From Strategic Vulnerability to Economic Power: A Roadmap
Australia’s current economic model leaves it unusually exposed, for a high-income state, to geoeconomic pressure: it is rich, but structurally narrow, highly import dependent in critical areas, and deeply enmeshed in the strategic rivalry centred on China and the United States. And with our region and the world becoming increasingly unpredictable, how can Australia be systematic turning our strategic vulnerabilities into economic strengths? What would it look like, and where do we start?
Marc Ablong
Resources Tax and Australia’s Sovereign Defence
The post-WWII order is crumbling. Australia is the least self-sufficient nation in the OECD. Our reliance on the US for defence, and on favourable free trade and globalisation for our import needs, has hollowed out the manufacturing industry that underpins our economic self-determination. Yet Australia is fortunate in having options; except that they rely on turning around decades of political orthodoxy and tackling the tax revenue problem. Might bipartisanship be possible for the sake of Australia sovereign defence?
Greg Jericho
The Need for an Australian National Resilience Framework
Australia faces an uncertain future. Climate change and extreme weather, the risk of another pandemic, the geopolitical situation changing in an unfavorable way. We are seemingly unprepared to fend for ourselves. As a nation, a society, and an economy, we need to be able to withstand, respond to, and recover from shocks that may occur with little or no warning. There are numerous examples from Asia and the Nordics of how to build and structure national resilience. For Australia the challenge is now; the response needs to be now.
Graeme Dunk and Stephan Frühling
Reforming Procurement to Rebuild Sovereign Capability
The Australian Government spends approximately $100 billion annually on procuring goods and services. The intention is to improve efficiency and quality of service and to deliver value for taxpayers. However, the Government's procurement record has been shown to be abysmal. In addition to the waste, there is also a massive opportunity cost. Government spending, if managed judiciously, has the potential to nurture Australian business capabilities and to enhance economic sovereignty. How can we fix the system to save us all money while building national resilience and capacity?
Peter Grant and Matt Darling
