australia top welfare country, page-4

occam
Re your post which included;
"Australia has recently been named as the country that is paying more welfare, as a % of GDP,than any other country.(28% of GDP ) ..."

I would appreciate a link to the source of that data!

That at Wikipedia is dated at 2001 & shows 'The welfare state and social expenditure' for Australia at 18% if education is excluded & 22.5% if it is included:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_state

Similarly for nationmaster which shows Australia at 18% & ranked 22nd:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_wel_sta_the_wel_sta_and_soc_exp_of_gdp-welfare-state-social-expenditure-gdp

IMO the concerns you raised are indeed real - as demonstrated by reports available from the OECD for the period 2001 - 2007 under the Howard Govt. on the back of the mining boom - IMO much of it as upper middle class welfare.

What happens when our old technology, primary & extraction industry based economy loses its overseas income & investment when the commodities boom declerates? IMO we had better hope that our new earners such as our education industry & perhaps a stirring finance industry step up to the plate despite the stronger Aud$ & before other countries gazump us.

OECD Reports
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/27/46/46400299.pdf

Tax breaks for social purposes (Aud$m)

Tax breaks similar to cash benefits
2001 - $1,929
2003 - $2,138
2005 - $7,951
2007 - $8,614

Tax breaks to stimulate private social protection (not including pensions)
2001 - $580
2003 - $770
2005 - $1,092
2007 - $1,780

Tax breaks for pensions
2001 - $10,575
2003 - $14,255
2005 - $20,285
2007 - $31,690