Dear Member / Supporter --
Who owns our politicians and media?
The coronavirus crisis has helped us to understand the power and influence of the property industry. Consider the following media reports from this week.
Media advertising revenue
The Australian ($) reported the following frank admission from News Limited:
“As many of you will know, real estate advertising is the single biggest revenue stream for our community titles. Without vibrant listings for auctions and home inspections, it is simply not practical nor economically sustainable to print and distribute our community newspapers without their main source of revenue.”
(Comment here on our Facebook page.)
State budget revenue
The Age reported the following very alarming statistic:
"The building and construction industry accounts for 45% of the state's tax revenue."
(Comment here on our Facebook page.)
What does this mean for our economy and democracy?
Just this morning the Newcastle Herald reported that 'NSW planning fast-tracked during pandemic'.
When property taxes underpin their budgets due to poor economic management, is it any wonder our politicians encourage overdevelopment - and artificially engineer property demand through tax concessions, foreign ownership and high immigration?
With their financial viability at stake due to digital disruption, is it any wonder our commercial media constantly spruiks for the property industry - and de-platforms (avoids reporting) dissenting voices like ours?
Shockingly, The Greens have now also turned property spruiker with a claim that building 500,000 new houses over the next 15 years equates to a 'Green New Deal' that would "tackle the economic crisis." What about the environment?
The answer is economic diversity
It all equates to an unhealthy reliance on one, albeit important, industry for jobs. This must be addressed if we are to restore our economic, environmental and social sustainability - not to mention our democracy.
Economic diversity is (was) our strength, but has been traded away by greed, corruption and mismanagement over recent decades. Now we don't even manufacture basic medical equipment.
Our independent party has a clear plan to sustain secure jobs via a more diverse economy. It involves re-allocating a significant portion of Australia’s scarce economic capital (including personal savings, bank loans, superannuation fund investment, etc) away from massive over-investment in housing and property speculation - back into our factories, farms and small businesses.
Equally, we must also stop corruption by rebuilding trust and transparency in our governance and planning systems. More on the systemic corruption of our planning systems next week...
Until then, stay safe.
Kind regards,
William
William Bourke
President
Sustainable Australia Party