Alan B.,

Why not just get the Chinese to come in and do it all for us as a BOM agreement?

And a report just out reveals that Australia is lagging behind other industrial countries in introducing technology. Hence the mass immigration of cheap workers and the real possibility of being stuck with low wage, menial jobs for ever. Sorry I can't remember the name of the report, but it shouldn't be hard to find.

Mr Opinion. Getting others to do stuff for us we could do ourselves, has been a large part of the reason we are where we are today!

If we need expertise not available here, then, by all means, source it where it is and tie it to at least two local assistants to it who would learn on the job as we progress any project!

Electronic translation machines would remove any language barrier!

The only thing that prevents the progress of any project is, countervailing vested interest and their political lackeys, entrenched (die in a ditch first) recalcitrance, economic illiteracy and marketers at the helm needing their trembling, timid hand held with every real economic decision?

If this were not so? We'd still have a car industry, nuclear power and real tax reform? Plus a robust manufacturing industry able to hold its own with all comers?

If I were a bookie I'd give you 50 to 1 odds that powerful vested interest will take the day ahead of our best possible recovery/the national interest/cooperative capitalism?

And sold to us by the (fiscal illiterate) marketer at the helm pretending to care/understand the economc realities/best-case scenario?

Then there are the xenophobic, know-nothings, who know all the BS reasons it can't be dome,or can only add their asine, Run of the mine, absurdities, who want to knock down the tall poppies and our best and brightest and their better ideas?

No names, no pack drill, Mr Opinion.
Alan B.

It just proves what many of us have been saying for a very long time. The 'Growth' mentality is wrong, terribly wrong !
The Lake Eyre proposal has been on the lips of many for very long but when will we get a few politicians to put the Nation before their Superannuation ?
When will we get young Australians to front up for a non-military national Service ? When will an Australian Govt put a Flat tax before their Superannuation ?
It's all quite achievable, it's only the self preservation mode of those we give the privilege of governing who are the stumbling block. Instead of pandering to the hangers-on they must put the productive workforce (conservative voters) ahead of the non-productive ! Once we have a system that rewards effort instead of bleating for more, it can be done !

Good to at last see someone questioning the prevailing mantra of endless population and economic growth.

Watching ABC The Business t'other night I see Aunty is pushing the high immigration agenda. If that comes from the neoclassical economic hymn sheet perhaps the ABC should henceforth rely on advertising.

Late last year or pre-Covid our per capita GDP was in decline, 722,000 were on NewStart, 1.4m were underemployed, people couldn't afford to buy homes with a short commute and elective surgery waiting times were getting longer. The solution? More people it seems. Fix all that and renounce public funding Aunty then we'll listen.