Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan told business executives gathered in Canberra on Wednesday that Australia's continued economic expansion can never be attributed to sheer luck but on its government's foresight and political will to do what is right for the sake of the national interest.

As the nation enters its 20th year of economic expansion, Mr Swan reminded his audience in the Canberra International CEO Forum that instituting major reform was never easy as the government remains in dispute with the mining industry over the proposed resources super profits tax.

He recalled that previous governments had to put aside sectoral interests in order to float the dollar, pull down tariff barriers and introduce compulsory superannuation, which were tall orders at any given period and circumstances.

Mr Swan said that "reformist work in government is worthwhile, not because it is easy, but because it is hard," as he paraphrased the assassinated US President John F Kennedy, adding his own stress that it was much easier to allow the old broken system to continue but for our economy, major and painful reforms are the only way to solve the problem.

He said that Australia should exercise its right to get a fair price for its non-renewable resources as he underscored that the super profits tax would afford the opportunity to solidify the country's economic foundation, increase the superannuation fund, fund for more infrastructure projects and create a more competitive business environment by slashing corporate tax.

He noted that as the country's economy slowly reverts to more normal levels, it is poised to face numerous challenges such as the re-emergence of bottlenecks, which he described as "handbrakes on growth and they add up to inflationary pressures."

He is optimistic though that the federal government's $6 billion direct investment on regional infrastructure projects over the next decade would sustain the growth of the resources industry and should "ensure that as the next phase of our expansion takes hold, our ports won't be straining, our rail network won't be poor and our roads won't be so clogged."