by DAVID FLINT – IN TERMS of trade this century, Australia must be the world’s luckiest country. But like a lottery winner who has inadvertently destroyed his winning lottery ticket, Australians could be among the world’s unluckiest people.
Much of the wealth from Australia’s assets has either benefited foreign corporations or has been wasted by governments not held to account as the constitutional system intends.
- Our energy system should not be based on ideological climate catastrophism.
- Australians could be the richest people on earth.
- It is not too late to salvage something from Albanese’s mess.
The reason is too many Australian politicians have been delinquent in failing to observe their obligations under the Westminster system.
As this column argues, they have abandoned their constitutional duty to exercise their judgement and to hold governments accountable to parliament, including governments of their own Party.
STRUCK OFF
If politics were a profession, a large number would have been struck off. A chart by IFM Investors chief economist Alex Joiner demonstrates succinctly the nation’s good luck.
This was the subject of a well-reasoned comment by John Kehoe in the Financial Review, which confirmed what we have long suspected – that the politicians have wasted too much of this country’s wealth.
It shows that when this century’s export prices are measured in relation to import prices, ie the terms of trade, Australia has been far more fortunate than most.
Not only that, but a weak Australian dollar has produced an even bigger windfall. So far, we have been the 21st-century’s luckiest country, but not because of government.
The China boom was the major influence.
This was a gift from foolish American presidents and a selfish American ruling class, but that is another story.
It is fair to say not all 21st century Australian governments have been wasteful. The Howard government was probably the most prudent, something the Abbott government would have continued but for the Turnbull coup.
Kehoe reports that independent economist Chris Richardson estimates the terms of trade boost since 2000 lifted tax by an extra $100 billion a year. And as we see below, it is legitimate to ask whether governments have taxed foreign corporations sufficiently.
Nevertheless, Australia has been swimming in money.
But as Kehoe warns, Australia’s luck will eventually run out, as we are already seeing with the Indonesians replacing our nickel industry.
This is principally because the Albanese Government has made energy far too expensive, demonstrating yet again that it is by far Australia’s worst government.
Not only has it abandoned our defence, our interests in Antarctica and standing up to Beijing, its out-of-control immigration policy is making Australians poorer because what is left has to be shared by ever more and more people.
Probably the best example of government failure is the Labor-designed National Disability Insurance Scheme. Its cost rose from $13b in 2018-19 to $44b in 2023-24. This is projected to rise to $61b in 2027-28 and $125b in the early 2030s.
About one-third of all jobs created recently across the nation were overpaid, totally unproductive NDIS sinecures.
According to one source, folding ironing was rewarded with $67 per hour and much more on the weekend in the country.
PRETEND
The Albanese Government cannot pretend it does not know how to correct this. Before he became the Prime Minister’s hand-picked successful candidate for Paramatta, Dr Andrew Charlton, in an opinion piece in The Sydney Morning Herald, likened the NDIS to a Frankenstein monster.
Exonerating the Coalition, he declared Labor completely to blame.
Fearing Tony Abbott would win the 2010 election and reform the NDIS, Labor unleashed it from normal ministerial control.
Rather than fixing their mess, the Albanese Government seems to see it as a model.
How often is some new way of handing billions of taxpayer dollars to billionaires explained with the mantra that this will make Australia a “renewable superpower”, whatever that means?
Despite this waste and constant maladministration of everything it touches, and notwithstanding the nation’s overwhelming rejection of that other potential monstrosity, the referendum on the Voice, much of the mainstream media still accords the Albanese Government something never accorded a Coalition government: a perpetual honeymoon.
What should a sensible government have done with the massive wealth that came our way?
Like any prudent person, it should have extracted the nation’s fair share from the transactions and used it sensibly to maintain and increase our wealth.
My first suggestion is that Australia achieve its full potential by moving water from where it falls to where it is needed.
Second, nuclear, hydro, gas and coal should be the basis of a cheap and reliable energy system.
That is, our energy system should not be based on ideological climate catastrophism.
The nation’s “unconventional economist”, often on ADH TV and other media, Leith Van Onselen, makes two further valuable suggestions.
First, we should, like Norway, have a proper resources tax mechanism.
With almost all natural gas exported, an artificial domestic gas shortage is created driving up gas and electricity prices on the east coast, where no domestic reservation policy is in place.
SURPLUS
At the time of writing, it has even been reported that Japanese purchasers are selling surplus Australian gas at a substantial profit.
But while our natural gas has generated enormous profits for multinational oil and gas companies, the tax take has fallen.
He contrasts this with Norway, which taxes its oil and gas sector at nearly 80 per cent. Accordingly, tax receipts there have risen commensurately with export revenues.
Second, he points out that unlike Australia, Norway has invested this bounty in a sovereign wealth fund that is now the world’s largest and valued at around US$290,000 per Norwegian resident. We should do the same.
Australians could be the richest people on earth. It is not too late to salvage something from this mess.
The government must change, but all governments must always be accountable.
The Voice referendum showed the best way for accountability and sensible decision-making – Swiss-style citizen-initiated referendums.PC
If we allow this to continue, poor governance and foreign interference tolerated including United Nations and octopus arms organisations, it is inevitable that a more powerful nation will not resist the temptation to take over, if Australians are lucky the sovereign nation becoming a vassal state.
There is much that could be written about this terrible situation but right now look at the disinterest of Albanese Union Labor Government in defence preparation, our closest allies must be disgusted.
I heard discussions recently about US sources concerned about handing over the US Navy Crown Jewels of Virginia Class nuclear submarines to the Royal Australian Navy when there are serious threats being monitored and the US could need every military asset it has. They could not even get Albo Union Labor to send a surface ship to help maintain open sea routes for trade purposes.
I wonder what our US allies are thinking about Albanese Labor cancelling the option for another 30 F-35 Lightning stealth fighter weapons platform, considered to be the best of the now generation of Air Force aircraft of all, and not many even close to comparable.
RAAF have 70 of them plus F-18 Super Hornets 30 and Growler electronic warfare version of 6 aircraft.
Just what is needed for protecting the sea lanes and air attack routes if needed.
A Norwegian AIr Force Squadron Leader who had been flying F-16 Falcon fighter jets wrote about his new F-18 Lightning and in particular engaging in air to air combat with an F-16 flown by a fellow officer. F-35 was not designed as a conventional fighter jet but was more than a match for the F-16, the Squadron Leader report highlighted his opinion that as pilots learn to use the F-35 design features they will prove to be an excellent choice even for air to air line of sight combat, as compared to detecting and attacking from a distance out of line of sight.
This is what happens when a not yet mature former student unionist, follower of the late Russian revolutionary Marxist Leon Trotsky and Tory Hunter who apparently thinks they are here becomes an occupant of the Office of Prime Minister with mostly like minded far left factions Cabinet Ministers.
Maybe one year to go, please not three more years after that.