Business imperatives for a prosperous Australia

A new paper from Deloitte asks how Australia–and its individual sectors and businesses–can position for prosperity? If mining is our current wave, how do we extend its run? And what other future waves can we catch?

That’s because the end result of a boom in global demand for industrial commodities isn't a boom in their price, but a boom in their supply. Responding to sustained demand, the world’s miners dig deeper, gradually catching up to the rising needs of the globe’s emerging economies.

At the same time, the stunning increase in mining-related construction, which has driven much of Australia’s recent growth, is already peaking. It won’t go away either–mining-related construction will remain much larger than it used to be–but it will no longer be the main driver of Australian growth.

Answers are already emerging. The seeds of growth for Australia’s next two decades can be found in our unique advantages in agribusiness, gas, tourism, international education and wealth management. Deloitte forecasts growth in these sectors to be 10% or more faster than average growth in GDP for the period 2013-33 (refer chart).

The paper focuses not just on how we can grow, but how to make the most of our opportunities.

The full paper has not yet been released, but preview information is available on Deloitte’s website at Positioning for prosperity? Catching the next wave.

Although the mining boom isn't ending, it is changing in ways that will reshape Australia’s industrial landscape. The prices the world is paying for Australian commodities remain a multiple of where they were before the latest upward surge. Yet they are already below their peaks and the consensus among economists is that they’ll go even lower still.