While Australia is no global hegemon, as a middle power, our prosperity has depended on integration into a stable, rules-based order. Australia is far from Argentina’s plight, but the warning is clear: without strategic renewal, relative decline can become structural and irreversible. Australia remains a global leader in mining and dryland agriculture, sectors that underpin our trade strength and national income. Decline in economic capability almost inevitably constrains strategic autonomy, narrowing foreign policy choices, weakening deterrence, and reducing influence. Renewal will not come from a single program or policy, but from a deliberate, national effort that treats economic capability as the foundation of national security.