Sleepwalking into the future?

Michael Stutchbury, editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review, launched Peter Hendy’s Why Australia Slept: How the Australian community sleep-walked across the decades jeopardising its abundant natural blessings (Connor Court).

Australia is in danger of sleepwalking into the future. For decades, Australia “slept” through a period of high tariff protection and heavily regulated industries. As a result, by the 1970s its relative living standards were in decline. The situation was saved by significant free-market reforms instituted from the 1980s through to the early 2000s.

Since the later-2000s, however, the country has been resting on its laurels with only minimal reform. There are danger signals everywhere, from the domestic economy to our international relations and the rise of China.

For event enquiries please email Max Hawke-Weaver at mhawkeweaver@cis.org.au

For media enquiries please email Karla Pincott at kpincott@cis.org.au