Australian Foreign Policy/ Foreign Affairs · Economic issues

Cory Bernardi slams wasteful foreign spending in the Senate

The Aussie Conservative Blog supports the tenacious, principled, consistently conservative political activism of Cory Bernardi, along with his Australian Conservatives party.

And in his recent speech, Bernardi is more than correct: how can a nation continue to fund futile, globalist economic endeavours, while we are incapable of pulling our own finances into order? We hear politicians of both parties rehash the same clichés of ‘we are on track to achieve budget surplus in 5 years’, and yet every year, national debt worsens. Australia should cease superfluous foreign spending until our own financial accounts come back into balance. Although this would appear obvious, the major parties cannot take this hint, so we conservatives should be grateful that Australia has Bernardi to represent us in the Australian Senate.

Further, Bernardi makes striking points on welfare. Although some governmental assistance to the needy is important, Australia’s social welfare has grown out of control. As it is virtually impossible to pull people off benefits they already receive, additional expansions to welfare spending must be vehemently opposed.

Bernardi

Cory Bernardi recent speech to the Senate, September 11, 2017:

I have deep concerns about our ongoing commitments to organisations like the IMF and the United Nations, in particular where we are pledging what is effectively borrowed money to support the bailout of nations that can’t manage their own financial affairs. I don’t have that much confidence in the IMF as the arbiter of responsible financial management. If they were having a positive role in international affairs, you would expect that they would pre-empt and be able to forecast some of the crises that have captured the globe—for example, Greece, which was on a trajectory to bankruptcy for many decades. The problem we have right around the world is that the level of debt is far too high, because governments of all persuasions insist on giving people the impression that there can be a magic placement of cash that they don’t have to work for, that they can just receive, and everything will be all right. There is this perception of, ‘What’s in it for me?’

One of the great tragedies is that Australia is heading down the same path. About 50 per cent of the people in this country receive more in benefits than they pay in taxes. It operates such that the top 10 per cent of earners pay in the region of 40 or 50 per cent of the taxes, or even more. That’s simply not sustainable. Those on the other side of the chamber will say that they should be taxed more to provide more benefits. Well, that’s wrong. It is absolutely wrong. We need to get our own house in order before we can be better, more responsible contributors to the global economy, and pledging access to some billions of dollars for the IMF—about $8.6 billion, I understand, of money borrowed from Australian taxpayers—doesn’t seem very prudent to me. In fact, it’s less than prudent. It’s foolish; it’s inane.

First of all, we have obligations to repay the intergenerational debt that has been clocked up by those on both sides of the chamber in the past 10 years. That is expected to peak at $726 billion, but I can tell you now, that will not be the peak. The runaway debt in this country shows no signs of abatement at all, and I would lay London to a brick that the debt incurred in the last 10 years will not be repaid while any of the current members of this place are still here. We’ll all be long gone and leaving it to others to pay for the activities and the actions that successive governments have responded to. So, I’m opposed to the International Monetary Agreements Amendment (New Arrangements to Borrow) Bill 2017, because we are pledging borrowed money to give to an organisation that is unaccountable and unelected and that then gives the money to countries that have been unable to manage their finances. It’s imprudent; it’s illogical. There is a better way. So, I oppose this bill.

6 thoughts on “Cory Bernardi slams wasteful foreign spending in the Senate

  1. As “LettersToAYoungConservative” points out, we’ve the same issue in the US. And Mitch McConnell as Senate Majority Leader just lets it happen. He needs to be driven out of the Senate …

    1. Yeah he is an issue. It really does make you wonder, when does the expansion of debt end? Or will it continue forever? Surely the chickens will come home to roost one day. And it won’t be good.

  2. As you probably know, the U.S. is in a similar situation where we are $20 trillion and growing in debt yet we are still contributing to these international organizations. It would be one thing if all the needy or our nation were taken care of efficiently and we had little to no debt, but neither is the case. Because we have such problems, how does it qualify us to help other money troubled nations? You can’t help someone if you yourself are in trouble.

    1. Exactly. And a surplus budget should be a starting point for issuing foreign aid. On that in particular, we can all agree Bill Clinton did a good job.

    2. Yes he is well know for that. I’ll put up a video one day of PJB talking about his book ‘Death of the West’. And his observation (which id largely agree with), was that the 90s was a lulled time both domestically and in foreign policy as the Soviet Union had just been defeated. And that all of the gossip about Bill and Monica was reflective about the non- serious nature of that time. Much like the roaring twenties in that respect. But then came 9 11, and these good times and sense of security came crashing to a sudden halt.

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