We have heard so much in this conference on such a broad range of economic subjects by such a distinguished group of speakers that I have been presented with a difficult act to follow. I have also been given a very broad topic, so I will have to confine myself to making only a few comments on each part of it.
I would like to start with the proposition that Australians, on the whole, tend to be pessimists about the country’s economic situation and about its future. This is not always the case as there are occasions, such as the present, where a degree of optimism breaks out, but these are the exceptions rather than the rule.