To go with this Rudd & Gillard have just turned the IR rules back 20 years!!
Aust not prepared for 21st century challenges: Murdoch
Mr Murdoch says it would be a tragedy for Australia to squander its economnic strength.
Australia is not adequately preparing itself for the challenges of the 21st century, media mogul Rupert Murdoch says.
Mr Murdoch said that while poor societies were becoming richer, rich societies were at risk of becoming complacent.
The News Corp chief and Manhattan-based US citizen used the last of his six Boyer Lectures for the ABC to look to Australia's future in the global economy.
"At this time in our history, the gravest threat to Australia's freedom and prosperity does not come from war or terrorism, it comes from the comfort that can make us content," Mr Murdoch said in his lecture entitled The 21st Century.
"Australia's open economy, free society and strategic location give us many advantages.
"They also give us a clear choice - Australia can be a model for the world or we can be a land of squandered opportunity.
"That is the challenge we face."
Mr Murdoch says Australia is not preparing itself adequately for competition from the world's emerging economies.
He says it would be a tragedy for Australia to squander its economnic strength.
"Australia is not preparing itself adequately for the challenges ahead," he said.
"And the reason for this is also clear. We are too comfortable. And when we are comfortable, we often are willing to settle for less as long as we don't have to change how we do things."
Praising the land he was born in, the 77-year-old said Australia defined him and gave him his first successes.
As every country's greatest asset was her people, Australia must unlock the abilities of all her citizens to advance in the global community, he said.
"Today instant flows of information, the advance of trade and the rise of economies that reward risk and enterprise are all combining to create a world where the opportunities ahead would be greater than anything we've seen in human history," Mr Murdoch said.
"With so much talent, with so many advantages and with so much potential, I can think of no greater sadness for this century than an Australia that was willing to settle for just getting by."
While some may predict dire consequences should Australia not observe and embrace change, Mr Murdoch said it was quite the opposite.
"I am reasonably sure that the consequences will probably not be dire," he said.
