Australia, one of the most resource-rich developed countries in the world, weathered with little damage the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s as well as the slump following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and IT bubble in the earlier part of this decade. Similarly, while the severity of the current downturn is significant by Australian standards, it is expected to be less severe than that anticipated for the manufacturing-centric, export-reliant countries to Australia’s north. Although real GDP is forecast to contract at 1.4 percent for 2009 by the International Monetary Fund, Australia is expected to be one of the region’s better performers. By contrast, the group of newly industrialized Asian economies is projected to contract at a rate of 5.6 percent.

Australia’s economic resilience derives from several factors, the most critical being Australia’s endowment with natural resources, including gold, silver, iron ore and uranium. Australia’s proximi