Delivering the Sir Arvo Parbo oration on the opening morning of the 2014 AMEC Convention in Perth, Court said the mining technology sector was being underestimated.

“We all see West Perth as a home for many mining, oil and gas companies but it’s also the home of a great deal of technology innovation being developed, which has broader applications outside the resource sector,” he said.

Court said the Cold War brought about the development of new defence technologies that were eventually applied by the private sector to everyday applications, such as GPS systems and video games.

“Similarly, many of the developments taking place in the resource sector have similar broader applications,” he said.

“We hear a lot about the operation of autonomous trucks in mines, autonomous trains.

“The biggest applications of these new technologies are in Western Australia today and these are the same technologies that will be driving us around in our cars in the not too distant future.

“It’s these technologies that are going to create some interesting investment opportunities in this state.”

Court used his keynote to criticise governments for winding up in debt after an unprecedented resources boom and urged them not to make the same mistakes during the impending LNG boom of the next decade.

“To me it’s not a doom and gloom story – it’s simply the story of the need for good management, good stewardship and an understanding of what will play out in the decades ahead, which I believe is a very predictable scenario,” he said.

“It reinforces the old adage that we often have the worst governments in the best of times and vice versa. It is the same inside most corporations.

“In the good times a slackness, a lack of discipline, a lack of focus makes the team complacent but when times are tough there is a focus and that’s when we are at our most innovative and productive best.”

Court said the Australian public weren’t being told the whole story about the importance of the resources sector to the economy.

He pointed to budget figures that showed that WA put $A20 billion more into the federal government coffers last year than it received.

“To me that tells a story,” Court said.

“That money is coming from a successful mining, oil and gas industry.”

Court called for the convention to address fairer revenue sharing between federal and states, infrastructure, educating the public on commodity price volatility, encouraging technology development and looking at fly-in, fly-out, which he said had serious long-term negative impacts on family life.

But the former premier, who is now chairman of junior developer Iron Ore Holdings, had a positive message.

“Do not write off the small to mid-cap mining sector in these challenging times – it is resilient, alive and kicking and capitalising on its ability to transact quickly when new opportunities arise,” Court said.