Everald, happy octogenarianism!!

So, what about Australia’s ever-growing population?

How does that factor into your desire for a balanced economy?

It seems as though it doesn’t at all!

Surely as we come off the end of the mining boom and struggle to find a better national mix of economic income, it is going to be enormously important that the demand for everything that economic income provides is also reined in.

As I keep saying; we can’t just deal with the supply side of the equation, we’ve got to address the demand side as well. And currently the demand side is in runaway mode – it is very rapidly increasing with no end in sight, due primarily to our absurdly high immigration rate.

And people such as yourself and Ross Elliot (who has an article up today on OLO to which I have just responded) and so many others who try to analyse our economic future and national wellbeing just completely ignore this factor!

This I find just staggering and bewildering!

what complete and uttter..

pause

i recall, anna blight..went to china..with clive
together..they got a ONE contract..with china,..for 65 billion

of that qld govt gets cents in the dollar..
when,,JUST THAT ONE CONTRACT,,could have cleared..AL STATE DEBT*..then standing at the same ammasing number..

so here is the deal..we got clive[anna got clive
65 BILLION DOLLARS..qld gets HOW MUCH

lost how much..just by clive's one deal
sure govts CAN survive without minning..but if govt DID the mining..,we wouldnt have so much mopney trying to corrupt polies

I wanted to start a thread..WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
you know..where EVERY public servant past/present..is
and where our pm/minesters etc..are getting their fix from NOW

how many ex pm's stayed in oz
so many questions..but yes to a different question

CAN AUSTRALIA SURVIVE WITHOUT THE CLIVE PALMERS?
reaping the cream..off things they FORCED govt to do

Ludwig - yes, our growing population is good, but planning for it could always be improved.

As for the article's main themes it usually works out that countries exploiting resources do not get a manufacturing base as well.. there are exceptions, notably the US and that's mostly because its big enough for both, but that's the general rule - referred to as the Dutch Disease.

Another point is that the economic well being of a country is only loosely connected, if at all, with the exploitable resources it has. Think of Finland, with nothing much but a bunch of lakes and forests and is in darkness fo six months of the year, achieving one of the highest per-capita incomes in the world. Then think of Nigeria which has vast resources, including lots of oil, but has been an economic basket case for most of its existence.

You may counter with New Zealand which doesn't have resources but has a per capita income below that of Australia. Sure, but in that case the difference is more likely due to NZ not getting rid of the industry and agriculture protectionism to the same degree Australia has..

I'm all in favour of the mining industry but Australia might do just as well without it..

re; "This means that 'fly in fly out' strategies for employment must be given as limited a life as is possible as it is socially destructive to mining families and disruptive to any sense of community in rural areas where mines are established. The rule must be that, if you want to operate a mine, you must create a good society around it, preferably in cooperation with other mines and industries."

That hardly makes sense for areas where no one wants to live. Who would want to raise a family, long term, near the geographical centre of WA.

Mining towns built in remote locations disappear or hang on by subsidy when the the ore body is depleted. There are already several places in Australia where that has happened or will.

At the rate at which each iron ore body in WA is being depleted housing development at each mine site is nonsensical. No WA iron ore mine will have along life.

Mines should arrange sensible fly in fly out rosters, pay for the the time and cost of travel and pay wages that allow people to buy homes in locations where people want to live. For WA ore mines that might mean along the coast between Bunbury and Perth.

If a proposed mine is not an economical proposition under such an arrangement it should not proceed.

Its as Foyle says.. FIFO is the only possibility for getting workers to those sites in the first place.. try to get them to settle there and they just won't go..

The author says.....So, what should we do about creating a balanced economy in which mining is a stable cornerstone?

Good luck, I say,as any hope we had of developing alternate industries was taken away when labor took an axe to IR laws.

When the likes of Myer look to close several stores on Sundays, citing wage costs, you know we have a huge problem.

Most other industries are gone and I doubt they will ever return as nobody can trust governments anymore.

In our quest to be a global player, we forgot that to be a competitive player, you must have a competitive cost base for which to trade with.

No chance, as those days are gone.