Same Garbage - Different Flies A comment on the Australian Federal budget by Viv Forbes of the Saltbush Club.

“The Australian Budget was a profound disappointment. Not one useless law was repealed, not one tax was abolished and not one bureaucracy was eliminated.

“Here are three essentials that were missing from the budget.

“Firstly, we hear a lot about “Build Back Better”. The quickest way to start re-building Australia is to abolish capital gains tax. Far too many properties and businesses are held by aging owners, fearful of selling because of capital gains tax. New owners are always enthusiastic on how to use the assets better – they will expand, renovate and upgrade. Abolishing capital gains tax would kick-start this rejuvenation process.

“Secondly, all federal government taxes, rules and bureaucracies which impede energy discovery and development should have been abolished.

“The world energy picture has changed dramatically and the world is scrambling for reliable hydrocarbon and nuclear power. Australia cannot afford wind-solar toys, electric car dreams or hydrogen hype. And we cannot spend fifteen years seeking approval for one coal mine extension. We need to remove barriers to the exploration and development and of Australia’s coal, oil, gas and uranium resources. And instead of splashing one billion dollars on Barrier Reef propaganda we should have supported domestic fuel refining capacity.

“Thirdly, the federal government should have abolished the sterilisation of private land used to fulfil obligations under the now defunct Kyoto Protocol Climate Agreement. This locked-away-land is currently supporting scrub, weeds and vermin. When landowners can control the destiny of their own land we will see restoration of the productive open grasslands that once dominated the Australian landscape. As Ukrainian grain fields are trampled and Russian food gets diverted towards China, the spectre of famine will haunt Europe and Africa – Australian land and food will be needed.

“These three budget steps would have been a giant leap for Australia. The budget lost that opportunity. We have one more chance to promote them in the coming federal election.”