Here, here. Australia was begun as a penal colony, but that was over 200 years ago, so the descendants of convicts only make up a small percentage of the population. It might surprise a lot of Americans to find out, though, that the place the British sent their convicts before Australia was the USA. Many of the early settlements (such as Virginia) were built on convict labour. When the colonies declared independence in 1776, it created two problems: one for Britain and the other for the new USA. Britain had to find another place to send its convicts (Australia) and the USA needed cheap labour. So black slavery became the best option. Whereas Britain reformed its society to reduce the need for convict colonies, and declared slavery illegal in 1807, the USA didn't reform its attitude to slavery until after the Civil war forced the issue in 1865. Even then, the treatment of African-Americans remained shameful until the 1960s and still does make the rest of the world cringe. We, in Australia, acknowledge our past. We embrace our convict ancestors and we have said sorry to our black people. Before making stupid comments about Australians, Americans should examine their own heritage.

Ignorant person. I have Aboriginals living in our street, in a house just like ours. Things were done in the past, but we are trying to make thing better. Tell me whether things are going well with the black population of America. They really seem happy with the way they are being treated in the USA

Georgia was proposed to be a settlement for British 'worthy poor' by James Oglethorpe, but that never happened. HOWEVER, the British DID send convicts there to relieve pressure on the British prisons, as they did to other US colonies. It is something that the USA doesn't like to admit, but it has grown on a supply of free labour, first white, then black, now Hispanic.