Australia/New Zealand:
Economic Development
Australia’s high standard of living [aucoumea.htm] can be attributed to its small population and its reasonably well-developed and diversified export economy which is dependent on the production of agricultural mineral and industrial goods. From its initial settlement until recently, agriculture was the mainstay of the economy generating 80 percent of the export income at the end of WW II.
Agriculture is dominated today by sheep and cattle ranching and wheat farming. Sheep and cattle ranches or "stations" are usually quite large in Australia, often encompassing thousands of acres and making motor vehicles and airplanes necessary equipment. All forms of agriculture are technologically advanced and mechanized. Australia is also a leader in sugar cane production. Exports are limited by the European Unions tariffs.
Australia along with South Africa and Brazil is among the most favorably endowed with mineral resources. Australia’s resource base includes coal, uranium, iron ore, bauxite, natural gas, lead, zinc and other minerals. Petroleum is in short supply but discoveries in the Tasman Sea in the 1980’s are promising.
Industry is the weakest link in Australia’s economy. What has developed are import-substitution industries which are geared to consumer goods, as well as the partial processing of mineral and agricultural products. Much of Australian industry is protected by tariff barriers because the small domestic market does produce goods that are competitive with foreign imports. Australia does have a double complementary relationship with Japan which is Australia’s major market for coal and iron ore and supplies Austria with many of their consumer goods.
Although there have been shifts in Australia’s economic sectors, the country still depends on exporting primary or semi-processed primary goods in exchange for manufactured goods from developed countries. Australia remains in the unusual position of being a prosperous nation (although some Australians refer to the country as a “newly declining country” without a strong industrial base.
[The text of the above was written by Scott Girhard, San Antonio College from his online course GEOG 1301 World Geography. Used with permission.]
New Zealand is a good example of the use of STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT policies to promote economic development. this would be a good time to review the lecture on Economic Change [Economic Change].
(The following is from the US State Department Background Notes: http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/new_zealand_0798_bgn.html)
New Zealand enjoys a high level of prosperity [aucoumea.htm] based on exports from its efficient agricultural system. Leading agricultural exports include meat, forest products, fruit and vegetables, fish, wool and dairy products. The country has substantial hydroelectric power and sizable reserves of natural gas. Leading manufacturing sectors are food processing, metal fabrication, and wood and paper products.
New Zealand was a direct beneficiary of many of the reforms achieved under the Uruguay Round of GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). New Zealand agriculture, and the dairy sector in particular, have enjoyed many new trade opportunities. Since 1984, government subsidies have been eliminated; import regulations have been liberalized; exchange rates have been freely floated; controls on interest rates, wages, and prices have been removed; and marginal rates of taxation reduced.
Tight monetary policy and major efforts to reduce the government budget deficit have cut inflation from an annual rate of more than 18% in 1987 to about 1.6% in 1997. The restructuring and sale of government-owned enterprises has reduced government's role in the economy and permitted the retirement of some public debt. However, the reforms led to economic dislocations with unemployment reaching 11% in 1991. An improving economy brought unemployment down to 6.2% by March 1996, but unemployment remains a significant social concern and has been rising for the past year to 6.8% in September 1997.