the end of the mining boom has breathed new life into parts of the Tasmanian economy. But there are also several worrying indicators – like population growth and unemployment – to be addressed.
A mining truck drives off in the Pilbara.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Western Australia posted enviable growth numbers for a long time. But the trend is now going the wrong way, and unless something is done soon there will be difficult times ahead.
Australia failed to properly capitalise on the resources boom.
AAP Image/Kim Christian
How WA managed to emerge from the mining boom with an estimated debt burden of $40 billion is one of the West’s great mysteries. Or not, if you bother to look more closely.
There are short term signs that the most recent downturn in commodities may not last so long.
BHP Billiton
The mining industry is more resilient because of the recent downturn and it will be global supply and demand that will affect these companies in the future.
Nauru’s parliament would have been rebuilt in Queensland, but with less power.
CdaMVvWgS/Wikimedia Commons
In the 1960s, with the phosphate boom over and Nauru’s economy in ruins, Australia offered to move the entire nation to Queensland’s Curtis Island. But with no sovereignty on offer, the deal collapsed.
Since the 1960s, environmentalism in Australia has largely focused on defending “wilderness”.
yophotography/flickr
Since the 1960s, environmentalism in Australia has largely focused on defending “wilderness”. However, protected areas in themselves are not stemming the destruction of biodiversity.
Does Nauru now face a sunnier outlook?
Saleem H. Ali
Nauruans used to be some of the richest people in the world, before their mining industry imploded. Now, as the island aims to develop sustainably, there are signs of the green shoots of recovery.
Many of Australia’s mines haven’t been cleaned up as thoroughly as they should have been.
CSIRO/Wikimedia Commons
Rehabilitating old mines is a crucial responsibility for the industry. But many Australian mine sites have been simply left alone or left for the taxpayer to fix.
In the first Politics Podcast for 2016, Michelle Grattan and Tony Burke discuss the challenging gap between government revenue and spending.
Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Christopher Pyne says he will release his ‘inner revolutionary’ to help make Australia’s economy more innovative.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
In comedy timing is everything. So, too, in politics. In good times governing is – or ought to be – pretty straightforward. How hard can it be to divide up the windfall gains from a mining boom, for example…
Together with the government, the banking sector could play a role in easing the transition for mining workers.
Tony McDonough/AAP
A decade of strong mining revenue growth has seen workers disproportionately located in the “mining states” of Queensland and Western Australia. With mining investment now waning, workers drawn by in the…