Nanny state rules making Australia 'world's dumbest

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http://www.s m h.com.au/nsw/nanny-state-rules-making-australia-worlds-dumbest-nation-tyler-brl-20150526-gh9myx.html

Australia is fast becoming "the world's dumbest nation" because of nanny state rules and restrictions, says Canadian journalist and magazine publisher Tyler Brûlé.

He argued that Australians were increasingly being "mollycoddled" through health and safety laws, and that our cities were at risk of becoming over-sanitised.

"This country is on the verge of becoming the world's dumbest nation. There will be a collapse of commonsense here if health and safety wins out on every single discussion," he said.

"People think it's a little bit nuts here."

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Brûlé also took a shot at the nation's punching bag, Canberra, comparing it to Ottawa, the capital of his native Canada, and Detroit, the crumbled manufacturing stronghold of Michigan.

"Woah. People talk about stimulating business and what they should do in Australia … I mean, downtown Canberra, it's like Detroit," he said.

He said diplomats who were posted to Ottawa were given a "hardship allowance" because the capital is "the same as being in some rather dreadful developing nation".

The design and location of embassies revealed a lot about the nation's history, he said. The British, Canadian and New Zealand high commissions were adjacent and looked to be designed by the same architect. "You could tell who was not in favour ... there's a lot of places in the ass-end of nowhere when you go around Canberra," he said.

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He is known for travelling the globe almost constantly and Australia's reputation as a nanny state was spreading around the world.

"Everything becomes high-vis," he said. "Soon you're going to apply for your visa from overseas and you're going to get a hard hat and you're going to get a vest to wear before you get on the plane."