Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) | Hansard source

I move:

That this House calls on the Government to prescribe that Australian superannuation monies be invested in Australian industries and projects by ensuring:

(1) superannuation funds holding the money of Australian citizens be encouraged to investigate mechanisms that will enable them to invest that money in:

(a) entities that have majority Australian ownership; and

(b) projects or industries that are based, or predominately operate, in Australia;

(2) the Government partner with such superannuation funds, under public-private partnerships (PPPs), to invest in Australian industries for money-making projects;

(3) that such PPPs are listed as critical economic generators and have streamlined assessment and approval processes; and

(4) that the Government consider all other necessary measures to maximise the income stream from such investments and offer maximum returns for Australian citizens.

Until 1993, there was a 60-40 rule. Sixty per cent of all superannuation went into government securities. In the very enlightened government that we had in Queensland, we used that money to build the railway lines and the ports to get our coal and minerals out. We went from zero to $60,000 million a year in coal and mineral production. We used that money to build the world's biggest power station, and, since the Country Party did not ascribe to the free-market policies of the ALP and the LNP, the Bjelke-Petersen government in Queensland took one per cent of the coal for free—the biggest power station in the world and free coal. It produced the aluminium industry, because we had the cheapest electricity in the world, generating $14 billion a year. The beef road scheme doubled beef production, generating $8 billion a year. Dams doubled sugar and cotton production, producing $2 billion a year. The railway to Mount Isa was built and generated $6 billion. A hundred billion dollars was created by the 60-40 rule, and it was abolished by the ALP government in the nineties. So no money goes for any of these development projects now at all. The money is going into the stock market, which, to quote no less a person than John Maynard Keynes, is a 'roulette wheel'. I would describe it as a Ponzi scheme. If you've got a lot of brainless wokeys—double-degree 'done-nothings'—making decisions on how your money should be invested, then what you've got is a giant Ponzi scheme. They buy and sell shares from and to each other.

The person who will second this motion has met with and is working with some of the most prominent people in this country, in an effort to rejuvenate for Australia our own motor vehicle industry. The government can do that by simply saying all government cars in metropolitan areas will be built in Australia by an Australian owned company. We thank very much the honourable member for Fowler for her initiative in this area. She is meeting with, as I say, some of the most important people in Australia.

While these people I mentioned spend the money on selling shares to each other, I might add that over 50 per cent of that money goes to buy shares overseas. We don't need to be told that because there's an advertisement where a superannuation company skites about investing in Swedish railways. What the hell would some wokey, double-degree, 'done-nothing' person out of Sydney University know about railways in Sweden? That is our superannuation money at risk. Before, it was guaranteed by the government. You wouldn't give that money to governments today if the 60-40 rule was reintroduced—and Kevin Rudd, in his book, says this must happen. Some of this superannuation money must go into development.

You couldn't give it to governments today; that would just be ridiculous. Look at the Queensland government—spending $62 billion for some sort of fantasy, new-age generation of electricity. We know where that's going to go, because already a lot of it's gone. Another $40 billion is being spent on people running around in a circle and a fireworks display called the Olympic Games, and there will be $10 billion worth of pleasure domes along the Brisbane River. So you couldn't possibly give that money to the governments of today, and most certainly not the Queensland government. You would set up an authority of highly respected Australians with records of achievement, and I don't hesitate to mention people that I consider should be in that group. They include Nev Power, who achieved tremendous success in the mining industry, along with Twiggy himself. I recommend those two people. Kevin Rudd introduced the NBN, which gives us the best communication system in the world, and also introduced CopperString, which opens up the much needed north-west minerals province, with massive vanadium deposits throughout that area, new-age minerals and, of course, copper, which is another new age mineral. I certainly would recommend him. I also recommend Sally McManus, the head of the ACTU, for entirely different reasons. Christine Holgate is a super achiever— (Time expired.)

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