The " Lucky " country !

What a strange world we live in.    Most other world countries are struggling with debt and having the rating agencies drop their credit ratings, making borrowing more money both harder - and at a higher interest rate.
Here in Australia we are having a mining boom.

The Australian dollar is trading against the US Dollar at around a surplus of $ 1.05.   Our dollar is regarded as a " strong " dollar, because we do not have a crushing national debt that raises doubts about our ability to service it -  and our vast trove of minerals is the envy of world trade because it underscores China's drive to become the " world's factory ".

That would seem to be the best of all worlds.   We are rich and the average Australian family can afford an overseas holiday.   The money markets keep telling us how lucky we are and laud the fact that Australia is the country of the future - and it is high on the list of destinations for those fleeing repression and poverty by paying people smuggler's to take them to where life is better.

Unfortunately, it is also separating the Australian community into those who have a job - and those who don't.

Today's newspapers report that One Steel is closing it's oil and gas pipe plant at Kembla Grange - and fifty-six people will receive pink slips in May.    This plant has been producing about 50,000 tonnes of pipe for the oil and gas industry each year, but that high Australian dollar is making it uneconomic for it's customers to buy Australian.

The very same high dollar that makes overseas holidays cheaper for us - and has cut the price of big screen digital TV's nearly in half in recent years - is making the things we manufacture here in comparison with low wage countries - uneconomic !

Remember when the Aussie dollar was buying less than 60 c in comparison with the US dollar ?   We moaned and groaned about the exchange rate when we considered an overseas holiday - and often settled for time in the sun on the Great Barrier reef instead.  Our tourist industry was booming with overseas visitors .
The other great advantage was the way a weak Australian dollar caused our exports to fly out the door.   Manufacturing industry was hiring more workers - and now we have exactly the opposite.  A high Australian dollar is causing factories to close - and workers to be made redundant.

It seems that we need to change our thinking - and have a long, hard look at what we are good at producing - and what is in short supply elsewhere !

There are now seven billion people living on this planet - and there is a fast approaching world food .shortage.    We have a population of just over twenty-two million on one of the biggest continents in the world - with huge areas of arable land.

Surely the way of the future for this country would be to exploit this advantage - and become the source of food for this ever expanding world ?

The first law of commerce is quite clear.    Whatever is in short supply brings the best price !