I believe Australia needs a flatter and broader tax base, especially lower income taxes. The taxation act is littered with loopholes that favour foreign corporations and discourage productivity. The Australian Taxation System needs to be restructured so that all Australians are operating on a level playing field and more money stays in your pocket. In particular, income tax should be abolished for those earning less than the cost of living.

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Because of tax treaties, profits from large foreign-owned multinationals are taxed at a lower rate than profits retained in Australia. The tax system acts as a reverse tariff on entities domiciled here in Australia, sending profits and business offshore because of the regulatory and taxation burden placed on them. The solution to this is to ensure that the withholding tax rate on profits transferred offshore is the same as the tax rate on profits retained in Australia. Increasing withholding tax revenue could fund cuts in both income tax and payroll tax. This would give workers more money in their pockets, increase business turnover and boost productivity.

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Australia needs to be able to stand on its own two feet when it comes to manufacturing and building and owning infrastructure. The sale of Australia’s infrastructure to offshore interests was a mistake. Infrastructure that underpins our economy and way of life must remain Australian owned. Likewise Australia must have a manufacturing industry to ensure Australia is not dependent on other countries for vital goods and services. It is therefore imperative that Australia has cheap reliable baseload energy that is owned and operated by Australian government. Australia should also seek to drought-proof as much of its land mass through dam construction.

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Australia desperately needs Monetary reform. The RBA should be accountable to the government of the day as their decisions do impact Australians. Australia should not just rely on Qualitative easing (changing interest rates) but also use Quantitative easing to fund infrastructure and Macroprudential measures to control capital funding. Interest rate manipulation has only punished savers and prospective home buyers. The RBA should fund an infrastructure bank to build dams, power stations, railways, roads and ports. Focus should be on building Nuclear and high-efficiency coal power plants to power Australia into the next century and create manufacturing jobs in Australia. Profits from the bank can be used to provide better services.

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Today, more than ever, governments need to build income-generating infrastructure such as dams, power stations, rail and ports. Just as Governor Macquarie funded an ambitious building program through the issue of the Holey Dollar, a government owned infrastructure bank should be created to do the same. Funding could come from infrastructure bonds and superannuation. These measures would provide essential, world class services, employment and fixed income for retirees. It is a much better option than interest rate manipulation, which has only punished savers and prospective homebuyers. Setting up an infrastructure bank funded by the RBA would build dams and weirs, providing water security, hydroelectricity, and flood mitigation. Nuclear and high-efficiency coal power plants will keep families’ and businesses’ lights on well into the next century and keep manufacturing and construction jobs in Australia. The profit from infrastructure owned by the people would provide world class services for all Australians.

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Superannuation is wage theft. Workers should be able to keep their superannuation and use it according to their needs. Almost 70% of retirees still receive a pension. This figure has hardly declined in 30 years of compulsory superannuation. While the cost of the pension is $53 billion, superannuation tax concessions cost $50 billion and most of these concessions go to the highest 20% of income earners. One way to address cost of living pressures for working Australians would be to make superannuation voluntary. This voluntary would put money back into the hands of hard-working Australians, particularly low-income earners, who do not benefit from superannuation. Did you know that over $1 trillion dollars of superannuation is invested offshore.

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Childcare support should be paid directly to parents and not childcare centres. Many parents such as nurses, police, hospitality workers and transport drives work shift work so cannot use formal childcare. Paying parents directly would give them greater choice and flexibility as to the type of childcare they use. This includes using grandparents, nannies at home and flexible hours.

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Australian businesses are forced to navigate excessive regulation, frustrating business owners and strangling growth. Of all the issues faced by Australia, few are more damaging to our country than the fiscal imbalance and ambiguous responsibilities between state and federal governments. You’ve really got to ask why Australia, a country of 25 million people, has nine growing health bureaucracies while maternity wards are being closed in my home state of Queensland. Our Constitution was designed to hold government to account by the people, yet 120 years of compromise has rendered it ineffective. It is time to hold a constitutional convention to clearly define and separate these responsibilities, with proposed changes put to a referendum. Australians deserve greater accountability and need less regulation if our children are to prosper.

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Government overreach needs to be curtailed. Over the last few decades governments have marched into the family home, the doctors waiting room and the classroom, telling people how to live their lives, parents how to raise their children and owners how to run their businesses. The jackboot of bureaucracy is suffocating everyday choices, the very thing liberal democratic governments are meant to defend. Is it any wonder that people are cynical about governments when they unable to provide essential services while imposing more and more regulation!

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The greatest threat to the environment is climate change alarmism. Money is being misdirected into “renewable energy” projects that are neither renewable, cheap or good for the environment. Real solutions aimed at reducing plastics, maintaining riparian zones, protecting biodiversity and land management should be the key environmental priorities.

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