Many people have asked the question “Is this the end of
Australia’s mining boom?” In my opinion, almost certainly the
peak of the capital expenditure (CAPEX) boom is over – but the
boom for the restructuring and productivity experts is about
to begin.
In July 2013 the Grattan Institute released a 53-page report
titled
The Mining Boom: Impacts and Prospects
.
The report can
be summarised as follows:
•
This has been the biggest mining boom in Australia’s
history (the 1850s gold rush comes close). We have seen a
$400 billion investment in the past ten years, but that
has dropped off, as have our mineral exports, our national
income and government revenue.
•
Overall, this boom has been good for all Australians.
•
The major concern is that the benefits of the boom have not
been saved and that concern is justified.
I have been through some interesting booms and busts,
a phenomenon which Australia seems to repeat regularly. My
first was in 1962 and it is interesting to compare the similarities
and the subtle differences between each vigorous cycle.
Each downturn or bust teaches us the same easily forgotten
lessons. Our boom and bust cycles are exaggerated in Australia
because we have never developed the art of having a broad
front of industries which all perform well at the same time.
If one is a ‘star’, as has been the case with our resource industry
over the past ten years, everyone tries to climb on board and,
predictably, sinks the ship.
The political catch-cry for the past 10 years has been
“
sharing” the benefits of the mining boom, rather than “earning”
a share of the mining boom.
I have been fascinated by Australia’s habitual boom and bust
culture and have written a book called
Heroic Misadventures
.
Loweringtheboom
Ron Manners
Chairman, Mannwest Group
and Mannkal Economic
Education Foundation
If Western Australia was a separate country, it would
rank among the world’s top 40 economies measured
by GDP, roughly equivalent to Egypt, Portugal or Israel.
As Chairman of the Mannkal Economic Education
Foundation, Ron Manners has regularly voiced his concern
that WA will never attain its true potential unless it
overcomes the four ‘diseases’ infecting the resource sector:
overbearing governments, weak management, rampant
labour unions and environmental extremists.
Here, in characteristically wry style, Ron teases out the
deeper issues underlying the seemingly simple question
–
has Australia’s mining prosperity really hit the skids?
Despite obvious apprehensions, Ron believes opportunities
will continue for those prepared to adjust and willing to
learn to enjoy constant change. Illustrating his piece with
astonishing contrasts between Australia’s approach to
development and that of China, Ron’s article concludes
that the secret to success for participants in today’s
resources industry is to be adaptable and flexible.
Port Hedland
Simon Phelps Photography
–
a reality check for Australia
Minesite 2013
•
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