Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the impact of falling oil and commodities prices on resource-exporting countries.
According to a recent report in the Financial Times, certain regions of Australia have been hard hit by the commodities bust and declining Chinese demand. In an email interview, David Meredith, an associate member of the history faculty at the University of Oxford, discussed Australia’s economy and the role commodities play.
WPR: How important are commodities for Australia’s economy, and what effect have falling commodity prices had on Australia’s economic growth?