The Australian Miracle

Book excerpt: A hundred years ago, an open and adaptive attitude towards technology made Australia the wealthiest society in the world. Today this same attitude is transforming the nation and creating unexpected opportunities for Australia's inventors, discoverers and entrepreneurs. Australia's economy underwent a miraculous expansion over the twenty years from the early 1990s onwards - an economic transformation that pre-dated the late twentieth-century mining boom, and which was driven by investment in ideas and technology. The Australian Miracle, first published by Picador in 2006, highlights the growing role of innovation in modern Australian life. It also presents a refreshing and invigorating scepticism about the role of government in a world where research and innovation have never been more important. Politically charged, controversial, and sharply written, it should be essential reading for anyone interested in Australia's economy of ideas. "This is the ultimate myth buster; the killer of cliches Australian science so badly needs. Tom Barlow's iconoclasm will shock some, thrill others. I consumed this timely book with unaccustomed relish. Read it." -- Robyn Williams.