Canadian journalist dishes out harsh words about Australia

Not holding back ... Tyler Brule had some harsh words about Australia. Picture: Supplied. Source: News Corp Australia

 

CANADIAN journalist and magazine publisher Tyler Brule has taken a swipe at Australia, calling the country a boring nanny state. And many of us agree. 

Speaking at a Vivid event at the Sydney Theatre Company the founder of Monocle and Wallpaper dished out some harsh words, reported Pedestrian TV.

Audience members were treated to a rant from Brule who said he thinks that Australia is “at risk of becoming the dumbest nation on earth”.

“There will be a collapse of common sense here if health and safety wins out on every single discussion,” he said.

It seems that many Australians concur, with more than 75 per cent of respondents to our online poll (below) agreeing that we have become a boring nanny state.

More than 2000 readers had voted in the poll as at 7am AEST.

Monocle’s annual Quality of Life Survey has consistently ranked Melbourne and Sydney in its top 10 cities worldwide.

In a 2013 interview, Brule said the “70 per cent scientific and 30 per cent subjective” survey examined metrics as disparate as the rate of break-ins and the number of cinemas in a city to help determine its ranking.

Vivid ... Tyler Brule was speaking as part of a Vivid event. Picture: Vivid Source: Supplied

 

During his talk for Sydney’s Vivid Festival on Monday night, Brule warned that to an outsider, Australia was rapidly becoming a country where you have to pick up a “hard-hat and hi-vis vest” along with your visa before entering the country.

Taking aim out Sydney’s lock out laws and airport curfews he suggested the regulations hurt the reputation of Australia as a whole.

“If you want to be globally attractive, you do need to have bars open until whatever hour of the day,” he said.

The sold out audience did not take offence to his comments but instead applauded the 46-year-old.
Brule revealed he was recently pulled up for drinking a glass of wine while on the pavement outside his Monocle pop-up shop in Sydney’s Surry Hills.

news.com.au 28 May 2015