Destruction of Lotus Creek native forest, NQ, for wind turbines
One of the key reasons capitalist countries flourished operating under English common law was the certainty associated with ownership of real property. Investors were able to use initiative, work hard, conserve and build upon value, in doing so contribute to their own prosperity and consequently the nation’s economy.
While a modicum of original common law prevails, state legislators have greedily expanded regulations imposing conditions and taxes that put a lie to ownership of land.
No longer do farmers own the water that falls on the property, the vegetation that grows, or whatever minerals might be found beneath the soil. They are responsible for management of riparian vegetation along creeks, downstream impact of any fertilizer they use, how international buyers butcher animals sold, maintenance of fire breaks and conservation of native wildlife. Any infringement can attract bureaucratic penalties involving legal action and fines. All the while paying rates to the said local or state government for “services”. Failure to pay rates leads to forfeiture of property.
A western Queensland grazier was fined $110K for knocking over brush to feed his starving sheep during a drought. Brush grows back rapidly, so no environmental damage ensued. A regional recycling business in full compliance with operating regulations was pursued relentlessly by ignorant bureaucrats for years, despite independent scientific certification that the business operated within licences. The business folded, fourteen jobs were lost, the owner pursued the department through the courts and won. The department drew upon the weight of government resources to appeal, rather than concede and learn from foolish overreach. Licences and bureaucrats lied.
The final straw must surely be Victorian government’s regulation that access to farmers’ property must be allowed by businesses building transmission lines and other “renewable” infrastructure. Penalty for non-compliance runs to over $12K. No consideration is given to the property owner for the loss of productive land imposed under such onerous demands for a non-solution to a non-problem. Ownership is a lie.
Reinforcing the lie of a non-solution to a non-problem are rulings by banks and insurance companies refusing to finance or insure “fossil fuel” type projects and mines categorised as outside acceptability, according to remote global diktats to save the planet.
Bloating Bureaucracy
Every new regulation imposed needs more public servants to administer it, scout for infringements to record and fines to impose. The number of public servants continues to expand at local, state and federal levels, imposing ever greater burdens upon the productive people of the country, the taxpayers. Accountability for effectiveness of Orwellian decisions and actions, intruding into every aspect of our lives never happens. Nor does there appear to be any ability to think through to common sense outcomes of some of the silliest (non)decisions.
If only agencies were honest enough to stick to their main purpose, e.g. local government to roads, rates and rubbish, not international conflicts like Palestine, immigration, global climate catastrophe and Aboriginal sovereignty amongst a confusion of flags. How much more productive would local governments be streamlining planning to renovate or build houses, develop infrastructure like sewerage, water and roads and collecting rubbish, instead of pursuing other divisive distractions.
Numbers of public servants
Daniel Wild, Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs, documented how bureaucracy ballooned following six consecutive quarters of negative per capita GDP growth, without any discernible improvement in service delivery.
Wild’s analysis based on ABS 2023-24 year statistics noted total public servants increased by 169,500 since 2022 to a total of 2,517,900, matched by 15.5% ($31.1b) wages increase to $232.1b. Largest numbers of additional public sector employees were:
- 52,300 in education and training
- 50,800 in public administration and safety
- 43,000 in health care and social assistance
When the main growth industry in Australia is bureaucracy, what follows are the more rules, red tape, and regulation of the productive sectors of the economy and small business especially.
What more public employees do
Many new ideas for raising taxes and imposing penalties can be generated working from home in pyjamas by people who have no understanding of how business operates, risks involved, or who have never put their hand in their pocket to pay someone.
- Tobacco tax has escalated so that a pack of 20 costs ~ $60, more than half being tax, ostensibly for health reasons to discourage smoking, yet openly as blatant revenue raising. Smokers will smoke. All the foolish tax has done is contribute to a black market in tobacco products, while tobacco tax revenue has sharply declined.
- Resource rent tax which the Labor government increased to 40% and maximum 60% on high price of coal produced in Queensland without industry consultation, was meant to raise revenue for a government drowning in debt. Bureaucrats tend not to understand the risk/reward element of doing business and need for profitability to sustain operations. Predictably negative consequences place the whole resource revenues at risk as major global operators exit the state and the country, something the LNP government could have avoided by reasonable consultation and rent reduction.
- Property taxes: As this blog began, a plethora of whacky ideas were being floated to raise additional revenue from property to pay for the additional public sector employees and give them something to do. Included in such a scurrilous exercise are proposals for:
- Taxing empty rooms and houses, as if an owner has no choice about who will live with them. Shunting oldies out of their homes to make way for the influx of immigrants not voted on, yet imposed on struggling infrastructureUnrealised capital gains on accumulated assets. Taxes on more than one rental property. Inheritance taxes, diminishing life’s work and savings
- Taxing the food we eat, like sugar, soft drinks, alcohol.
- Net Zero fantasy means we may be compelled to cut herd size or stop cattle farting, drive an electric car before charging stations and recycling systems are established, give up flying anywhere, enjoy blackouts while having our landscapes destroyed.
Nowhere in this socialist nirvana is there any notion that the scale and cost of the public service could be reduced, or that efficiencies, productivity and accountability increased to serve the people as intended. Whereas Estonia sensibly took a cut of 10% in wages of politicians and public servants until the financial crisis passed.
Instead, dependency on government (taxpayers) is actively encouraged so that cradle-to-grave beneficiaries become co-dependents in the lie of the land – that work, effort, earnings and savings can be forfeited in taxes and transfers to others. Many vote for that, believing they will always be looked after. Ultimately, it could be looked over, monitored for infringements as in CCP China.
Trouble is, as Margaret Thatcher famously said, eventually socialists run out of other people’s money.
Which is where we are now, complicit in dependency, debt, loss of sovereign wealth and international stature, without viable defence, yet anguishing over terrorists in Palestine, demonizing our Jewish citizens and their property and insulting the leader of the free world for his aversion to woke that diminishes.
Outpouring of contempt on the assassination of Charlie Kirk showed so many are comfortable with lies that confirm their biases, comfortable enough with murder of one who challenged their world view with words in debate. Kirk fostered open debate on uncomfortable issues with his Prove Me Wrong invitation to talk on campuses. Emotion (especially hatred), not facts, tends to rule. Commentator Ben Shapiro’s motto rings true Facts don’t care about your feelings.
Trump’s counter-revolution to country-dividing policies of his predecessors in DEI, woke, gender confusion, Net Zero folly, open borders, drug and human trafficking, and care for criminals over victims has certainly stirred the pot, challenging as he does. Lies inherent in each of those destructive policies actively deprive us of our property, industry, earnings and common sense. Can we handle the truth? Is there space in our dystopian Orwellian nightmare to check the progress of socialism towards communism, which has ever failed, costing the lives of millions?
