Business View Australia

Business View Australia - April 2015 9

the country’s trade balance and budget. The slow-

down in China would impact the country’s economy

because of the strong linkages established over the

years.

The challenge for the economy is to overcome the

crash in commodity prices and replace the mining

sector’s contribution with other economic activities.

The housing and health sectors of the economy con-

tinue to perform well and it is expected that the GDP

would expand by just over 2% in 2015.

The agribusiness sector, already a major contributor

to the economy, also has the potential to take up

the slack created by the drop in oil and coal prices.

The country’s strength in this sector is based upon

its highly developed food processing industry which

has high value addition and is also strong genera-

tor of employment. The fantastic five of beef, lamb,

aquaculture, dairy and oilseeds are expected to be

drivers of the agribusiness sector.

Healthcare

The better the health of a country’s people the

greater is their economic productivity and ability to

inculcate new skills. Australians generally enjoy ro-

bust health and the average longevity of 82 years is

amongst the highest in the world. The country has

universal health care primarily funded by the federal

government although some copayment is required

by individuals unless they hold a Low Income Earner

Card.

The contribution of healthcare to the economy has

been rising over the years and from a share of 6.3%

of GDP (US$10.8 billion) in 1981-82 has risen to

9.5% (US$140 billion) in 2011-12.

Medicare is the publicly funded healthcare system

run by the government. It pays all hospital bills and

a large percentage of general practitioner and spe-

cialist fees. There are hospitals in the public and pri-

vate sectors with the latter getting reimbursements

from the

government for certain services and claiming the

balance from patients.

The healthcare industry is considered to be an at-