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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Open Letter to the Governor General

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Attn: Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC
Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
Government House
Dunrossil Drive
YARRALUMLA ACT 2600
Email: governor-general@gg.gov.au

Dear Her Excellency,

I would like to register an official complaint against the way the Australian government is conducting itself with respect to the Resource Rent Tax. It is clear to me that the Resource Rent tax is an act of extortion by the Australian government against the mining industry. Great wealth has been lost because the government has conjured up and released plans of this new "excessive" 40% tax. More concerning still is that it has discarded the bulk of the findings by the Henry Committee, and that it is intending to use this tax to finance an 'entitlement' to a broader group of Australians prior to an election. It is clearly the government's intent to use the tax as a populist policy in order to win the election.
I suspect that the Labor government has in fact no intent to adopt the tax, knowing that it will be blocked by the Liberals. It will however use the tax to win the election. Rudd knows that he is not going to win the next election unless he appeals to the 'short range' interests of Australians. This strategy has already cost many Australians a great deal of financial loss, it has jeopardised the sovereign risk rating of Australia, and it will probably result in a decline in our sovereign credit rating, even though nothing has in fact been done. This will undermine investment in Australia and probably result in an increase in interest repayments.
This policy initiative came from nowhere. The parliament is acting with contempt for the good governance of Australia. In India such practice has resulted in judicial activism, with a positive impact on the standards of conduct by the Indian judiciary. I sincerely hope you will act before we descend further towards fascism, which I consider to be the arbitrary and coercive use of force or expropriation. Little surprise that there is already talk of succession in WA. I regard this as a serious breach of parliamentary conduct. I have discussed the matter with other people, and they also consider this matter to exceed the excesses of the Whitlam government.

This is not the first issue. There has been a general decline in parliamentary conduct, including the First Home Owners Grant under the Liberal Party. This is comparable to price controls in its implications. The Rudd government came to power and 'doubled up' the First Home Buyers entitlement under that scheme despite the already high household debt levels and inflationary outlook. That would have sparked calls of fascism years ago. These acts involved arbitrary policy to prop up certain sections of the Australian community at the expense of others. Was not the Senate intended to protect minorities from such behaviour? Is not the High Court intended to protect the people from such breaches, or the Governor-General?

I think your intervention is warranted because a delayed High Court action will cast dispersions upon financial markets for the interim period. It will be another year before the High Court will be called upon to deal with this issue. The High Court ought to hold reason as the standard of value, i.e. It interprets evidence according to logical standards, and one would hope those principles are grounded in the facts of reality, as opposed to the arbitrary rule that seems to be underpinning the government's actions, as it underpinned the democratically-elected Nazis. I am not suggesting we are about to see fatalities in the streets, but there is a serious decline in ethical standards, and this is a precursor to 'emergency' actions which escalate moral interests and desperation. It strikes me that we are currently in a period such as the late 1930s, in the wake of the depression....as our own financial crisis unfolds.

The paradox is that I have already lost a great deal of money because mining companies are not properly regulated. Regulation (i.e. justice as opposed to the unnecessary, arbitrary government intervention like price controls, welfare, home grants) is at a low point. I complained as a mining analyst against the conduct of corporate executives and I was told that they don't have the resources. The basic functions of government are not being adequately carried out. I don't even bother to vote because the process is flawed. i.e. Forced to vote among a duopoly of alligned political interests. Who does that serve?

I would like to establish how I might make a formal complaint against the government with respect to these issue. It is clear in my mind what is required with respect to parliamentary reform. I am an intellectual, so I utilise my mind. It serves me best to live outside my cherished homeland because of fear of political reprisals. Paranoia? Surely this email will place me in even greater harm. Some things are just too important.

Regards,
Andrew Sheldon
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Author
Andrew Sheldon

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