Extreme postcodes: 2119

Postcode 2119 is Beecroft. So what's extreme about Beecroft? Mostly it's just extremely nice.

It's one of those 'leafy green' northern suburbs. It looks nice, and it would undoubtedly be nice to live there. The crime rate is low, and it's certainly not the sort of place you'd hear about in conjunction with anti-terrorist raids.

But yesterday there was a massive police operation, involving pre-dawn raids on homes in about a dozen Sydney suburbs. We are led to believe there was an imminent terrorist threat, by supporters of Islamic State. There were going to be beheadings of randomly selected citizens. These would be filmed, and beamed to the world, thus terrorising us and advancing the cause of the caliphate. And nice little Beecroft was one of the suburbs involved!

So maybe there's something extreme about Beecroft in the sense of the word that interests the intelligence community too? (I've noticed that since I've been posting pieces about 'extreme postcodes' I've been getting large numbers of multiple hits from around the world. If this is the world's spy agencies taking an interest in me, then here you are, something for you people at last!)

Now I imagine there was something real going on that needed police attention. Probably urgent police attention. Maybe one day we'll know the whole story, and maybe then we'll understand why the whole operation was such a big deal. But I'm not the only cynical soul who's noticed a few things about this.

Like that the Government was in trouble in the opinion polls. Its budget had been largely rejected by public opinion and a hostile Senate. That they were desparately, pathetically keen to join in on the new war in the Middle East, and anything that would frighten the public into accepting this would suit them well. That a few days before the raids, the official
'national security alert level' was raised from 'medium' to 'high'. (What purpose would this serve during the final planning of the big police raid, other than to warn the suspects?) That there were cameras present at the raids, and it was all being beamed to us as a big media event. That on the same morning as the raids, the Immigration Minister finally broke his year's silence on his big secret 'turn-back-the-boats' policy to deter waterborne asylum seekers (ie "look at all the potential terrorists I've saved you from"). That some reports are that the alleged conspirators were from the Afgani community (and were thus quite likely asylum seekers). That the muslim community is now worried and even angry about the way they're being portrayed. And one senator (admittedly not a Government one) has now suggested banning the burka! That again!

The whole PR side of this appears to have been superbly orchestrated, in a way that enhances the Government's political standing. They've lied in the past about weapons of mass destruction to justify entering the last Iraq war, and they lied about asylum seekers throwing their children overboard, to stoke up a fear of asylum seekers and help them win the 2001 election. Abbott would dearly love to be in a position to hold and win a double dissolution election now, to end the stalemate in the Senate and start getting his programme through. It's hard not to harbour some doubts about even the essential facts of what we've been told of yesterday's security threat, such is the way politics gets to be played.

The other suburbs involved in yesterday's drama, incidentally, were Castle Hill, Marsfield, Merrylands, Northmead, Westmead, Bella Vista, Guildford, Bass Hill, and Regents Park.

Extreme postcodes: 2165

Fairfield East is the Sydney suburb with the lowest average taxable income. I'm not at all sure how well this relates to genuine poverty. Maybe everyone's got a job, though a low paid one, or maybe they've all got good jobs but they're just better at minimising their tax than most. But it's the best guide we've got.

What does it look like, this possibly poorest suburb? I thought I'd better go there and find out.

It doesn't look all that flash, but not particularly down-at-heel either. There were indeed abandoned shopping trolleys in what passed as the local park, and I was tempted to lead this piece with the cliche abandoned shopping trolley shot. But that wouldn't have been fair. There are abandoned shopping trolleys all over Sydney, even in the ritziest of suburbs.

There were certainly a lot of small, old,  fibro or weatherboard houses. There's a worse-for-wear corner shop, and a middle-of-the road little shopping strip. But the old houses are being steadily replaced, I noticed with new, fancier dwellings, McMansions even. So there is some money around.

The nearby town centre of Fairfield proper seems to be thriving. It's lively, interesting, and very cosmopolitan. It seems to have doubled in size since I used to drop by on my way home from work ten years or so ago. The good folk of Fairfield East are probably well served for most services then.





So I've seen many a worse place to live than Fairfield East.

Extreme postcodes: 2027

This is Sydney's (and Australia's) wealthiest postcode. It covers Edgecliffe, Darling Point, Point Piper, and Double Bay.

It's a bit hard to map wealth itself - it's too easy to hide it. But various analyses, using declared taxable incomes, for what they're worth, have come up with this one. And it's home to several of Australia's best known billionaires (and it houses the office of an almost-billionaire would-be Prime Minister, I noticed).

 I also noticed lots of fine water views (mostly blocked to the public by the mansions hugging the shoreline), well maintained streets with fine old trees, and lots of tradies carrying out 'Finest Plumbing' bathroom renovations. Come to think of it, I saw few other people about than the tradies. There was a 'lavender scented nappy washing service' doing its deliveries too. There are a few boats too, of course. But the tone of the suburb was nicely lowered by the spectacularly graffitied furniture removal van on New South Head Road.