Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Ten ideas mean the Maroon state can be a winner always

By Graham Young - posted Friday, 21 July 2017


We’d also attract business and people from interstate.

Australia ought to be a country that makes things, and there is no point shipping raw materials overseas to countries running less efficient fossil fuel generation, only to reimport some as manufactured goods.

With a second interstate electricity connector we could also sell stable and affordable power at a premium to those south of the border, further leveraging our strength.

Advertisement

Queensland’s reflexes have become painfully slow, with regulation and obstruction put in the way of development, increasing our sovereign risk (think Adani). So another big idea is to tackle the problem of “lawfare” - environmental and activist groups using legal technicalities to bully and blackmail individual firms, frustrating the democratic will of parliament.

We also need a strong injection of capital. Our political parties have ruled out privatisation, but the same thing can be achieved by using assets more efficiently. A classic case is public housing.

We can house the same number of people without the state owning the actual real estate, potentially freeing up $12bn to build new infrastructure, boosting employment and business prospects.

Another “reflex” problem is our industrial relations system. It is inflexible and centralised in Canberra where dodgy deals are done between employers and unions. The state can use its own industrial relations laws to free the system up, and clean out the union sector by allowing competition in workplace representation. Union fees would be likely to drop as well.

Other ideas have to do with “player” welfare and training. Queensland is at the bottom of the pile for education. Money is not the answer. We should fund parents and students, and let them put the pressure on schools and teachers to produce the education they need.

A similar approach can bring major benefits to our hospitals, which are amongst the least productive in the country.

Advertisement

Morale is another problem. Times are tough and we all have to show restraint, so there is no place for any public servant earning more than the Prime Minister.

Citizens also rightly feel locked-out of the decision making process between elections. Citizen initiated referenda (similar to our recent plebiscite on 4 year terms and size of parliament) offer a solution.

Nutrition is another area of need. Queensland has closed fishing grounds to commercial and recreational fishers but we have no idea of the true extent of these closures, although we know that as a result Australia needs to import seafood.

And last there’s federation. Like a badly designed player draft, the Commonwealth Grants Commission takes GST revenue away from states that invest in mining projects, or drop tax rates so as to encourage business. This has to stop, and distributing GST transparently on a per capita basis is the only way forward.

They’re only ten ideas, but apply them to “team Queensland”, and you’d see a quick turnaround. Go the Maroons.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. All

This article was first published in the Courier Mail.



Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

7 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Graham Young is chief editor and the publisher of On Line Opinion. He is executive director of the Australian Institute for Progress, an Australian think tank based in Brisbane, and the publisher of On Line Opinion.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Graham Young

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of Graham Young
Article Tools
Comment 7 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy