The missing element in this analysis is what is taking place in the regions that should have their own state but don't. Why should a boom in the Pilbara be funding house price inflation in Perth? Why should the central Qld coal fields be subsidising more and more unsustainable urban sprawl and congestion costs in SunBrisGold?

Clearly, if more of the funds were retained in their regions then the jobs and the populations will follow. Congestion costs and growth pressures in the major cities will be reduced and environmental impacts will be dispersed.

And if it is appropriate to devote a paragraph on the economic trends for 200,000 Northern Territorians then why not a paragraph for 600,000 North Queenslanders or 900,000 New North Welshmen?

All we got was the usual, boorish, metrocentric myopia.

PK get a grip.Exploitation of Chinese workers? Chinese workers are flocking to the cities in droves to work in factories so they can earn three times what they can earn on farms.

Wages in China are rising rapidly.It may take many years before they reach ours.

There are other reasons why much of our industry is moving off shore.It is the poor work ethic of many Australians,Govt regulation,litigation,insurances and red tape,particularly from our Labor States.

I'm shutting down my manufacturing and will hopefully have my first container from China at the end of July.Manufacturing will cease to exist in Australia and I hope we can find real jobs for our future generations.The really sad story is that we are losing all the knowledge and skills that will never be easily replaced.Many English speaking Chinese are now going back home to export to Australia and they will be the new business class in Australia.

You try starting a business in NSW at the moment and see how hard it is.Our two biggest foes are big business and slothful big Govt since they conspire to enslave the individual who seeks a better life.

Congratulations, Arjay, I hope you are very happy importing cheap stuff from China to flog to us. May I suggest you visit China and look at the factories that produce the stuff? If they will let you that is. See how self-satisfied you are then.

PK,has it sunk in?They are better off slaving in a factory for three times the money than starving on a farm with almost nothing.

Do you want to take their jobs like a good doer or perhaps shoot them to put them out of their misery.

Things are changing rapidly in China and working conditions will improve.Just do a tour of Indonesia or any third world country and you'll see far worse.You are being very selective about which poverty you want to observe.

We are giving them something far more useful than aid,we are giving them our jobs,which is making China very rich and powerful.

Arjay, 2 grateful nations, Australia & China, applaud your generosity, you an fellow modern capitalists. Semi=skilled workers in Australia are no doubt glad that their jobs have been exported to people who do not insist on safe, decent working conditions. The rest of us are so glad that easy credit allows us to go into unprecedented levels of national debt so that we can gorge on cheap Chinese (and yes, other 3rd world countries) goods. We will, no doubt, not regret the binge when the inevitable hangover sets in.

The west has successfuly exported capitalism to China, and the agrarian poor flock to the cities to be exploited for a pittance, but it's better than their former rural lives? I think that the jury in China is still out on that one, based on some recent Chinese movies I have seen and reports I have read. Pollution may destroy the country before much more of its emerging affluence can be enjoyed. And you say that there may be countries where exploitation is worse? Well, perhaps you can import from there too, Arjay. Your posts are not opinion, Arjay, but self justification.

PK,the Labor party instigated the reduction in tarriffs and the Coalition just continues that policy.The reality is that we cannot compete in manufacturing where there is a significant labor component that is ten times that of our competitors with no comparable Govt regulation and red tape,not to mention taxes.

It won't be long before all manufacturing moves off shore.You seem to have a socialist's mental block.No business can operate without making a profit since there will be no money to update plant and machinery in the future.Private enterprise just cannot tax at will like Govts.Private enterprise is the engine that produces the surplus that can tbe taxed.Govts don't produce efficiencies that can effect profits or dividends that can be taxed because they are by their very nature wasteful and inefficient.

If you read between the lines I have great reservations myself about the direction Australia is going with this unfetted free trade philosophy.In the long run it could weaken our country but we also have to compete in high tech and scientific areas to remain a viable nation.

It is all about maintaining a balance and it takes very astute leadership in Govt to strike it.I don't think that either of the major parties have done so.They mostly just cross their fingers and hope for the best.