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Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people's ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise.[2]
This was written in the 60's but I reckon still holds true. It's that lack of curiosity and imagination that have led us where we are today. Dig stuff up and sell it. Open your uni enrolments to all comers - easy money. Literally sell off the farm. We have a national business model based on mass immigration to fuel demand and increase govt tax base rather than the tougher task of tax reform and productivity increases
An example of a country with leaders with imagination is Norway which started its oil profits-based sovereign wealth fund in 1990 and currently has assets of over 1 trillion $US
We haven't got a lot to show for 30 years of uninterrupted economic growth. What a squandered opportunity.
As to how we deal with China, I dont know but if youve ever been on an American forum - I'm frequent visitor to several, I'm always amazed at the value Americans put on Made in USA and the premium they will pay to buy American.
Personally cant see manufacturing industries bouncing back on any scale any time soon in Australia. We made our last car engine here in 2017. WE need 2 things we dont have a lot of - skills (RIP TAFE) and cheap energy. Sure we can import skilled workers - there's that lack of imagination again!