The key to future prosperity is investment. We will not get sustained economic growth without much higher levels of investment. So we have a long way to go in order to get our economy running smoothly again. The investment market is truly an international market, and for the private sector savings can be very readily invested offshore, and this is in fact happening. In recent months many Australian companies have announced investments offshore and warned of the unattractiveness of investment here.
Investment needs encouragement.
Investors need to have confidence that they can make a fair return on an investment. At present in Australia, one would have to conclude that investors are on strike. Well known examples include the Hughes report, the earlier Garnaut report, various reports from the Australian Manufacturing Council, Business Council reports, the recent Fitzgerald report, and even Fred Argy's report for CEDA which was released only two weeks ago. We have to be able to provide goods and services at competitive rates and quality. That requires elimination of monopolies by government, business or union.