> best to bank as much now while the price is good Possibly true but on the other hand who's to say the price won't go up further in the future? If we are goin

> best to bank as much now while the price is good Possibly true but on the other hand who's to say the price won't go up further in the future? If we are going to consider the possibility of major price drops then shouldn't we model the impact on the economy? Would it make even more sense to make sure we aren't too reliant on that income and that we put some money aside for this eventuality? > Unemployment is 5% because of the mining, not despite the mining. I think that this is because the income from mining has allowed additional consumption and that consumption has supported employment. > There's plenty of room for both. Australia can lead the world in minerals, and mineral extraction technology. This sounds a pretty bland to me. Like the classic quite from a 'versatile' band "we play both types of music - Country AND Western". A vibrant modern economy requires a lot more than one sector. Beside that it doesn't take advantage of us being a modern westernized English-speaking nation. I've no doubt that China and India can produce highly skilled engineers and they will tend to want to use their own companies in new mining areas such as Africa. But when it comes to developing and designing information products for a western market they at a huge disadvantage.