Author(s): Julianne Schultz

Issues/Current Affairs

Australia's good fortune seems inexhaustible. Is it a product of luck, or of initiative and good governance? Is Australia still the Lucky Country? This edition explores Australia now - the sources of power, influence and fragility. Since settlement, Australia has responded with remarkable agility to changing patterns of global trade. As the economic balance of power shifts in the Asia Pacific region and world leaders consider the new carbonless economy, change is inevitable. What do we want Australia to be like in this new world? How will the relationship between the city and the country change when mining leases in remote areas are the unequivocal source of national wealth? It is time to again learn from the past in plotting new ways of dealing with the future, in terms of governance, trade, social relations, population and the environment.