Economic gloom for Australia?

A lower exchange rate would make imports much more expensive, but should at the same time provide opportunities for the revitalization of local industries. This clearly gives some scope for innovative entrepreneurs to take on imported multinational products, which happened up to the 1980s and 1990s. Why should a shampoo, toilet cleaner, or food product be a multinational product?

The Australian spirit of competition against multinationals should be rekindled. The consumer product industry was once filled with products manufactured by locally owned family businesses, and there is no reason this couldn't be the case again.

Debt reduction is a necessity, beginning with school education. Negative gearing should be abolished to help put a damper on housing and property speculation. Regulations need to be lessened and streamlined. This would have the effect of both lowering compliance costs in business and saving government operating expenditure.

The concept of returning to the concept of small government needs to be revamped and discussed at a national level. Immigration has to be drastically increased. An aging population is is both lowering the tax base and increasing aged and health care requirements. Increases in immigration would broaden the tax base and help expand the size of the Australian market, which local enterprises need to manufacture with any sense of economies of scale.

Increasing the incidence of population could be the means of developing the North of Australia as a 'gateway' to Asia. Darwin has potential as an Asian food supplier and financial center, truly linking Australia with the region.

There needs to be wage reform which would by far be the most unpopular move any government could make. Overtime and penalty rates need to be removed. Today it really doesn't matter whether the hours you work are on a Sunday or a Monday. Work should be work, and paid on the basis of hours and not the time of these hours worked.

Finally 'Enterprise Australia' needs a jump start, where a massive entrepreneurship drive is required. This is badly needed for suffering FIFOs and senior citizens who want to remain active due to their good health and longer lives. Entrepreneurship is also needed for the youth of Australia, where a fair percentage have never worked before.

There is a long term challenge to the viability of the economy, which must be discussed now. Australia needs to be brought together on this, where potential paths are discussed, so a national plan can be drawn up for the nation to follow. This plan must be completely holistic, and answer the question 'what type of Australia do Australians really want?' It needs to discuss all aspects of Australian society, the economy, where the future drivers of the economy will come from, taxation, health care, defense, and the role of government.

Unfortunately it is hard to see in the present political climate how this could be done. What is certain is that if this generation doesn't have this discussion, the next generation will be left with our mess, locked up in a cocoon of a high cost of living, tied up with debt.