Aspiration nation: how competition, the GST and the internet changed Australia
After the ‘recession we had to have’, Australia notched up the first of three decades of uninterrupted economic growth, thanks to a productivity surge, tax reform, the internet revolution and the rise of the middle class.
If the 1980s were a “happening decade”, in the ’90s Australia entered a “sweet spot”. Key indices – inflation, growth, productivity – improved. Companies consolidated, expanded and became more international. Even governments cut costs.
However, the ’90s weren’t always sweet. The decade began with the sour taste of a deep recession littered with debt-fattened corporate carcasses from the ’80s such as Adsteam, Bell Resources, Qintex, Tricontinental and the state banks of Victoria and South Australia. Australians were hobbled by lingering high unemployment and tested by the Asian financial crisis.
Andrew ClarkSenior writerAndrew Clark is a former editor of The Sun-Herald and Australian Business. He was a correspondent in Europe and North America, a political correspondent in Canberra and has been a journalist for more than 55 years. Email Andrew at aclark@afr.com.au
