Too Much Luck review by Joe Collins

Journal of Australian Political Economy, Issue 89

Paul Cleary’s two-part intervention in Too Much Luck and Mine Field appeared within twelve months from 2011. The books are complementary. Their message is sharp and can be glimpsed in two quotes. Cleary declares, in Too Much Luck, that ‘unless we manage this extraordinary boom more effectively, our good fortune will curse future generations’ (Cleary 2011: xi). The best way to dodge the resource curse in Australia, says Cleary, is through a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) to stabilise otherwise volatile cycles in commodity prices and demandC conditions for minerals.

Whereas in Mine Field, Cleary focuses on the social costs of mining, seeking ‘solutions to better manage the once-only development of our resources for the benefit of all parts of society and our economy, and for the benefit of future generations of Australians’ (Cleary 2012: xii). The problem, Cleary alleges, is regulatory capture and the solution is a ‘well-resourced federal “super regulator” to be run jointly with the states’ (Cleary 2012: xi). Cleary’s case across both books is compelling in its charge that Australia suffers the resource curse, with all its concomitant social problems, and that a suite of legislative reforms is required to counteract the adverse effects of resource-driven economic development.