The 1990s expansion shown in the diagram covers the eight-and-a-half years to December 1999, but we are confident that it has continued through the ninth year, and by the time we reach the September quarter we will be in our tenth year. So, sustainability of the expansion is the first key to our improved performance. The second key is improvements in productivity.
Here, if we use the simplest measure of productivity, which is labour productivity, the pattern in Australia is very similar to the pattern in the United States (Graph 2): strong growth in the 1960s, a flattening out in the 1970s and 1980s, followed by a pick-up in the 1990s.