Is Australia’s economic luck about to run out?
From our UK edition
Australia’s residents are fond of referring to the place as ‘the lucky country’ but most are blissfully unaware of the phrase’s origins. ‘Lucky’ was never meant as a compliment. When the late Donald Horne, a giant of Australian intellectual life, conjured the tag in the 1960s he intended it as a putdown: ‘Australia is a lucky country, run by second-rate people who share its luck.’ Much of this rings true for the Australian economic story. For most of the 20th century the Australian economy flourished because of its natural mineral endowment and its agricultural sector; commodity exports were its lifeblood. Such industry as existed was cosseted by high tariff barriers and indulged with government subsidy.