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New office and new insightsDear , The AIP has a new home – Unit 2B, 50 Logan Road, Woolloongabba. I’m still moving in, but the office does have coffee making facilities, as well as some reasonable crockery, and there is a range of good coffee shops in the vicinity should these fail, so please feel free to call-in and check us out. Just call me first on 0411 104 801. I’d like to thank Lyn Brazil for providing this space rent-free. Lyn has been a great friend to us for a few years now. People often ask me just what it is that the AIP does, and stands for. I’ve tackled that question in short speeches at the two major functions we’ve held this year taking an approach which includes an acknowledgement of those who have gone before in Australia, and overseas, with a simple statement of principles. Please watch the video of my latest version of the speech by clicking here, and also feel free to pass it on to others. It’s a unique acknowledgement of the prior ownership of lands and ideas (and was banned by Facebook for 24 hours). We’ve done a lot since the last newsletter. Functions
This year’s McIlwraith Lecturer was Sir Leo Hielscher, former Under Treasurer of Queensland. His speech gained a lot of publicity, including a front page on The Australian. His speech can be viewed by clicking here.
Late last month, best-selling author and former prime minister, John Howard launched his latest book The Art of Persuasion at a function we held at Tattersall’s Club. It was a sell-out crowd and reminded people of the days when governments were stable. The quality of the prime ministers at the time surely had something to do with that, and John Howard demonstrated his quality in an off-the-cuff-speech that you can watch here. Mr Howard was reported in the print media as well as on Channels 7 and 9. Federal leadership spillFor the week of the federal leadership spill I was in demand for political analysis and commentary. These appearances also helps to build the credibility of the institute. Apart from a number of radio interviews during the week we also scored a front page on The Australian. Once Scott Morrison was confirmed we put together a document with 20 suggestions for policies he might adopt, based on previous work we had done. The principle underlying 20 Policies to Break the Senate Deadlock is that the government needs to shift its approach on a number of issues to move away from positions they had lost. The document is a prescription for good policy using new angles that might help to navigate the senate swamp. Electricity pricesWe analysed polling on electricity prices recently, and released it a week ago with a news article and an op-ed in The Australian (reproduced on our website here). A key problem is that while electricity prices are an issue, the public doesn’t understand what the problem is, so isn’t susceptible to sensible answers. The government will need to take this issue head-on if we are to ever get good policy. In response to the last incarnation of the NEG, we were pushing more interconnection for Queensland, plus another power station. We were also quick to respond to the ACCC Electricity Supply and Prices Inquiry report, which fairly transparently argued for a new coal-fired power station with a government guarantee on the output. Subsequently to that I went head to head on ABC with Professor John Quiggin of the University of Queensland, who claimed that China is building more renewable power generation than coal-fired (which is incorrect). And I also tangled with the Australia Institute who were lying about the amount of royalties Queensland earns from coal. Property developer donationsThe Palaszczuk government continues to exhibit all the vices of a Bjelke-Peterson style government without any of the virtues (like good management, only spending what you earn, and paying back debt). Not only have they put a financial gerrymander in place, preventing people in the property development industry from donating, but they recently broke the criminal law in denying resources to the Katter Party because they disagree with a speech by one of their senators. Inexplicably it was the LNP who first demanded they withdraw resources from the Katters. We put out a media release linking the donations and minor party resources policies. The Queensland government’s whatever it takes attitude is not good government and applies only to winning and holding office. They don’t seem to be overly concerned about the welfare of the state’s citizens. Lady CilentoThe government has changed the name of the Lady Cilento Hospital to the Brisbane Children’s Hospital. This is an insult to a lady who made a huge contribution to Queensland mothers and children, and removes yet another part of our history from public view. We campaigned against this and ran a petition on Change.Org. We had 1971 signatures, but unlike the government’s survey which claimed 38,000 responses, ours were genuine. The government’s survey allowed multiple voting, and was contrary to every other public survey taken – more evidence of the lack of honest governance in Queensland. Free SpeechCabinet has the Ruddock Report on Religious Freedom, but has yet to release it. I have more confidence with the current prime minister that the government’s response will honour free speech principles than previously. Its appointment of Chin Tan as the new Race Discrimination Commissioner seems like a good one from his remarks so far. As a Malaysian Chinese he has seen institutionalised racism up close, and doesn’t think Australia is a racist country (which international surveys support). Good exemplarsAnd lastly I have developed an interest in Botswana. It is a miracle economy in terms of growth, but most people have never heard the story. From one of the 25 poorest countries in the world in 1966, it now has per capita GDP slightly higher than China. The story of how this was achieved confirms the principles that our institute fights for, but suggests that ethical frameworks may count for more than economic ones. While the country has low tax rates (maximum personal rate of 25% and company tax rates of 25% and 15%), and low government debt, there is also significant direct government involvement in industry and government has a much higher share of the economy there than it does here. I presented on this subject to LibertyFest 2018 in Brisbane, and you can download my slides by clicking here. For a flavour of ethical factors contributing to this growth you might like to watch this movie trailer. We need your supportIf you’re not already a member please join to support the fight to ensure Australia prospers as a wealthy country of opportunity for all based on individual rights, the rule of law, and minimal government interference. You can do this by clicking here. And you might also like to follow us on Facebook or Twitter as they are the key social media platforms we use to get the message out.
Executive Director 
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Graham Young
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