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51-727: Horne's intent in writing the book was to portray Australia's climb to power and wealth based almost entirely on luck rather than the strength of its political or economic system , which Horne believed was "second rate". In addition to political and economic weaknesses, he also lamented on the lack of innovation and ambition, as well as a philistinism in the absence of art, among the Australian population, viewed by Horne as being complacent and indifferent to intellectual matters. He also commented on matters relating to Australian puritanism, as well as conservatism , particularly in relation to censorship and politics. The title of Horne's book comes from

102-570: A goods and services tax (GST) was introduced, similar to the European-style VAT . According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) seasonally adjusted estimates, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1% in October 2024 while the labour force participation rate decreased 0.1 points to 67.1%. The participation rate for 15- to 24-year-olds increased by 0.7 points to 71.1% while

153-541: A centralised tax system. The legislation could not expressly prohibit state income taxes (s. 51(ii) does not curtail the power of states to levy taxes) but the federal government's proposal made localised income tax extremely difficult politically. The federal government offered instead compensatory grants authorised by s. 96 of the Constitution for the loss of state income ( State Grants (Income Tax Reimbursement) Act 1942 ). The states rejected Canberra's regime and challenged

204-486: A phenomenon at its publication, despite some initially critical reviews. One commentator remarked that the release of the book was like "A bucket of cold saltwater emptied onto the belly of a dreaming sunbather". Writing in 2007, Raewyn Connell called it "the first pop - sociology best-seller" in Australia. It was published at a time when criticism of Australia, which had experienced an ascension to wealth and prosperity in

255-546: A recession. In September 2020, it was confirmed that due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic , the Australian economy had gone into recession for the first time in nearly thirty years, as the country's GDP fell 7 per cent in the June 2020 quarter, following a 0.3 per cent drop in the March quarter. It officially ended at the beginning of December 2020. The following table shows

306-469: A relatively short history (the country was federated in 1901), was rife. It is not the only book to shine an unfavourable light on the country: Robin Boyd 's The Australian Ugliness was released four years earlier in 1960 and is considered a seminal work on Australian architecture. Boyd's book was an indictment on the taste of Australian suburbanites, and the aesthetic of the Australian suburbs, which he lamented

357-568: Is "AAA" for all three major rating agencies, higher than the United States of America. The emphasis on exporting commodities rather than manufactures underpinned a significant increase in Australia's terms of trade during the rise in commodity prices since 2000. However, due to a colonial heritage a lot of companies operating in Australia are foreign-owned and as a result, Australia has had persistent current account deficits for over 60 years despite periods of positive net merchandise exports; given

408-623: Is characterised as a "two-speed economy". From June 2012 to March 2013 Victoria experienced a recession. In 2012 the Government of Victoria cut 10% of all jobs in the public service. The period since has seen these trends reversed with Western Australia and Northern Territory, who are heavily dependent on mining, experience significant downturns in GDP while the eastern states returned to growth, led by strong upturns in NSW and Victoria. Taxation in Australia

459-444: Is levied at the federal, state, and local government levels. The federal government raises revenue from personal income taxes and business taxes. Other taxes include the goods and services tax (General Service Tax) , excise and customs duties. The federal government is the main source of income for state governments. As a result of state dependence on federal taxation revenue to meet decentralised expenditure responsibilities, Australia

510-537: Is ranked 18th in the world (CIA World Factbook 2016). The country was ranked fifth in the United Nations 2022 Human Development Index and sixth in The Economist worldwide quality-of-life index 2005. In 2014, using constant exchange rates, Australia's wealth had grown by 4.4% annually on average after the financial crisis of 2007–2008 , compared with a 9.2% rate over 2000–2007. Australia's sovereign credit rating

561-585: Is said to have a vertical fiscal imbalance . Besides receipts of funds from the federal government, states and territories have their own taxes, in many cases as slightly different rates. State taxes commonly include payroll tax levied on businesses, a poker-machine tax on businesses that offer gambling services, land tax on people and businesses that own land and most significantly, stamp duty on sales of land (in every state) and other items (chattels in some states, unlisted shares in others, and even sales of contracts in some states). The states effectively lost

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612-674: Is the Australian dollar , which it shares with several Pacific nation states. Australia's economy is strongly intertwined with the countries of East and Southeast Asia , also known as ASEAN Plus Three (APT), accounting for about 64% of exports in 2016. China in particular is Australia's main export and import partner by a wide margin. Australia is a member of the APEC , G20 , OECD and WTO . The country has also entered into free trade agreements with ASEAN , Canada, Chile, China, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and

663-522: Is the 16th-largest stock exchange in the world in terms of domestic market capitalisation and has one of the largest interest rate derivatives markets in the Asia-Pacific region . Some of Australia's largest companies include Commonwealth Bank , BHP , CSL , Westpac , NAB , ANZ , Fortescue , Wesfarmers , Macquarie Group , Woolworths Group , Rio Tinto , Telstra , Woodside Energy and Transurban . The currency of Australia and its territories

714-538: The Business Franchise Licences (Tobacco) Act 1987 (NSW) was invalid because it levied a customs duty, a power exercisable only by the Commonwealth (s.90). This decision effectively invalidated state taxes on cigarettes, alcohol and petrol. Similarly, the imposition of a Commonwealth goods and services tax (GST) in 2000 transferred another revenue base to the Commonwealth. Consequently, Australia has one of

765-734: The National Australia Bank in April 2012 cut its growth forecast for Australia to 2.9% from 3.2%., and JP Morgan in May 2012 cut its growth forecast to 2.7% in calendar 2012 from a previous forecast of 3.0%, also its forecast for growth in 2013 to 3.0% from 3.3%. Deutsche Bank in August 2012, and Société Générale in October 2012, warned that there is risk of recession in Australia in 2013. While Australia's overall national economy grew, some non-mining states and Australia's non-mining economy experienced

816-399: The developed world with the March 2017 financial quarter . It was the 103rd quarter and the 26th year since the country had a technical recession (two consecutive quarters of negative growth). As of June 2021, the country's GDP was estimated at $ 1.98 trillion. The Australian economy is dominated by its service sector , which in 2017 comprised 62.7% of the GDP and employed 78.8% of

867-419: The 1920s, followed by the 1950s and the 1980s. By contrast, the late 1910s/early 1920s, the 1930s, the 1970s and early 1990s were marked by financial crises. From the early 1980s onwards, the Australian economy has undergone intermittent economic liberalisation . In 1983, under prime minister Bob Hawke , but mainly driven by treasurer Paul Keating , the Australian dollar was floated and financial deregulation

918-452: The 1960s and 1970s which fuelled the rise of suburbanisation and consumerism in Perth , the capital and most populous city of Western Australia, as well as other regional centres. The Australian government stimulus package ($ 11.8 billion) helped to prevent a recession. The World Bank expected Australia's GDP growth rate to be 3.2% in 2011 and 3.8% in 2012. The economy expanded by 0.4% in

969-455: The 5th largest world producer of salt . The country is also a major producer of precious stones. Australia is the world's largest producer of opal and is one of the largest producers of diamond , ruby , sapphire and jade . In non-renewable energies, in 2020, the country was the 30th largest producer of oil in the world, extracting 351.1 thousand barrels / day. In 2019, the country consumed 1 million barrels / day (20th largest consumer in

1020-712: The Australian media due to discrepancies between the methods of different research bodies (Roy Morgan versus the ABS), differing definitions of the term 'unemployed' and the ABS' practice of counting under-employed people as "employed". As of February 2024, the Australia labour force were employed in the following industries (seasonally adjusted) : According to the Australian Graduate Survey done by Graduate Careers Australia , full-time employment for newly qualified professionals from various occupations (around four months after

1071-628: The Graduate Careers Survey 2014 survey included 113,263 responses ("59.3 per cent of the almost 191,000 Australian resident graduates who were surveyed responded to the AGS.") The professional associations of some of these occupations expressed their criticism of the immigration policy in 2014. Note: All data in the table above is seasonally adjusted . In 2019, the country was the 2nd largest world producer of gold ; 8th largest world producer of silver ; 6th largest world producer of copper ;

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1122-469: The Lucky Country , Horne clarified what he had meant when he first coined the term: When I invented the phrase in 1964 to describe Australia, I said: "Australia is a lucky country run by second rate people who share its luck." I didn't mean that it had a lot of material resources … I had in mind the idea of Australia as a [British] derived society whose prosperity in the great age of manufacturing came from

1173-484: The US, Germany and Sweden. Economy of Australia Australia is a highly developed country with a mixed economy . As of 2023, Australia was the 14th-largest national economy by nominal GDP ( gross domestic product ), the 19th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP, and was the 21st-largest goods exporter and 24th-largest goods importer . Australia took the record for the longest run of uninterrupted GDP growth in

1224-442: The United States. The ANZCERTA agreement with New Zealand has greatly increased integration with the economy of New Zealand . Australia's average GDP growth rate for the period 1901–2000 was 3.4% annually. As opposed to many neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, the process towards independence was relatively peaceful and thus did not have significant negative impact on the economy and standard of living. Growth peaked during

1275-528: The ability to raise income tax during the Second World War. In 1942, Canberra invoked its Constitutional taxation power (s. 51 (ii)) and enacted the Income Tax Act and three other statutes to levy a uniform income tax across the country. These acts sought to raise the funds necessary to meet burgeoning wartime expenses and reduce the unequal tax burden between the states by replacing state income taxes with

1326-435: The completion of their qualifications) experienced some declines between 2012 and 2015. Some examples are: The Graduate Careers Survey 2014 explained, "However, GCA's Beyond Graduation Survey (BGS) indicates that the middle- and longer-term outlook is very positive, with the employment figures for 2010 graduates growing by 14 percentage points three years later." The Beyond Graduation Survey 2013 included 12,384 responses and

1377-492: The country was the 4th largest in the world in 2018: 481.3 million tons. Australia is the 2nd largest coal exporter in the world (387 million tons in 2018) In 2014–15 mineral extraction in Australia was valued at 212 billion Australian dollars. Of this, coal represented 45,869 million, oil and natural gas 40,369 million, iron ore 69,486 million, gold ore 13,685 million, and other metals 7,903 million. List of countries by imports This

1428-538: The court's earlier decision and confirmed the power of the federal government's power to make s. 96 grants conditionally (in this case, a grant made on the condition that the recipient state does not levy income tax). Since the Second Uniform Tax Case , a number of other political and legal decisions have centralised fiscal power with the Commonwealth. In Ha vs. New South Wales (1997), the High Court found that

1479-559: The economy, including tourism, education and financial services, constitutes 69% of GDP. Australian National University in Canberra also provides a probabilistic interest-rate-setting project for the Australian economy, which is compiled by shadow board members from the ANU academic staff. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, particularly wheat and wool , minerals such as iron ore and gold, and energy in

1530-626: The forms of liquified natural gas and coal. Although agriculture and natural resources constitute only 3% and 5% of GDP, respectively, they contribute substantially to Australia's export composition. Australia's largest export markets are Japan, China, South Korea, India and the United States. At the turn of the current century, Australia experienced a significant mining boom. The mining sector's contribution to overall GDP grew from around 4.5% in 1993–94, to almost 8% in 2006–07. The services sector also grew considerably, with property and business services in particular growing from 10% to 14.5% of GDP over

1581-543: The fourth quarter of 2011, and expanded by 1.3% in the first quarter of 2012. The growth rate was reported to be 4.3% year-on-year. The International Monetary Fund in April 2012 predicted that Australia would be the best-performing major advanced economy in the world over the next two years; the Australian Government Department of the Treasury anticipated "forecast growth of 3.0% in 2012 and 3.5% in 2013",

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1632-532: The labour force. At the height of the mining boom in 2009–10, the total value-added of the mining industry was 8.4% of GDP. Despite the recent decline in the mining sector, the Australian economy has remained resilient and stable and did not experience a recession from 1991 until 2020. Among OECD members, Australia has a highly efficient and strong social security system , which comprises roughly 25% of GDP . The Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney

1683-524: The legislation's validity in the First Uniform Tax Case ( South Australia v Commonwealth ) of 1942. The High Court of Australia held that each of the statutes establishing Commonwealth income tax was a valid use of the s. 51(ii) power, in which Latham CJ noted that the system did not undermine essential state functions and imposed only economic and political pressure upon them. The Second Uniform Tax Case ( Victoria v Commonwealth (1957)) reaffirmed

1734-429: The luck of its historical origins … In the lucky style we have never "earned" our democracy. We simply went along with some British habits. In the decades following his book's publication, Horne became critical of the "lucky country" phrase being used as a term of endearment for Australia. He commented, "I have had to sit through the most appalling rubbish as successive generations misapplied this phrase." The book became

1785-580: The main economic indicators in 1980–2023 (with IMF staff estimates in 2024–2027). Inflation under 5% is in green. (in bil. US$ PPP) (in US$ PPP) (in bil. US$ nominal) (in US$ nominal) (real) (in percent) (in percent) (in % of GDP) Australia's per-capita GDP is higher than that of the UK, Canada, Germany and France in terms of purchasing power parity . Per Capita GDP (PPP) Australia

1836-412: The most pronounced vertical fiscal imbalances in the world: the states and territories collect just 18% of all governmental revenues but are responsible for almost 50% of the spending areas. Furthermore, the centralisation of revenue collection has allowed Canberra to force state policy in areas well beyond the scope of its constitutional powers, by using the grants power (s.96) to mandate the terms on which

1887-609: The net income outlay between Australia and the rest of the world is always negative. The current account deficit totalled AUD$ 44.5 billion in 2016 or 2.6% of GDP. Inflation has typically been between 2 and 3% and the pre-GFC cash rate typically ranged between 5 and 7%, however, partly in response to the end of the mining boom the cash rate has recently been steadily falling, dropping from 4.75% in October 2011 to 1.5% in Aug 2016, then to 1.25% in June 2019 and 1.0% in July 2019. The service sector of

1938-410: The opening words of the book's last chapter: Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people's ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise. Horne's statement was an indictment of 1960s Australia. His intent

1989-474: The same period, making it the largest single component of GDP (in sectoral terms). This growth has largely been at the expense of the manufacturing sector, which in 2006–07 accounted for around 12% of GDP. A decade earlier, it was the largest sector in the economy, accounting for just over 15% of GDP. In 2018 Australia became the country with the largest median wealth per adult, but slipped back to second highest after Switzerland in 2019. Australia's total wealth

2040-654: The states spend money in areas over which it has no power (such as spending on education, health and policing). Local governments (called councils in Australia) have their own taxes (called rates) to enable them to provide services such as local road repairs, local planning and building management, garbage collection, street cleaning, park maintenance services, libraries, and museums. Councils also rely on state and federal funding to provide infrastructure and services such as roads, bridges, sporting facilities and buildings, aged care, maternal and child health, and childcare. In 2000,

2091-449: The unemployment rate for this group decreased by 0.2 points to 9.3%. According to the ABS, in October 2024, the underemployment rate decreased by 0.1 points to 6.2%, while the underutilisation rate (the unemployed plus the under-employed) remained steady at 10.4% in trend terms. According to Roy Morgan Research the unemployment rate in April 2019 was 8.9%, while Australian workers who were considered either unemployed or underemployed

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2142-468: The unemployment rate rose to 10.8%. However, the recession did assist in reducing long-term inflation rate expectations and Australia has maintained a low inflation environment since the 1990s to the present day. Mining has contributed to Australia's high level of economic growth, from the gold rush in the 1840s to the present day. The opportunities for large profits in pastoralism and mining attracted considerable amounts of British capital, while expansion

2193-472: The world's largest producer of iron ore ; the world's largest producer of bauxite ; the 2nd largest world producer of manganese ; 2nd largest world producer of lead ; 3rd largest world producer of zinc ; 3rd largest world producer of cobalt ; 3rd largest producer of uranium ; 6th largest producer of nickel ; 8th largest world producer of tin ; 14th largest world producer of phosphate ; 15th largest world producer of sulfur ; in addition to being

2244-410: The world). The country was the 20th largest oil importer in the world in 2018 (461.9 thousand barrels / day). In 2015, Australia was the 12th largest world producer of natural gas , 67.2 billion m3 per year. In 2019, the country was the 22nd largest gas consumer (41.9 billion m3 per year) and was the 10th largest gas exporter in the world in 2015: 34.0 billion m3 per year. In the production of coal ,

2295-489: Was estimated to be 17.7% (2.381 million) in the same month. Around 4.219 million were estimated to be in part-time employment. In 2007, 228,621 Newstart unemployment allowance recipients were registered, a total that increased to 646,414 or 5.3% of the total labour force by March 2013. As of December 2018, the number of Newstart recipients stands at 722,923 or 5.4% of the labour force. The accuracy of official unemployment figures has been brought into question in

2346-603: Was estimated to be AUD$ 10.9 trillion as of September 2019. Between 2010 and 2013, much of the economic growth in Australia was attributed to areas of the country where mining- and resource-based industries and services are mostly located. Western Australia and the Northern Territory are the only states that have economic growth. During 2012 and 2013 Australian Capital Territory , Queensland , Tasmania , South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria experienced recessions at various times. The Australian economy

2397-416: Was facing decline, which eventually led to a savings and loan crisis which compromised the well-being of millions of US people. The following recession thus impacted the many countries closely linked to the US, including Australia. Paul Keating, who was treasurer at the time, famously referred to it as "the recession that Australia had to have." During the recession, GDP fell by 1.7%, employment by 3.4% and

2448-492: Was in a deplorable state, full of European imitation styles fused together to make one whole. Horne's book was given an unofficial sequel in 2016, with Ian Lowe 's The Lucky Country? Reinventing Australia . Lowe's book addresses Horne's stance, and states that due to poor leadership, little has changed since The Lucky Country . With regard to economic innovation, Australia still ranks low: in 2014 The Economist ' s Economic Innovation Index ranked Australia 22nd, behind Japan,

2499-471: Was supported by enormous government outlays for transport, communication, and urban infrastructures, which also depended heavily on British finance. As the economy expanded, large-scale immigration satisfied the growing demand for workers, especially after the end of convict transportation to the eastern mainland in 1840. Australia's mining operations secured continued economic growth and Western Australia itself benefited strongly from mining iron ore and gold from

2550-413: Was to comment that, while other industrialised nations created wealth using clever means such as technology and other innovations, Australia did not. Rather, Australia's economic prosperity was largely derived from its rich natural resources and immigration. Horne observed that Australia "showed less enterprise than almost any other prosperous industrial society". In his 1976 follow-up book, Death of

2601-617: Was undertaken. The early 1990s recession came swiftly after the Black Monday of October 1987 , as a result of a stock collapse of unprecedented size which caused the Dow Jones Industrial Average to fall by 22.6%. This collapse, larger than the stock market crash of 1929 , was handled effectively by the global economy and the stock market began to quickly recover. But in North America, the lumbering savings and loans industry

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