CANBERRA: The United Australia Party has outlined its economic plan to deliver freedom and prosperity for all Australians.
Chairman and Shadow Treasurer Clive Palmer said only the United Australia Party could save Australia from the economic catastrophe imposed by the Liberal and Labor governments in racking up $1 trillion in debt.
The European Central Bank has released a study of the public debt and long-term interest rates of the economies of Germany, Italy and the USA setting out the relationship between high debt and interest rates in those countries over a ten-year period.
"It concludes when you study the data high levels of debt, such as we are suffering, have little impact on short term interest rates over a one-to-two-year period.
"But then after that, in two years' time when applied to Australia's circumstances, it demonstrates that interest rates will most likely not only double with our level of debt, but quadruple.
"Already, the Commonwealth Bank recently predicted there would be four home loan increases this year.
"The Chief Executive of the IMF has confirmed that it is inevitable that interest rates will rise.
"And in the US, the Federal Reserve plans to raise interest rates three times in 2022. Inflation is rising its head in Australia with price escalation for fuel, energy and basic commodities, and after the election we will face runaway inflation which will lead to higher interest rates that will devastate Australian families and businesses and destroy the independence and freedom of the nation.
"The impact of increasing interest rates has been considered by other studies which have shown that if our interest rate for home loans doubles from 2% to 4%, 60 percent of all mortgages will be in default and if the interest rate goes to between 6 to 8 % as it most surely will, the default rate will be greater than 90%," Mr Palmer said.
"The real damage of the pandemic is the trillion-dollar debt racked up in Australia by Scott Morrison and Australia's debt record-breaking treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who has never even run a small business.
"Frydenberg says we can have a surplus of 10 billion a year and pay down our debt but at that rate and projected interest rate, I estimate it will take over 150 years to get the nation back to where it was when John Howard left office.
"We don't have 150 years to act. Unless Australia's unprecedented debt is urgently remedied it will cause all mortgages to default as interest rate rise, it will cause Australians to lose their homes, and it will also remove the underlying security for all our small businesses.
"Australia must act now to save our homes, to save the country's economy, to protect our freedom and independence," he said.
Mr Palmer said under Craig Kelly's leadership, the United Australia Party would tackle the $1 trillion debt problem head on implementing measures designed to protect the Australian economy from the impact of the failures Labor and the Liberals.
"The iron ore market is supplying the boom in manufacturing in Asia upon which the economies of Japan, Korea, China and the rest of Asia depend. Asia is reliant on Australian iron ore. Without it, the Asian economies can't function. That is the reality.
"Tens of trillions of dollars have been invested in China, Japan and Korea based on the supply of Australian iron ore.
"Their supply chain and the prosperity of their people, as well as their exports, are linked to Australia. Australia has become the quarry upon which all of Asia bases its prosperity. This becomes apparent when we consider the iron ore supply sources to Asia. Australia supplies 75% of that market.
"South American infrastructure and production cannot be expanded, and infrastructure in Africa is a nightmare. In essence, Australia is the dominant and only supplier of iron ore growth in Asian economies, and is at the bottom of the food chain, while Asian economies expand and benefit from low priced Australian iron ore, and use their financial clout to punish Australia, when they know how vulnerable their economies are to Australia.
"But our politicians lack the foresight and courage to protect and defend Australia's interests.
"Australia must act now to save our country from the catastrophe that is about to destroy our economic prosperity and the security of Australian families.
"In the 1960s the Australian Government had export licences for our iron ore. Many nations in Asia, such as Indonesia, have in recent times introduced export licences for their nickel and other resources, as the growth of world trade and the accelerations of export has required the national interest of those countries to be protected.
"The United Australia Party will introduce a 15%-export licence for all iron ore exports from this country, and will pledge the proceeds from such licences to be used for the retirement of the one trillion-dollar debt mountain that Australia faces.
"Our modelling which we will release before the election confirms the export licence proceeds will reduce the debt level by 70% within 15 years and in the process save Australia from high interest rates.
"In the meantime, the United Australia Party will use the power of the Constitution to put a cap on the bank home lending rate at a maximum of 3% for the next five years to protect six million Australian homes, and defend the prosperity and freedom of all Australian families and the independence of our country.
"Many people are unaware that Australia is the fourth largest holder of pension fund assets in the world. Australian super funds have around 3.5 trillion dollars and are one of the largest sources of capital in the world, but much of it is invested in North America and Europe and does not provide economic growth and employment for our citizens.
"Under a United Australia Party government, at least one trillion dollars of Australian super invested off-shore will be required by law to be instead invested in our country to secure our citizens' economic prosperity and maintain the nation's independence.
"It's projected that in 2041 we will have 9.5 trillion dollars of super and that super must be deployed to benefit our country and our people, not some foreign country.
"Further, one of the United Australia Party's long-standing policies is to stop the provisional tax being paid in advance by Australian businesses, before profits have been made," Mr Palmer said.
"The United Australia Party will stop it, to allow up to an extra ninety billion dollars to circulate in our economy and provide GST revenue for the government and jobs, jobs and more jobs for Australians.
"We also want to see the government play a key facilitating role in setting up new export industries for Australia, much as they did for BHP at the start of the last century.
"Australia can process its own minerals and instead of exports worth a few hundred dollars a tonne we want to have exports worth over $10,000 a tonne, which will provide stronger exports, stronger tax revenue and more real jobs for all Australians.
"The Commonwealth can use the increased financial strength these measures will bring to invest, among other things, in our health facilities.
"Despite the one trillion of debt run up by Morrison, there has been no increased investment in our hospital system in the last two years. It is shameful to be playing politics with Australians' health," Mr Palmer said.
Mr Palmer said the United Australia Party was committed to stimulating economic growth in rural areas.
"Our cities are bursting at the seams. We face a future of heavy congestion, serious housing affordability issues and mounting cost of living pressures.
"By providing a 20% tax concession incentive to people living more than 200kms from a capital city, we can decentralise Australia and encourage people to move to or settle in regional areas. This will provide Australians with a lower cost of living and housing affordability, and ensure our existing infrastructure in the regions and competitive industrial land is fully utilised.
Australia is failing to maximise revenue from its prized mineral resources by continuing to send unprocessed ores overseas.
"The United Australia Party's downstream processing policy will see more stages of the mining process happen on Australian soil, rather than offshore, resulting in much higher returns, along with stimulants for both economic growth and job creation.
"We can use Australia's mineral resources to kick-start our economy by setting up downstream processing in States such as South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria that aren't as resource rich as other states.
"So, the message for all Australians is that if you're happy with all that is being done now, if you believe that Scott Morrison or Anthony Albanese really represent your interests, you can vote again for them.
"But for all the reasons I have outlined, and if you believe as I do that an interest rate of no more than 3% on home loans for the next five years is more likely to secure you and your family's future as we go forward in this century then you must vote for the United Australia Party," Mr Palmer said.
