The World: Insider's View - Australia.

Throwing money at the average Aussie will not prevent economic strife, whereas a reminder of what it means to be an Australian could do the trick.

Leaders all over the world are busy injecting trillions of dollars into the economy in a bid to increase consumption and 'rescue' it - and Australia is no different.

The Government gave pensioners and people with young families a dollars 1,000 early Christmas present with a request to go out and spend wildly. Now it is offering a further dollars 12.7 billion in cash handouts.

How much of it will actually get spent in the shops versus salted away for the rainy days that will surely follow, no-one knows. However, anecdotal feedback and public sentiment on radio chat shows suggests the rainy day option won out.

This is not really surprising because the Australian way of life was never about consumption and greed. It is based on hard work, having a fair go and living a full life, taking advantage of all the riches that the natural environment in this country offers. Tall poppies are not revered here.

In a recent essay, the prime minister, Kevin Rudd, has suggested that maybe the past 30 years are proof that the 'free' market economy can't be free. It is fuelled by greed, not 'mateship', family and caring for each other - still strong Australian values. He's likely to receive a positive response from the 'average' person.

Even before the credit crunch hit, people were bemoaning the erosion of Aussie values and the slow creep of consumption and the supersize, from meals to TVs and from houses to cars - so the strategy of consume more to save the economy is not finding ...