Renewable energy, defence, healthcare: now is the time for bold and ambitious thinking
One country will emerge as a leader in renewable energy this decade. Why not us? And the opportunities don’t stop there.
The height of the pandemic, with its lockdowns and closed borders, is behind us. There’s a sense that we have endured our nation’s greatest trial since World War II. But now it is time to dust ourselves off, to think about the future and the kind of nation we want to bequeath to those who follow. What industries, businesses and skillsets are likely to deliver prosperity to Australians in this decade and beyond?
I have previously lamented the fact that Australia never capitalised on its agribusiness assets in the way we did with mining. BHP may have started in Broken Hill but it operates (from Melbourne) globally, as one of the world’s biggest mining companies. Why have we never imagined, let alone delivered, an agribusiness conglomerate based in, say, Adelaide, that may have started in wool, then moved into wheat, then dairy, then viticulture, then snapped up agribusiness assets in New Zealand, South Africa and beyond?
There are times when we should be bold and outrageously ambitious for our nation. Now is just such a time. Look at the world’s burgeoning renewable energy sector. Surely with so much intensity of effort, of investment, of raw human need, one country will emerge as a leader in renewable energy this decade. Why not us?
But the opportunities for Australia don’t stop there. We have realised with cracking clarity the need for a greater defence manufacturing capability at home. Having access to stockpiles of munitions or whatever in the US isn’t a solution. Munitions, drones, missiles and probably much more (including nuclear submarines, or part thereof) should be manufactured here. At scale. We are, by some measures, the world’s 14th largest economic force. We should have the capabilities, the skills and the willpower to effectively communicate our sovereign right to live and to trade in peace to any who would wish us ill.
Our experience with the pandemic and the looming transition of first-wave Baby Boomers to frail old age has also heightened the need for investment in healthcare assets and skillsets. In the decade leading up to the pandemic it was all about universities – bolstered by overseas student demand – which may now choose to pivot to hospitals and research facilities.
And then we come to what I call the great transformation. The way we buy and distribute goods (and some services) is changing profoundly. We’re doing more and more of our shopping online. This is a bit like that other pandemic-inspired habit, work from home, which is also here to stay. We Australians are like bowerbirds: we utilise shiny (lifestyle) things that take our eye. “WFH, I’ll have a bit of that.” “Buy it online? Sure, why not.”
What strikes me about the outlook for Australian prosperity is the switch in direction. Only after a great crisis is there sufficient collective will to find new pathways forward. What is required now is a boldness of vision, by business and government, to think not so much about “opportunities” but rather about where the long-term interest of our nation lies.
I say we are up for change, for big thinking, for taking (calculated) risks to build the assets, to acquire the skills, to galvanise the will of the Australian people to deliver wealth and prosperity for the decades ahead.
It’s a parent’s choice. But you don’t have to live with it
Gough Whitlam would always cross out one of my l’s on personal or official correspondence, insisting that Philip was suitable only as a prenom, and Phillip was for surnames. But I’m not to blame.
With so many switches, driving this car is like flying a plane
I disliked this car intensely at first, but then ended up driving more than 600km in it – after which it still had a third of a tank of fuel left, thanks to its clever hybrid set-up.