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Globalisation - Is it doom and gloom or the way forward?

Keynote speaker at the recent LGAQ Annual Conference was Diplomat and Author, Alan Oxley. On the eve of the World Economic Forum to be staged in Melbourne in September, he said that the media has much to answer for in perpetuating the view that globalisation threatens Australia.

Looking at the facts, he said in spite of the Australian dollar at a very low level, debt higher than ever before and a widening wealth gap, at the same time Australia is experiencing its ninth year of growth (second only to the USA), unemployment is falling and the average wealth for families has increased 30 percent in the last three years. Added to this, we have low inflation and interest rates.

"Globalisation is the result of increased travel, increased free trade and greater communication through improved technology," Alan Oxley said.

"We also have greater movement of people with it being easier to travel and borders more open.

"Globalisation has ended the tyranny of distance."

He said since European settlement, Australia has been built on wave after wave of new people. We have always had a migrant culture.

"From the First Fleet in 1788, people brought with them an openness for new ideas and greater flexibility," he said.

"Australia has been built on trade, outside investment and new people. This is what globalisation is about, so why stop doing what we have always done?"

Alan Oxley said that, per head of population, we have taken to the Internet at a much higher rate than Europe. Our PC ownership is now higher than both the USA and Canada. He said, as a nation, we are renowned for our inventiveness, optimism and willingness to take on new challenges.

"We need to ensure we do not get weighed down by the recession of the 1980s but maintain our optimism," he said.

"Work patterns have changed for good. We cannot afford to protect jobs in particular sectors but find ways to adapt.

"However, it is vital we get people off the bottom by reducing unemployment. To do this, we need to maintain our current growth rate of at least four percent."

Alan Oxley believes that we must recognise 'people' as our most important resource. Our riches do not all come from the ground or farming, but also from skills of people who work them.

"We need to maximise our skills and new technologies, through education and training," he said.

"We need an open society and a vigorous migration policy. We must manage growth and sustainability, alongside higher migration.

"Most of all, we must see the opportunities, and take them.

"This is why Australia will definitely survive in the 21st century."

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