The Centre for Strategic Economic Studies (CSES) hosted a one-day conference on Wednesday 23 February examining the impact of the current resources boom. The conference featured key policy makers and academics, focusing on the policy challenges it raises in the current economic context.
Australia is experiencing a resources boom, bigger than that of 1979-82. The world has changed since then: mining is now a global and highly capital-intensive industry with many resources sourced through migration and trade, and profits widely distributed. The Australian economy is also very different - manufacturing has declined, and the focus is heavily on services.
The conference had a strong focus on the boom's impact on different states and regions within Australia, including an examination of the impact on Melbourne's development and planning framework. Keynote speakers were:
- Glenn Stevens, Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia - The Resources Boom - transcript and audio
- Professor Bob Gregory, Victoria University and The Australian National University - Observations on the Export Boom
- Dr David Gruen, Australian Treasury - The Resources Boom and Structural Change in the Australian Economy
Presentations were also given by:
- Professor Peter Sheehan, Victoria University - The Impact: An Initial Empirical Analysis
- Dr David Johnson, Department of Treasury and Finance Victoria - Victoria in a Resources Boom
- Dr John Phillimore, Curtin University - The View from Western Australia
- Dr Bruce Rasmussen and Kathleen Hurley, Victoria University - Impact of the Resource Boom on the Economic Geography of Melbourne
- Tim Harcourt, Austrade - The Airport Economist
Download the conference program
More information on speakers
Read about the Melbourne Climate Policy Forum, a previous CSES conference held from October-December 2009
