Globalism,that tool of the rich,has always been used to advance the wealth of the few at the expense of the many.
“BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers says Australia is unable to finance its resource development alone and needs foreign development to build projects big enough to maintain market share,as China leads a dramatic increase in demand for commodities”. (The Australian,19.11.09 p.21)
South African born Mr. Kloppers said in an address to the Lowy Institute in Sydney,“Capital sources (in Australia) to fund resources projects are limited,primarily due to a mismatch between risk appetites of some funding sources and inherent riskiness in the projects themselves.”
A month ago BHP chairman Don Angus called for more debate about state owned entities (Chinese) investing in Australia’s resources and warned Australia not to follow Canada down the road of losing control of it’s resource assets.
Canada,except for a handful of isolated transactions in cultural sectors,has only once blocked a take over in the 23-year-history of the investment Canada Act (Internationally Canadian foreign take over review).
In 2006 Canadian takeovers reached $281.7 billion in 2007 a record setting $314 billion in take overs involving 1,848 companies took place. (CWA Blasts Harper Pledge to Relax Foreign Take over rules).
Mr. Kloppers continued,“The balance of power in Asia and the World is changing and Asia needs to find ways to maintain stability and harmony”(Is that a threat?)
He said the U.S. would need to continue taking a leadership role in Asia and that China would need a growing role as it’s power grew.
Why should the U.S. continue to make things easy for people like Mr. Kloppers and his ilk to make more money.
Capitalists have stripped the U.S.,England and the E.U. of it’s industry and given it to China. The U.S. is broke,acting as a world policeman is not an option.
The Chinese have the money,they do not need people like Kloppers to help them/
Kloppers says Australia needs to consider funding the next wave of resource related infrastructure. Currently there are some 74 projects worth 80 billion $ in advanced stage of planning in Australia. The companies should pay the Australian government for any infrastructure costs.
As for investing (buying up our resources) by foreign capital. The answer is simple,tax heavily all resources leaving Australia,put the money in a sovereign fund in a newly created national bank and put that bank in competition with Australia’s other banks.
Expertise in mining and banking? Expertise can be bought,if Australians are not available then bring in immigrants until they are.
Our resources belong to us,what is the rush to sell them off,what will our 100 million population do with what is left,a waterless desert full of holes.
If Australia is to be run by bureaucrats better Australian than Chinese!
The ABC ran a service on the present recession called ‘addicted to money’on Thursday it pointed out that the production of food is tied to oil and that the world is running out of resources,all valid points but the series lacks credability because not one word was said about The World Population Explosion.
As usual the third world is blameless it is we who must drastically reduce our standard of living.
