Australian Dream

The Australian Dream or Great Australian Dream is a belief that in Australia, home-ownership can lead to a better life and is an expression of success and security. Although this standard of living is enjoyed by many in the existing Australian population, rising house prices compared to average wages are making it increasingly difficult for many to achieve the "great Australian Dream", especially for those living in large cities. It is also noted as having led to urbanisation (or more specifically suburbanisation), causing extensive urban sprawl in the major cities. The term itself is derived from the American Dream, which first described the same phenomenon in the United States, starting in the 1940s.

In contrast to the Australian Dream, some modern urban planners have emphasized "urban consolidation" and "urban sustainability". This "smart growth" or "iGrowth" involves living in a small apartment instead of a detached home, and using public transport instead of driving a car. The key to enforcing "urban consolidation" on an Australian populace who still desire the freedom of their own home and backyard has been planning laws which ban or heavily restrict greenfield development, however some have criticised this as leading to extreme house prices.

The origin of the Australian Dream dates back to the period of reconstruction following World War II. The dream flowered in the 1950s and 1960s due chiefly to the expansion of Australian manufacturing, low unemployment rates, the baby boom and the removal of rent controls.

There is some evidence, however, that the vast open spaces of early colonial Australia first instilled the notion in the early generations of Australian families. It was certainly aided by the widespread ownership of the automobile. Even as it was growing, the aspirational dream became an occasional object of ridicule in art and literature, some of the strongest criticism appearing in the mid-1950s paintings of John Brack, the celebrated novels of Australian manners They're a Weird Mob (1957) by Nino Culotta (John O'Grady) and My Brother Jack (1964) by George Johnston, and Robin Boyd's fierce critique of Australian architecture The Australian Ugliness (1960).

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