Instead of Australia financial institutions being currently in the market to buy assets in Asia, the government or the IMF would now be involved in a costly bank bail-out. We would be locked out of the global telecommunications system. Imagine if we had not made efficiencies in government trading enterprises or staffing levels or service delivery. Not only would government services be poorer and taxes even more crippling, but we would be unable to compensate the losers of reform. Clearly not everything is going well down under.
Unemployment is far too high and the regions are being disproportionately effected.
Importantly, now is not the time to get cold feet or retreat to the past.