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People forget that a huge proportion of our jobs still depend on agricultural production in Australia so of course there are exports. That's easily overlooked.

Australia is a resource-rich nation. We have been good at exploiting our minerals base and agricultural sector for exports.

In my view, helping to feed a hungry world is Australia's greatest responsibility and opportunity in the 21st century.

I think Australian food is probably some of the best in the world.

But Australia faces additional regional and global challenges also crucial to our nation's future - climate change, questions of energy and food security, the rise of China and the rise of India. And we need a strong system of global and regional relationships and institutions to underpin stability.

Our concerns about what we saw in Australia: an economy clearly tied to China has hitched its wagon to the tail of the tiger. In terms of the general complacency, what we heard over and over from investors and clients and potential clients is, 'yes, yes, there are some excesses, but the government will figure out a way.'

The evidence is inarguable that Australia is becoming too expensive and too uncompetitive to do export-oriented business. Africans want to work, and its workers are willing to work for less than $2 per day. Such statistics make me worry for this country's future. We are becoming a high-cost and high-risk nation for investment.

We are already producing enough food to feed the world. We already have technology in place that allows us to produce more than we can find a market for.

There are better alternatives... Australia should be exporting its solar technology, not its uranium.

Here in Australia we do get impacted by global economic events. But we should have some confidence that our economy has got strong underlying fundamentals.