CHUBBY POTHEADS WITH LOTS OF ROOMS

Scared of walking in the dark, dedicated to smoking pot, poor and
fat?

That's the picture of New Zealanders that has emerged from a new
Australian book, How Australia Compares, which measures 18 developed
democracies against the lucky country.

In a series of league tables, authors Rodney Tiffen and Ross Gittins
deal the New Zealand ego a savage blow. Among other things, the book
reveals New Zealanders are the most likely to fear burglary and the
least likely to feel safe walking in the dark.

But we do have some justification for our anxiety. New Zealand's crime
rate is second highest after Sweden (although that could be partly
because we are most likely to report crime to the police). We also
have the second-highest proportion of our population in prison, after
the United States.

New Zealanders can't even take solace in a high standard of living. We
fare worse than Australia in almost all economic statistics. When
measured by income per capita, New Zealanders' material standard of
living is lowest in the developed world.

Our main consolations, it seems, are drugs and food. New Zealand ranks
top in the developed world for cannabis use and third for
amphetamines. Our consumption of sugar is world-beating and our
obesity rate is well above average.

Nevertheless, we remain the world's fourth-hardest workers. Only the
Australians, the Americans and Japanese put in more hours.

As for the good news: we might be relatively poor, but we live in big
houses. Seventy-four per cent of New Zealand homes have more than five
rooms.

New Zealand also has the highest proportion of young people in the
developed world, and one of the highest entry rates into university.

We may not be faring too well now, but as the rest of the world ages,
there's still potential for improvement. Watch out Australia, there's
life in your young cousin yet.