chris955

I'm not questioning any of your experiences or anything else to be fair, I just wanted to know whether you thought it could happen here.

northernbird

Riots have happened here. I think the difference IMO is that the riots here were about identity, differing nationalities. I am not condoning it. The riots in the UK IMO were more about lack of respect for authority, the because they could mentality and the looters, well they were just greedy bastards who think they are owed something. I know looting happened during the Queensland flooding so I am not saying it doesn't happen here but there is something that appears more sinister about the issues in the major UK cities. Just my opinion of course.

chris955

I actually think as dreadful as they were these incidents could well be the catalyst that is needed to get on top of some of the issues in the inner cities.
I think Government here needs to keep a close eye on things.

aries_bird

I have teenagers in the UK.

They are polite and respectful and do not (nor have they ever) hung around the streets, parks or shopping centres. Their friends are the same.

My son and all his friends (without exception) have part time jobs whilst at college or full time apprenticeships in carpentry, fabrication and mechanics. Those working part time are employed doing all sorts of low paid roles from retail assistant to pub kitchen work to behind the counter in a fish and chip shop. But they all appreciate that this is what they have to do to fund their social lives and buy nice clothes.

Most of them play in football or rugby teams on a weekend and train during the week, they camp, they go to festivals, they kick a ball around the park after college or go to the gym.

My son is not perfect, he likes to lie in bed until lunch time on his days off, he has a beer or two at a party, he leaves his dirty underwear on his bedroom floor and he doesn't do anything in the house unless I withdraw taxi & laundry services.

Is he an exceptional teenager and a rare creature in the UK? not in my experience.

Do I live in a wealthy area? no.

Do I live in an inner city? no.

Do I live in a very ordinary northern town? yes I do.

HelenTD

This article was a bit of an eye-opener for me http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/law...-1226005376854.

chris955

Reading this post I am thinking you probably have the same reaction as me when you read some of the posts on this forum
I would never compare teens from inner city London or Birmingham to teens from a nice area in Brisbane or wherever BUT I honestly think that given my experience of our friends teens in the UK they really are no different to here. This 1% of teens cannot be allowed to contaminate the way we look at the 99% of good teens and that applies to both countries.

chris955

I agree that is an eye opener but really should anyone honestly be surprised ? These people come from poor underprivileged areas with high youth unemployment and for whatever reason seem to idolise gang culture from the US almost as if it is something to aspire to.

HelenTD

If I lived in Sydney or other cities with these postcode gangs, I would be more aware of it. Here in Perth, you're more likely to hear about the bikie gangs, and occasionally Somalian, Sudanese or Maori gangs. Haven't heard the term "postcode gangs" before.

chris955

The term is another media thing, they need a label for everything.

ozzieeagle

I dont doubt that there are plenty of gangs around the place, Plenty of them would be Ethnic based.

There is one very major difference though... The Inner City problems of the UK are displaced to the Outer subs here in Australia.

The only place I personally have ever struck gang culture in Aus in on the Trains. I wont let my kids travel on Melbourne trains at night time... We do have a real problem with yoof on trains here. On my last trip of 6 weeks back to the UK, I would have encountered problem areas at least a dozen times.... mostly around corner shops and small shopping strips.

May as well repeat what happened in Chester.... First time visit to that lovely town. get to the center to be confronted with around 12 youths riding bikes in the tourist precinct and swearing their heads of and rushing and riding full bore at tourists and calling out cuuuuuuunnnntttt and that freaked erm... I worked out who the ring leader was... not the loudest, I honestly considered knocking the baarstaard of his bike. It really spoilt the day and left a taint on my last trip that I never want to repeat... they kept this behaviour up for at least 20 mins. Oh well at least CCTV has erm covered. Wondered what they did with the footage and whether they followed it through. No cops in sight..

I never want to come that close to getting involved again, If it means staying away from the UK then so be it. I think the only reason I never lashed out was because I was with my 80 yo plus father. If I had of been with my own family I may have. I would have been seen as the perpetrator as well.

..

I've also never had to streetwise my way through as many shops as I did on my last trip to the UK.... I actually turned around from the local shops in Crawley at 9pm at night. That was within easy walking distance of my Cousins supposedly upmarket house near Crawley Football ground.@ Broadfield...

sssss

Gosh i have caused quite debate!

I will ignore the negative commments.

They are teenagers, the get the same hormones as UK teens, you get teenagers from hell just the same as any other country. Why would it be any other way
My 17 year old is grade 12, life on 17th birthday went from skateboard, pushbike ( when its not too boiling ) to the car. The car is a worry. Teen hoons kill themself here all the time, its a culture, 2 car loads in area where sons school is in last 3 years.

This post is exactly what i was getting at! Culture! It is not the culture in the uk to have hoon or boy racers/ Yes we do have them but it appears not as much as oz. The uk seems to have a gang culture for teens, hoodies etc and that was the purpose of the post. Yes of course both sides have crime i am not that daft to think they dont, its just so many people say as chris said thank goodness i moved to oz because of the uk kids etc that it makes you believe it must be so much safer there. And yes as a mother i do want to bring my kids up somewhere safer so this is not a silly reason to move?!

Grayling

So why ask for opinions in the first place

Ignoring the negatives will not make them go away

Dreamy

I saw as many boy racer cars wrapped around lamp posts (or the tributes) in the UK as I have done in Australia. It might not be called hooning there - but the actions are the same.

xzibit

Personally I think ozzie teenagers in general are likely to die in their V8 shed-mobiles, have no dress sense, and need a hair cut. And the way the girls talk is annoying.

But that's just the Australian culture - annoying.

sssss

I mean the comments about me personally not the feedback. God this site, you have to justify everything, everyone is so touchy and defensive lol