Canadian Journalist Says Australia Becoming 'World's Dumbest Nation'

A Canadian journalist and publisher has called Australia the “world’s dumbest nation” due to nanny state restrictions. Tyler Brule believes there will be “a collapse of common sense” if health and safety are always included in every single discussion.

He argued that Australians were being “mollycoddled” through health and safety laws. Brule said cities were in danger of being overly sanitized.

“This country is on the verge of becoming the world’s dumbest nation. There will be a collapse of commonsense hear if health and safety wins out on every single discussion,” said the Canadian journalist. Brule, 46, is regarded as an expert on urban design and cities.

He made his comments about Australia in a speech to an audience at the Sydney Theatre as part of the Vivid Ideas festival, reports SMH. Brule mentioned Sydney’s lockout laws, excessive council regulations on alfresco dining and airport curfew. He described the strict regulations as harmful to Australia’s global standing.

Brule told the audience that if Australia wants to be globally attractive, bars should be open until “whatever hour of the day.” According to the website of Sydney’s city council, venues planning to serve alcohol in alfresco dining areas would need to submit a plan of management. The venue will have to address issues like operating hours, security, capacity, waste management, noise and crowd control.

The laws were introduced in Sydney in response to incidents of alcohol-related violence in Kings Cross and the city. Although the laws appeared to have reduced violent crime, they have also angered businesses that depend on late-night sales.

Brule said several cities around the world were slowly getting rid of the grit that made them interesting and surprising. He remarked that people have forgotten about the value of what a city is supposed to be. He believes humanity is about noise, dirt and mistakes yet Australia continues to sanitise cities, reports news.com.au.

The people listening to Brule in the jam-packed theatre applauded his statements and did not seem to take any offense. The journalist revealed he was recently admonished for drinking a glass of wine while on the road outside his pop-up shop in Surry Hills.

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