Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens says he wishes he had a neat answer for why businesses outside the mining sector have not stepped up their investment.
There are a number reasons why "animal spirits" have not picked up, including the lingering psychological impact of the global financial crisis, challenges created by very large swings in import and export prices, and the end of the long build up in household borrowing, he said.
"I don't think business confidence is quite as weak as we commonly read but you couldn't say it's really strong either, that's for sure," Mr Stevens told a parliamentary committee.
"It is one of the missing elements, and it isn't something you can turn on and it's not something that's easy to explain."
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