Abbott's Australia: country of lost opportunity

In a scathing, yet apposite assessment of Australia in the 1960s, researcher, author, and social critic Donald Horne famously penned in his iconic book 'The Lucky Country',"Australia is a lucky country, run by second-rate people who share its luck."

In 1964, Horne contended that Australia was entwined to its colonial past, unable to stand and think on its own two feet, and its leaders lacking a distinctive cultural blueprint for a newer, mature, prosperous and more independent Australian society.

Horne's frustration and condemnation was in part based on the premise that Australia predominantly leveraged the economic, social and technological innovations of other nations, however lacked the ingenuity, ambition, venture, and passion to do the same.

Essentially, Australia was fortuitous, or 'lucky', rather than 'clever', in its development as a nation. Particularly under the Menzies Prime Ministership, Australia metaphorically fell asleep, lacking the inspiration and vision to catapult Australia to a more independent and self-reliant nation economically, politically, socially and culturally.

Australia needed to be more 'clever' in its thinking, by investing in its future instead of being complacent and squandering the unfulfilled potential of its people. From an economic perspective, it was then and still is now, not enough to rely solely on Australia's abundance in natural resources, living off the 'sheep's back', or held ransom to the mining 'boom and bust' economic cycles, for its ongoing prosperity.

Fast-forward to 2014, half-a-century on since Horne's insights. There is a sense of a cultural echo of yesteryear under Prime Minister Abbott. Under Abbott, Australia is at risk of becoming the country of lost opportunity economically, socially, and culturally.

Abbott appears more interested in reintroducing knighthoods than re-engineering Australia for the twenty first century to ensure future prosperity for all, as distinct to a select few, Australians.

Austerity policy measures will not grow an economy, only suppress it. This is clearly demonstrated in Europe where its initial obsession with pure austerity courses of actions post Global Financial Crisis further crippled its growth prospects, its economy, and aggravating social cohesion and dislocation.

Short and long-term innovative growth oriented policy measures must be implemented in conjunction with measures, which cut real waste, and inefficiencies across our economy.

Today, Australia's over-reliance as a resource-based economy is for all to see. The Government's current budgetary fiscal position is decimated due to the significant drop in global commodity prices. To prosper, Australia must broaden its revenue capacity applicable to twenty-first century needs, not just twentieth century 'old economy' needs.

Particularly with an ever-creeping ageing population, it is an imperative that Australia become more creative, productive and smarter in not only the manufacturing, resources, energy and agricultural sectors, but also in other sectors, including in health, financial services, education, tourism, services, and importantly the environment. Australia must increasingly diversify what it exports to the world. Fortunately on some of these issues, Australia is slowly heading in the right direction.

Unfortunately, on the issue of climate change, Australia has dropped the ball. It is irrefutable that the planet's climate and weather patterns are changing. Regardless of what is contributing to, and because of this shift, Australia must play a pivotal role and be more dynamic in transforming our and the global economy. Otherwise, we risk becoming a third world economy.

The Abbott Government must foster greater research and business opportunities and support significantly increased investment in Australia's 'renewable energy' economy. Its present policy discourages investment in renewable energy, disadvantaging local organisations actively searching for innovative outcomes for a cleaner, healthier economy.

This is in contrast to other nations, including China and the United States, where investment in renewables is accelerating. The significant risk, which is already being played out, is researchers and investors are going offshore to pursue the business opportunity of the century.

The Abbott Government must be more proactive in transitioning from a predominantly 'fossil fuel' economy to a diverse one. The employment, economic growth, and health benefits associated with encouraging and investing in renewable clean energy is enormous.

Fears that combating climate change will threaten jobs and economic growth is shortsighted and misguided. Nations presently reliant on coal, iron-ore, gas, and oil will in time transition to a low carbon economy. This include our largest trading partners, and nations, such as China with large populations and growth rates, who will increasingly focus on cleaner wind, solar and other renewables to combat ever increasing pollution resulting from increasing population.

Australian opponents to renewable energy and right wing ideologue climate change sceptics can deny all they want. Coal, iron-ore will not forever remain 'King'. The Abbott Government can continue to look after the self-interests of those in the non-renewable energy industry, but at what cost to the Australian economy and its citizens in the long run?

As a nation that is the highest emitter of greenhouse gases on a per capita basis compared to other advanced industrialised economies, Australia must be seen to take action on climate change. Based on Abbott's current track record, don't hold your breath! Only recently, Australia has refused to contribute to the global $US10 billion Green Climate Fund, established to support poorer nations impacted by climate change and reducing carbon emissions.

In time, the return of investment on cleaner renewable energy will outweigh that of dirtier and unhealthy fossil fuel energy. What will then become of Australia's non-renewable energy industry within a generation? The Australian landscape will resemble a graveyard strewn with 'body bags' of unfulfilled and unprofitable mining ventures because the world has moved on to alternative, cleaner sources of energy to fuel its economy.

Prime Minister Abbott and the Government may believe that by abolishing a price signal in the carbon tax, it is in the national interest, and which benefits Australians' hip pockets. In the short term, these benefits are illusionary. In the long term, it will be catastrophic to the Australian economy and future generation of Australians.

While more nations are placing a price on carbon, Abbott is steering Australia toward the cliff's edge. In time, Abbott's increasingly isolationist view on climate change will be shown to be on the wrong side of history.

Climate Change is the elephant in the room, which Abbott refuses to acknowledge. Abbott is cold on climate change, but the political climate is heating up internationally, and again domestically, on the key issue of the century.

While it's not the 1960's, the concern is, as Mark Twain observed, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." By rejecting the overwhelming science, and not embracing the resultant opportunities from climate change, Australia will certainly not be 'The Lucky Country', nor 'The Clever Country', but 'The Country of Lost Opportunity'.