The Democratic Labor Party (DLP) is calling for the re-establishment of a federal development bank. The recent collapse of the financial markets has shown us that reliance on offshore funding must be a thing of the past or Australia will become a victim of it. Profit gouging by way of borrowing costs and interest rates are placing more pressure on the Australian people by way of taxes now, and into our future generations.
The bank that is proposed would be established under a similar model of the previous development bank that Australia once enjoyed. Separate to both the reserve bank and external to the treasury and ongoing budget requirements.
Its primary role would be to provide a source of funding for infrastructure spending by the federal and state governments, while removing the need for State and federal governments to have to go to foreign markets to seek funding. This could be expanded to later fund development of new industries in our regional centres.
The benefits of re-establishing this bank are numerous and would provide both a safe government guaranteed investment for our superannuation funds, private individuals, and institutional investors, while building ongoing revenue for future infrastructure projects. Other benefits would include:
- Immediate reduction in foreign debt and interests payments.
- A safe government guaranteed long term investments for all Australians, with profits from this bank remaining in Australia for Australians.
- Relief from budgetary restraints and further taxation hikes for all Australians.
- The reduction of the current public private partnerships that continue to tax us and our children for generations to come by way of taxing us with tolls.
- The ability to engage in long term projects that provide much needed, infrastructure funding that is not subject to a quick dollar return imposed by private or public private projects.
- Removal of the now popular quick fix and long term detrimental habit, of the theft and sell-off of our state assets by governments.
- A development bank would help restore the huge imbalance that Australia has between savings/investments and foreign debt and about 1.8 trillion in gross foreign liabilities.
- The development bank would not interfere with private banking. In fact it would free up funds being used by our government infrastructure borrowing.
- The development bank could buy into selected strategic industries to protect the nation’s economic sovereignty. (IE Rio Tinto under threat by the Chinese)
- A federal development bank would not be costly to re-establish. A development bank as a statutory authority would have parliament set guidelines for its investments, but the bank would make the decisions where money is invested and be answerable for it.
- The recent government stimulus package has, and will continue to place massive tax and infrastructure restraints on us for generations to come. The government has no real solution to decrease this pressure, and will bow to major international financial institutions to keep us as a beggar nation that will only benefit foreign interests.
- The current futures fund of $70 Billion could act as the initial deposit to commence reducing cost and interest payments immediately.
- Development bank’s have worked here and are working in other countries. The Coalition with its budget cuts and the ALP’s additional taxes will not fix the current problems facing Australia. Only the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) has the desire to bring legislation proven and practical solutions to problems that are facing the nation today.
