3.++Solutions

= Ms Stevenson will not be providing any more comments on this page = = = = 3. Solutions =

**Your task** 1. Press edit above 2. Move your cursor below your name (scroll down) - only work in the area under your name 3. Research at least 2 solutions from different sources 4. Explain how they solve your economic problem 5. **Using the table button** on the menu above select a table with 3 columns and 3 rows to record your evidence and sources (**use link - external link button above**). //Just start typing in the table - it will format itself when you press save!//


 * Miss Stevenson's exemplar **


 * || **Solutions to my economic problem that** ** "The increasing popularity of E-books will see the demise of the printed book industry in Australia" ** **(use bullet points)** || **Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * 1 ||  ||   ||
 * 2 ||  ||   ||
 * 3 ||  ||   ||


 * 1. Alek A**


 * || **Solutions to my economic problem** || **Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * 1 ||  ||   ||
 * 2 ||  ||   ||
 * 3 ||  ||   ||


 * 2. Jordan B**

"CommSec is proposing that petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) merely be extended to cover mining resources. Unlike the proposed resource super profits tax (RSPT), there would be no provision for full loss offset – a provision not valued by the mining sector. The 40 per cent tax rate would remain but the threshold rate of return would become the long-term government bond rate plus five percentage points just like the existing PRRT, rather than just the long-term bond rate. And the 40 per cent tax would apply to the profit made on individual resources rather than projects to partially address the problem of retrospectivity on existing projects." || [|Switzer News Article] || Maybe think about what the government would use the extra taxation for? E.g. if it is infrastructure ... is there another solution rather than taxing to get what the government wants?
 * **Solutions to my economic problem** || **Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * 1. Potentially the Australian mining industry could remove the super tax, and restrict taxation to a output based taxation. They could increase tax rates depending upon the resource. For example greenhouse gas contributors could be taxed more. ||  ||   ||
 * 2. **Bit confused becaused they've sort of fixed the problem already by decreasing the taxation:**
 * "**The renamed Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) will apply only to iron ore and coal in Australia, and will be capped at 30 per cent rather than the original 40 per cent proposed. Oil and gas projects will come under the current Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) regime to all A**ustralian onshore and offshore oil and gas projects, including the North West Shelf."** || **[|The Sydney Morning Herald]** ||  ||
 * **3. Bit confused on this solution, please translate to english:**

//Note: Ms Stevenson, I read your criticism and I agree that I need to focus on either the labour issue or the industry issue associated with an ageing population. I've chosen to investigate its impacts on Australia's labour force participation rate. Since the other Wiki documents are locked, I'll just redo everything here.//
 * 3. Ned B**

Topic: The impacts of an ageing population on Australia's labour force participation must be addressed by governmental policy. My assignment topic is not concerned with slowing the development of Australia's ageing population. Rather, it is an investigation into potential solutions that will mitigate the effects of an ageing population on Australia's labour force participation rate.
 * __Economic problem__**
 * || **Evidence to support my economic problem** || **Source** ||
 * **1.** || Older people have low labour force participation rates relative to younger people, and due to population ageing, will become an increasing proportion of the population. Accordingly, projections of LFPR over the next forty years by the Australian Department of Treasury and Finance suggest that without policy changes or significant changes in the labour supply behaviour of different age and gender groups, the ageing of the population will lead to a reduction in aggregate labour force participation rate, approaching ten percent. For example, by the projections, the labour force participation rate in Victoria, for those aged 15 and over, will fall to about 54 percent from its current level of about 64 percent if no action is taken. || [|Department of Treasury and Finance] ||
 * **2.** || If labour force participation rates fall in line with the above-mentioned projections, economic growth is likely to be reduced and the associated capacity of Commonwealth and state governments to meet the rising fiscal burden that is expected over the next forty years, due largely to rising health costs on account of the ageing population, will be diminished. || [|Queensland Government] ||

__**Economic models**__
 * || **Economic models** || **How it relates to my problem** ||
 * **1.** || Price mechanism || Reduced participation rates means there is a decreased supply of labour, so the curve is shifted left. So what does this mean in terms of impact on price and quantity? ||
 * **2.** || Circular Flow Model || Public expenditure on services for older people (e.g. health and aged care) can be expected to increase, while the size of the working age population supporting these services will decrease. You need to discuss which sectors of the CFM will be impacted and which income/goods flows will be impacted ||
 * < **3.** || Production Possibility Curve || There are many individuals in society who would very much consider working, if offered a reasonable incentive. For instance, stay-home mothers could be expected increase their participation in the workforce if childcare services were made more affordable. This relates to the production possibility curve in that labour is being underutilised in society due to a lack of governmental intervention in key areas preventing certain major groups from being employed. OK - you need to draw this up ||

__**Solutions**__ Basically, the first solution targets youth employment, while the second is aimed at keeping people in the workforce longer and the third targets stay-home mothers. These three groups have great potential to mitigate the ageing population's effects on the Australia LFPR.
 * || **Solutions** || Source ||
 * **1.** || **Improving educational attainment** in the youth by funding programs to increase completion rates of year 12 or equivalent || [|Melbourne Institute] ||
 * **2.** || **Delaying retirement** by increasing the age to receive superannuation and pension. || [|Melbourne Institute] ||
 * **3.** || To maintain the aggregate LFPR, the states could consider the funding of **affordable, high-quality childcare centres**. || [|Melbourne Institute] ||

Your solutions are good - but make sure you read more widely than one source

- the Task Force agreed to work together to promote the role of the flight instructor as a legitimate and rewarding occupation ||> [|Pilot instructors an urgent priority for Australian aviation] || - operators must awaken to the reality of a sustainable and liveable wage || [|Aviation Review Paper] ||
 * 4. Albert**
 * >  ||> Solutions ||> Source ||
 * >  ||> Instituted programs to train replacement pilots
 * > 2. ||> - Rex started $5 million academy to train its own pilots and now has 37 cadets on the book ||> New Rex academy to combat pilot shortage ||
 * 3. || - Cannot allow foreign carriers to 'cherry pick' the strong routes/ sectors

Good points!


 * 5. Peter C**

What about solutions to stop this happening in the future - the above are all solutions that have already occurred.... You need to do more research here so you can evaluate effectively
 * || Solutions to the problem that the recent nurses pay dispute will have an adverse affect on the economy || Source ||
 * 1 || The Government has hired foreign specialists to fix the payroll data entry issues || [|Qld govt imports payroll system experts] ||
 * 2 || As some workers have left their jobs, the Government will have to provide pay incentives for nurses and other workers in the health industry to go back to work. || source? ||
 * 3 || As this debarcle has caused much hardship for many workers in the health industry, the Government will have to reimburse all incorrectly payed workers || source? ||


 * 6. Ian C**

- So when there is maintence on the rail network coal transportation does not need to stop - More trains per day will help speed up transport congestion to ports || [|Queensland rail halt means more coal delays] [|Australia's Dalrymple port: no quick fix to queues] || - More loading docks to reduce queue || source? || These sound like good solutions
 * || **Coal infrastructure in Australia is underdeveloped and should be combated with government policy.** || **Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * 1 || Upgraded Rail Network - Extra Train Line - Extra Train Carrages
 * 2 || - The coal rail network to be sold to the mining companies. These companies would invest substantialy larger amounts of money into the maintenence and upgrading of the network || [|Coal Companies bid to purchase rail network] ||
 * 3 || - Expansion of Dalrymple bay coal capacity and expansion.

7. **Fletcher F**

8. **Callum G** Good
 * # || Solutions to Australia's underutilisation of its potentially profitable uranium industry || Source ||
 * 1 || As legal implications negate the acquisition of some sites for mining, especially in some rural areas which possess cultural significance to some indigenous people, possible talks and compensation for certain areas of land will enable the uranium mining industry to expand || [|Reasons for opposition] ||
 * 2 || Discussions could be held with government as ultimately they have the final say as to if a new mine opens. That is, by acquiring permits from the government which will enable the opening of new mines, will kick-start the Australian uranium industry. || [|Australian govt policy] ||

9. **Elliott G**

10. **James H**

Miss Stevenson: James - this would not be a popular or practical solution - the whole world is trying to head towards lowering trade protection eg tariffs and subsidies - you will need to do more research here
 * || Solutions to my economic problem that t he small Australian motor vehicle market is forcing the automotive industry to locate off shore. || Source ||
 * 1 || Expand automotive tariffs - In an international context, Australia’s automotive tariffs are relatively low, and its investment attraction policies are more transparent and less generous than those offered by some other countries. The support offered is designed to help the industry make the transition to a more competitive environment. || [|Government Automotive Review][|Chapter 11] ||
 * 2 ||  ||   ||
 * 3 ||  ||   ||

11. **Noah K** Need deeper research here - the government has already done number 1 - by mass media campaign to get us to use target 140L ... need to provide examples and evidence of what is happening in other countries etc
 * || **Solutions to my economic problem that "The water shortage will have serious effect on the economy"** || **Source - weblink** ||
 * 1 || In order to stop the economy from being impacted by lack of water, the simplest solution is to reduce demand. This can be done by the government introducing limits on the amount of water that can be used per person per week. || [|Solutions for a Water-Short world] ||
 * 2 || The government can provide funding to assist in the development of technologies that can make processes involving the use of freshwater more efficient, therefore saving water ||  ||
 * 3 ||  ||   ||

12. **Sam L**

13. **Caleb L**


 * || **Solutions to my economic problem that** ** "The minimum wage in Australia is too low" ** **(use bullet points)** || **Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * 1 || Raise the minimum wage to what? || []

[] ||
 * 2 || Allow people to apply for the doll, however, a certain amount of money from the doll must be set aside for necessities so that the money is not wasted on cigarettes or alcohol. || source? ||
 * 3 ||  ||   ||

Good solutions - now you need to do more research so you can evaluate them effectively

14. **Angus L**

General practitioners or specialists can apply for a visa to work in Australia if they have obtained their primary medical qualification in a country other than Australia or gained their medical qualifications in Australia and are not an Australian permanent resident. Nurses are currently in high demand in Australia with opportunities for permanent and temporary work available. Doctors can apply for either a temporary or permanent visa. For immigration purposes, doctors seeking permanent residency in Australia must hold full medical registration || [|Department of Immigration] || Good solutions - make sure you do some deeper research to ensure that you have numbers on doctors coming in and average age of retirement
 * || Solutions to my economic problem that " There is a serious skills shortage in the medical industry" || Source ||
 * 1 || Importing doctors:
 * 2 || Lower retirement rates, with more doctors staying in the workforce longer, would result in a significantly larger workforce, particularly in the short term. Retirement rates are especially important when a large proportion of the workforce is older, and so the relative contribution of these cohorts to total effective workforce supply is higher. In the latest national data, a quarter of the medical labour force were older than 55 years.[|4] With the ageing of the Australian medical workforce, retirement rates will remain an important determinant of total medical workforce supply || [|Medical Journal of Australia]l ||

15. HAMISH LORAINE

However, an increase in tax will cause:
 * || **Solutions to my economic problem that "****There is a serious skills shortage in the resources labour market.****"** || **Source** ||
 * 1. || Importing skilled workers from the foreign sector:
 * Recommended that the temporary migration must undergo an overhaul to make it easier for companies to draw on overseas labour what is the major sticking point at the moment?
 * Main short term option are to recruit from the unskilled unemployed or through temporary or permanent migration || [|The Wall Street Journal] ||
 * 2. || Improvements in Training an Education
 * Rudd Government has already set aside $1.9 billion so as to deliver 630,000 training places, all we need now is the trainees to fill these places. so what else needs to be done
 * The resource sector along with state and federal governments need to work together to address Australia’s skill shortages.
 * Promotion of the industry is vital to attract and retain workers along with maintaining that new and existing employees have the correct qualifications, This could be done through an increase in government expenditure, showing that the current government sees that industry as a leader. Also, promotion of resource based jobs to schools and tertiary education will not only bring new labor but help to promote the industry. how could this be done? || [|Aus Govt. Joint Media Release] ||
 * 3. || Slowing the growth of the resources sector by introducing taxation
 * A taxation, such as the resources super profits tax could help to stem the demand for labour
 * a decrease in profit
 * the company may go offshore
 * the employment in Australia will drop is this a viable solution ???? || [|The Australian] ||

16. **Neil M**


 * || **Solutions to my economic problem that** ** " ** The Australian car industry is losing ground to foreign competitors." || **Source - weblink (use link button above)** ||
 * 1 || Aim rebates such as the 'Cash for Clunkers' scheme towards stimulating the Australian automotive industry, whilst also reducing emissions. || [|ABC] ||
 * 2 ||  ||   ||
 * 3 ||  ||   ||

More research needed to come up with another solution or 2

17. **Jon O**

18. **Josiah** There are a few conceivable solutions. 1. The government could put a price cap on oil, to prevent prices from spiking up too high. does the govt have this power? who sets the world price of oil? I don't think this is a viable solution and therefore decreasing the price
 * Solutions to my problem that **'The price of fossil fuels is excessive.'** || **Source** ||
 * To reduce price, one of two things must occur, either demand would go down [decrease], or supply would go up. [increase]
 * + Will stop prices rising
 * - The oil companies won't just sit there and let this happen, they will do whatever they can to oppose this. || [|USCUSA] ||  ||
 * 2. As it is unlikely that supply would go up, investing in alternate fuels, will reduce dependence on fossil fuels, therefore decreasing demand
 * + Should reduce prices in the long term, even possibly to the extent that fossil fuels become redundant.
 * - Many have tried, but none have been successful thus far. [really - have you investigated scandinavian countries?] || [|AlternateEnergy] ||  ||
 * 3. ||  ||

19. **Keiran S**

20 **Craig S**

Australia has an advantage when it comes to privatisation as other countries have already achieved it such as the UK. Therefore Australia can learn from the mistakes of others and accomplish it at a smaller cost with greater efficiency. || [|Public Policy for the Private Sector]
 * || **Solutions to my problem that “State-ownership of the electricity industry in Queensland has adversely impacted electricity purchases for households and businesses”** || **Source - weblink** ||
 * 1. || Queensland Government transferring control of the electricity industry to the household sector (ie. Privatization)
 * GeneratorsBreak up state-owned generators into several smaller companies. Sell them off at a slightly discounted rate (ie. lower share price). This will encourage public ownership and the government will still receive a substantial return on assets. By doing so the government also rids itself of all the associated liabilities (eg. wages, pensions, maintenance…). The money obtained could then be invested into other areas of the Government sector such as health or transport.Slowly reduce ownership stake over a period of 3-5 years to minimise risk.In this free market all generators will be subject to competition. To become more competitive companies would have to become more efficient, and workers more productive. This should bring about competitive prices which will be lower than the current rate.
 * Transmissions and DistributionRetain Energex and Ergon as distributors and continue to run them as state-owned companies.Outsource all non-essential activity such as Human Resources, IT and cleaning, keeping only the core skills. Core skills would include the engineering, planning procurement and legal. This would increase efficiency and productivity. Would reduce the liability of having too much staff. The outsourced activity would be selected from established contractors who are already in competition with each other. This would aid in reducing costs.
 * RetailersLimited amount of retailers at the moment.Could be solved by the Government issuing more licences to electricity retailers. More companies in this area would force them to become more competitive thus reducing electricity prices.

[|National Audit Office (UK)]

[|University of Cambridge] || Regulation of T+D and the retailers would insure the security of supply of electricity (like when the industry was predominantly state-owned) yet also result in sensible electricity prices. || [|Utility Charges]
 * 2. || Queensland Government retaining control of the electricity industry via regulation.
 * GeneratorsSell companies as they are currently. No restructuring required resulting in no extra costs. Essentially run the same as before with the difference being no government input. Should generate more competition than at this time. Money is made through the sale of these assets. This money can be invested in other government departments. No unemployment. No longer under Government control and so no longer a liability (wages, pensions, maintenance…).
 * Transmissions and DistributionRetain Energex and Ergon as distributors and continue to run them as state-owned companies. Regulate this sector of the industry. Have a standard of productivity and efficiency which the companies would have to aim to. Financial rewards would be offered if the standard is exceeded and penalties endured should they be below.
 * RetailersState could sell more licences which would increase revenue. It would also increase competition. Prices would be regulated as to benefit the customer.

[|University of Cambridge] ||

Great!

21. **Cameron W**