http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/jack-shield/ Jack is a 21yo Arts Degree graduate from UQ, Brisbane. He first became seriously interested in politics and international affairs during the 2008 US election, when the possibility of Sarah Palin having access to nuclear codes aroused in him the realisation that distant events could cast a long shadow over the globe.  Dislikes: country music, spiders, receiving text messages with no vowels, and that dog next door that doesn’t stop barking. Likes: playing his guitar, history, animal rights and throwing ice cubes at the dog next door. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/weve-got-the-way-and-how-all-we-need-is-the-will/ By many counts, Australia’s economic position is to be envied by the world. Assuming the Gillard government can deliver on its promise, there will be a surplus for the 2012-13 budget. We are experiencing historically high terms of trade: importing on the cheap while exports sell high. Unemployment is only a touch over 5%. Our dollar has overtaken the US Greenback. We have the second lowest public debt (proportional to our GDP) in the industrialised world. And If you’ve listened to Treasurer Wayne Swan open his mouth in the last 6 months, you’ll know that our economy’s “fundamentals are strong”. It may surprise some therefore, that I would suggest that this is no time for complacency about our future. Indeed, our position is more precarious that one might initially think. For there’s another side to the Australian story: lopsided growth, struggling non-resource exporters, depleting natural resources, coming challenges of an ageing population and climate change, and a vulnerability to oscillating commodity prices. Considering these factors, it is best that the orthodox optimism surrounding our economic future be taken with a grain of salt.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Jack Shield) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/weve-got-the-way-and-how-all-we-need-is-the-will/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/weve-got-the-way-and-how-all-we-need-is-the-will/#item6560 Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:50:57 +0000 Jack Shield | Author bios | The Punch