Too Much Luck: The Mining Boom and Australia’s Future
Paul Cleary
Aug 2011 · Black Inc.
eBook
160
Pages
About this eBook
‘We think we are the lucky country, but what we really have is dumb luck – too much luck, more than we know what to do with.’ – Paul Cleary
In Too Much Luck, Paul Cleary shows how the resource boom, which seems a blessing, could well become a curse.
We have never seen a boom quite like this one. Under-taxed and under-regulated, multinational companies are making colossal profits by selling off non-renewable resources. New projects are being rushed through weekly, but who is looking out for the public interest? As the boom accelerates, it will drive the dollar higher and higher, and force up the cost of doing business for everyone else. Industries that involve many jobs, such as tourism and education, will fade away. What happens if commodity prices suddenly collapse, as they have in the past? Or worse, when the resources run out?
Many countries before us have been caught by the resource trap: a heady period of boom and growth, followed by a painful bust. Paul Cleary maps out the pitfalls, counts the human and environmental costs, shows what has worked overseas and suggests a better way forward – one which would turn this one-off windfall into a lasting legacy.
In Too Much Luck, Paul Cleary shows how the resource boom, which seems a blessing, could well become a curse.
We have never seen a boom quite like this one. Under-taxed and under-regulated, multinational companies are making colossal profits by selling off non-renewable resources. New projects are being rushed through weekly, but who is looking out for the public interest? As the boom accelerates, it will drive the dollar higher and higher, and force up the cost of doing business for everyone else. Industries that involve many jobs, such as tourism and education, will fade away. What happens if commodity prices suddenly collapse, as they have in the past? Or worse, when the resources run out?
Many countries before us have been caught by the resource trap: a heady period of boom and growth, followed by a painful bust. Paul Cleary maps out the pitfalls, counts the human and environmental costs, shows what has worked overseas and suggests a better way forward – one which would turn this one-off windfall into a lasting legacy.
About the author
Paul Cleary is the author of Mine-Field: The Dark Side of Australia's Resource Rush. He is a senior writer with the Australian and a researcher in public policy at the Australian National University.
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