Wow, what an interesting thread. I thought we in the UK had the world championship for whingeing about the decline of GA in the bag. Now I'm not so sure!! And we have much worse weather to contend with.
I flew around a bit in Australia a few years back from Camden and I didn't see much evidence that it was any much worse than here. Cheer up and keep flying. It's quite fun don't you think? At least we don't get parking tickets/ speeding tickets and any equivalent of middle lane drivers in the sky. As for overpriced landing fees and PPR restrictions, we definitely win on that level. I was quoted over £60 for a landing fee at a regional airport recently and then mandatory handling on top... do you have that down your way?
If flying makes you smile, keep doing it and ignore Dick Smith. He may be an awesome bloke but his logic is mental!