and it’s been at that amount since I got pregnant with my first child. My parents suggested we move in to save money. I don’t want to be there long (mainly for my mental health) lol so I wanted to cap it at 6 months, or until I return to work.. I’m worried that I’m going to be missing /altering very important bonding and special moments that are meant for just me/husband and my kids by being at my parents house.. I know that sounds silly but we really cherish our alone time as a family.
But then I’m thinking, what’s more important? That alone time together just us or buying a house and actually owning something for once in my life..
and do I stay for the 6 months or long enough until we have enough for a house.. me and my husband are so clueless when it comes to homes / real estate because we’ve only rented so we never needed to learn about any of it

People kept ODing their kids so now you can't get it without a prescription. It's just irritating. Melatonin marketing was a little to blame I guess with quotes like "All natural/drug free" I guess the average person hears that and thinks popping 10 gummies is ok

Where to buy window grilles that aren't diamond mesh or prison bars? In QLD please

It's important that everyone knows about these, so I'm sharing

Post your favourite Aussie Memes. You can post them here or as a standalone thread with the tag [Monday Memes].

Content must be Australian and SFW.

Good to see the juice media pointing out this is a global issue and not only limited to Australia

Hi everyone, with all the rain this week I’ve been checking the BoM app a lot and noticed this weird layering issue with the cloud graphic that seems to be on top of everything else, making the entire top half of the screen unusable depending on the weather…. I can only scroll or open stuff on the lower half, tap anything at the top and nothing happens. Has anyone else had issues lately? I’m waiting for the weather to change so I can actually access the menu in app to report it 🤦‍♀️