Community & Business
9 May, 2024
Senator talks reform at gathering
THE cost-of-living crisis and the lack of essential services like health and law and order were the main topics raised at a meet and greet in Yungaburra last week by Queensland Senator Gerard Rennick.
Senator Rennick says he tries to get around the State once a year to talk about a range of issues and to listen to locals about what matters to them and their concerns almost always stay the same.
“Cost of living and the lack of essential services like health, education and law and order are the recurrent them over the past five years – and, unfortunately, things seem to be getting worse,” he said.
Senator Rennick says he spoke to the gathering at Yungaburra about tax reform, the high level of bureaucracy in this country, climate change, high immigration and, perhaps, his favourite topic, monetary reform policy.
The LNP Senator advocates for the establishment of an Infrastructure Bank, which would be owned by the Federal Government and funded by the Reserve Bank of Australia, to provide the capital for infrastructure such as dams, power stations, ports and new highways.
He believes the main reason that government is not prepared to build an alternative to the Kuranda Range Road is because they “don’t know how to fund it”.
“A lot of politicians don’t understand monetary policy – why wouldn’t you fund it out of your own equity rather than rely on foreign debt,” he said.
But he admits getting others to listen is difficult.
“I’m a back-bencher though so it’s hard to break through the narrative,” he said.
The Senator said Covid had weakened most governments throughout Australia due to their increased debt levels which had had a flow-on effect in the lack of investment in critical infrastructure.
“Monetary policy is the least discussed and least understood arm of government,” he said on X.
“It shouldn’t be, and it most certainly should not be outsourced to unelected and unaccountable officials in the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia).
“Why the Australian government pays the privately owned Federal Reserve to use their currency beggars belief.
“Domestic monetary policy should underpin the funding of Infrastructure, not foreign debt.”
