STATEMENTS BY SENATORS
Senator DOWLING (Tasmania) (13:26): I rise to reflect on this year's Boyer lecture by a great Australian economic expert, Professor Justin Wolfers, who gave a remarkable exploration of what truly explains Australia's economic success. Wolfers asked the simple question: 'Was it luck, or was it design?' His answer is clear—our prosperity is no accident. It is the product of strong, inclusive institutions, rules that reward persuasion over polarisation and that encourage evidence over ideology, and government that works for the public good.
He reminds us that, while resources and geography matter, they are not destiny. The deeper story is institutional. It is about how we organise decision-making, resolve conflict and share opportunity.
Australia's institutions have shaped an economy that has delivered growth, stability and trust across generations. Our independent Public Service gives frank and fearless advice. Our Reserve Bank makes monetary policy at arm's length from politics.
Our courts, regulators and accountability bodies uphold the rule of law. Our electoral system, grounded in universal participation and preferential voting, rewards consensus and discourages extremes. These are not just technical features; they are the foundations of a high-trust democracy and a resilient economy.
When other nations have stumbled through financial crises, political instability or populist division, Australia has stayed the course. Wolfers offers powerful comparisons with South Korea's institutions lifting millions from poverty through good design and governance. Argentina, in contrast, shows what happens when short-term politics overwhelms institutions.
The lesson is that the architecture of decision-making matters. If we weaken it, we weaken the nation. Our institutions have been tested—global financial crises, pandemics, rapid technological change—yet time and again they've adapted and delivered.
Fiscal discipline, expert-led health policy and social trust have allowed us to weather shocks that fractured others. But institutional strength is not permanent; it must be renewed. If we erode trust in evidence, politicise independent agencies or hollow out the Public Service, we risk losing the very advantages that built our success.
The stakes are not abstract: we risk slower growth, higher conflict and declining trust, and trust, once lost, is very hard to rebuild. As we debate reforms, whether to the RBA or to integrity frameworks, or the design of new policy bodies, we should heed Wolfers's warning: defend what works, invest in expertise, value independence and strengthen the rules of the game.
The Boyer lectures remind us that Australia's economic story is not one of luck but of institutional craftsmanship. It is the story of a people who built a system that prizes inclusion, pragmatism and respect for knowledge. That is our real national endowment—not just our minerals or our markets but our mindset and the idea that good institutions make good outcomes possible.
Let us keep proving that right. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Ghosh ): It being now 1.30, I shall proceed to two-minute statements.