A policy wish list

In the meantime the politicians will feel they must be seen to be “addressing”, as they put it, the issue of man-made global warming.

Apart from sensible measures to reduce pollution, which should be undertaken anyway, the danger is in succumbing to the demands of the global warming industry that there be massive transfers of income and assets away from ordinary Australians. With the reinforcement of a mainly gullible and campaigning media, this demand is in the process of becoming a firm instruction to the politicians. And it is to be achieved in several ways.

One way will be to give the people’s assets and income to other countries by burdening or closing down industries. Another will be to extract even more in taxation, and by calling it a carbon tax, hope that the people will be tricked into accepting it. Another will be by giving it to the usual carpetbaggers, who are already licking their lips, and call this theft “carbon trading”. Yet another will be higher prices for water through a “free” market, and substantially increasing the cost of electricity.

The problem in all this for the craftier politicians will be in being seen to be “addressing” the issue without actually doing too much, and hoping that any new burden is accepted as being for the common good.

If one party promises to do anything serious, they may make Professor Flannery feel better but they will probably lose the election, as they should.

Of course governments should propose and take measures to reduce pollution of course. But they mustn’t destroy the economy, or put unnecessary burdens on the people to enrich themselves or others because of some passing Malthusian fashion.

What else would I like to see in a new government? I would like to see a federal government which withdrew to its core functions and did them well, while significantly reducing the taxation burden on the rank and file.

Of course the genuinely needy should be protected, but there is absolutely no need for middle class welfare, especially the odious churning of tax into welfare. Apart from the removal of choice from the citizens and increasing the dependent mentality in the recipients the cost must be appalling.

The federal government should retreat to truly federal matters and leave the states to their functions as intended in the Constitution.

Take just one example. Has university education been improved one jot by becoming effectively a federal responsibility? And why are the best universities in the world concentrated in a country where the federal government does not control them - the USA?

Why are we always told the answer to any problem is to hand it over to Canberra? Central uniform control is not always a virtue.

It is obvious that one state will be more effective than others in delivering education, or health, or providing a satisfactory standard of law and order, or compensation to the victims of accidents. By setting up a national standard it removes the possibility of the public making comparisons and of any resulting competition between the states.