Australians are being told that " the minerals boom is over " ! It is therefore strange that Andrew McKenzie, CEO of BHP Billiton, one of the biggest contributors to the tax pool of this country thinks " that the greatest opportunities are still ahead of us ".
McKenzie voices the opinion that global demand for commodities will rise by up to seventy-five percent in the next fifteen years. It seems we are hearing " gloom and doom " from the political world - and a bright future prediction from industry.
What it really means is that the " madness " of the past several years is over. We are not going to see an ongoing scramble to open new mines and expand the workforce because the price of minerals is going through the roof, but those coal trains and iron ore conveyor belts will still be loading ships leaving our ports to transport Australian commodities to keep the lights on in Asia. It will be a more orderly flow of commerce and we still need to refine our work practices to keep ahead of competitors.
Mineral resources are - and will continue to be - the main exports from this country, but there are other great opportunities knocking on the door - and one of them is - food ! We are lucky that we live in a land with a temperate climate that allows both a summer and a winter crop. The world population is steadily rising and we have the space to be the bread basket of the world - if we learn to manage our farming sector correctly and put the structure in place to make it function efficiently.
Sanity will not prevail until this election is over - and the dust has settled. The myth of the mineral boom turning to disaster is simply part of the world of politics. It serves as cover to divert attention from the changes politicians are offering in the scramble to attract votes. The reality is that demand will remain strong and the outflow is settling into a demand pattern that is sustainable. It will still be the major industry employing a workforce and driving our economy.
Forecasting the future - depends on who we talk to. In this case, the CEO of our biggest company is well worth listening to.
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