Planning in a sustainable economic context: economic opportunities and determinants of competitive places

Australia is an economically advanced nation with a high Gross National Product (GNP) per capita, high­income levels and relatively low unemployment. Yet there are considerable variations in fortunes between places – between States, rural and urban places, and towns and cities, reflecting the distribution of economic sectors. Australia is also unusual for an advanced economy in that its strengths are in, and dependent on, primary industries such as mining and agriculture.