14 February, 2025.

President Trump is aiming directly at making the USA the centre of the Empire again.

The global US Empire had moved toward some balance with Europe, while China and Russia steered their own course, as South America and Africa continue to come online so to speak as powers too. The Middle East is increasing its power daily. Asia has been pro-USA, and Australia, though geographically a part of Asia, has had a huge insecurity chip on its shoulder about being white Anglo-Saxon. In all our policies, despite the multi-cultural thrust brought forward by PM Keating. 

Australia is a satellite state of the USA. Make no mistake about it.

From key ownership of our banks and miners to the fast acceleration in both number and size of US military bases here. We perceive a threat from China that our emotions greatly exaggerate, and therefore PMs Morrison and Albanese discarded decades of work by previous PMs of Australia developing a wonderful relationship with China. Morrison became the savage lap-dog of the US, mauling China publicly in his address at the UN. Who does that? We more fiercely attacked China, the hand that fed us during the GFC and kept us out of recession. than even the USA did. Australia, down under, decided to diplomatically savage, self-sabotage our relationship with our biggest trading partner. One, who had been a friend. Something the Chinese government and people noted markedly at the time. 

We believe we have a special relationship with the USA, and we certainly do, but the world is changing fast and we have badly neglected our own neighbourhood to reach for the stars, or momentary red-carpets for PMs, in Washington.

In my talks, I like to start with, "I am Australian, therefore I am Asian."

Gasp! Well, just look at a map, or better still a globe. Not only are we in the most prosperous, fastest growing, and arguably most powerful economic region on Earth, but we are relatively isolated to a degree that engenders tremendous natural security of our borders. This doesn't mean we neglect defence. We should have world's best practice weaponry at all times. Yet, there is no need for us as an independent state to go out of our way to make ourselves targets either. There are good arguments on both sides re US bases in Australia, but combined with the nuclear submarines, which are an expensive ego trip we may never even get anyway, there seems to be a free wheeling whatever the US wants approach, that the Australian people never agreed to. 

It is as if we live in a two party semi-communist state. Both parties want to control the narrative, censorship and make it impossible for smaller parties to grow. We cannot vote for the alternative of a more 'Switzerland of the South' approach as I have always advocated. One with world's best practice and fairness in everything we do.

For the moment, Canberra remains clearly captured by Washington. 

We as a nation, and in business too, need to find a new way forward as the world truly just changed in a monumental historic fashion. Trump's tariff proposals will be wound back marginally here and there, but the message is clear. This is all about US dominance and the US again being the strongest economy in the world. For several years this has been China. Despite all the efforts of the Wall Street Media spin of alarm over an economy growing consistently at above 5%.

Australia needs to recognise it is part of Asia, and in our neighbours there is a prosperous future. That our relationships with the US, UK and Europe are special and need to be maintained, but not at too great a harm to our neighbours and region. Respect for where we are in the world, is paramount.

Australia needs a radical overhaul of our tax system. Too many Australians work in intermediary roles in tax and compliance and this robs us all of greater innovation and productivity. We need a drastically simplified tax system. No, we need a new tax system. We constantly tinker with a bad tax system instead of starting anew. I advised two Prime Ministers and a Treasurer to consider a radical shift to 20% personal income tax, 20% company tax and 20% GST. While raising social security by 10% to offset the GST increase.

However, instead of re-empowering Australians by allowing them to regain control of their hard worked for income, make more decisions about their own money, we have decided to take more form their pay-packets via super. So that fund managers and government can have even greater control over the workers of Australia money. 

My suggestions, re tax, would enliven the economy enormously. People would be excited again. The multi-plier effect and higher GST would accelerate both circulation and revenue.

By the way, I am in no doubt that we should remove Canberra, the Federal centre and relocate everyone to the states, Canberra has become a tax feeding frenzy intent on self enrichment. Canberra is booming with our tax dollars and inflated departments. While Victoria is in recession.

This will not happen of course, but we should be aware of the true landscape we live in.

Australia needs a new monetary policy structure. Attempts to improve the RBA have all failed because the RBA refuses to change, either in practicality or spirit. Having been singled out by the OECD as likely the lowest performing central bank in the group of nations, it still stumbles forth policy error after policy error to the great harm of all Australian households and businesses. Incompetent. Dysfunctional. The RBA needs a name change to carry out all its current duties, but not to have anything to do with setting the official cash rate, monetary policy. A new vastly diversified committee should meet every two months, with just one job, to set the cash rate. Thereby allowing a full focusing of the minds of the committee to do the right thing by the Australian people in a fast changing world. Where the archaic principles of inflation and economics the RBA relies on, which no longer apply, can be fully discarded.  

If we do all of the above and more, with gusto, we just may have a chance of surviving in a spectacularly fast geo-political, cultural, technological and economic global revolution. One, which just got hit with a sledgehammer of decades duration by President Trump and the USA.

 

Clifford Bennett