How much of that from exports? Which pumps more money into the economy where it has a lot of follow-up effects. Given that a rise or fall in GDP of a low single-digit percentage point can already mean a big boom or bust the above number is huge.
Out of that percentage, I don't think it would include all of the other mining related industries in that figure, or the effects on rutal mining towns. But just as there are positive flow on effects, once that flow stops then towns and communities die and people have to move elsewhere for work. This was already the case for towns dealing with mine and plant closures from earlier booms, it usually takes decades.
There is also a lot of temporary fly-in-fly-out labour in mining. Where the workers don't settle down in towns near the mines, but back in Perth and other bigger towns and cities. As such Perth has experienced a property bubble of sorts relating to mining, even though its not as popular a place to live as the east coast.
I can't remember exactly but the Banking sector in Australia may be the bigger than mining.
Uhmm.... I just pointed out that the use of the word "only" is not justified... :-)
> I can't remember exactly but the Banking sector in Australia may be the bigger than mining.
What do you mean by "larger"? Employ more people, pay more wages? Just "having" money (and large numbers in their balance sheets) is kind of a given for that sector.
Besides, the point never was finding the "biggest". Somebody can be a tall person even if they are not the "tallest". So large changes to that sector will have large effects to the overall economy, many of them indirect.
There's no law of physics that says wealth must be destroyed every few years.
I would whole-heartedly agree that the Governments (both left leaning Labor and right leaning Liberals) have misspent the mining boom windfalls. (Actually mining is only about 16-18% of the Australian economy last I read.) Instead of improving communications infrastructure, or developing new businesses in sectors outside of mining, they are building railways and ports for new mines.
I used to live in Sydney (I've since left Australia altogether) and it made me realise that I would rather rent a place somewhere nice to live, than own a place somewhere where I could afford to do so. I do feel like Australia is a nice place to live, and to raise a family, but I don't know if I would do it in the bigger east coast cities or somewhere where the balance is better.