On Thursday, 20 February 2025, I used my adjournment speech in Parliament to draw attention to the stranglehold that billionaires have over Labor and the LNP.
You can read my full speech below or in the official Parliamentary record of proceedings (Hansard) here.
Billionaires and multinational corporations control politics in Australia. That is no secret. It is not a conspiracy. I do not even think it is particularly controversial among political observers. It is just business as usual for our two major political parties, the LNP and Labor, who are completely captured by corporate interests.
The LNP and Labor take donations from private health insurers while underfunding public hospitals. They take donations from the big banks while the big banks make record profits ripping off everyday people. They take fossil fuel donations and continue to approve coal and gas projects. Right now the LNP is tearing up Queensland’s renewable energy plan, and Anthony Albanese and federal Labor have shredded their own government’s environmental reforms.
The LNP and Labor also take donations from billionaires like Anthony Pratt, mining magnate Gina Rinehart and property developer Harry Triguboff, whom I mentioned earlier. These billionaires all have effectively unfettered access to our politicians. Their influence on our laws is huge and they decide government policy, but what are their priorities?
When she is not lobbying the government to crush workers’ rights, Gina Rinehart is instead demanding that the Queensland taxpayer fund some more luxury yacht moorings on the Brisbane River—la-di-da! Newsflash: ordinary people do not have luxury yachts; ordinary people are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing rents; ordinary people are paying buckets to the big banks while they cannot afford to fix their pipes at home; ordinary people are working 40 hours a week but cannot even imagine they will save enough to be able to retire comfortably; ordinary people could not give a flying stuff about Gina Rinehart and whether there is enough yacht parking for her on the Brisbane River; ordinary people want to be able to send our children to fully funded state schools that are genuinely free.
We want to know that when our loved ones get sick they will receive excellent care at a public hospital. We want the teachers, the nurses and the tradies of tomorrow to be able to go to TAFE and
uni for free, just like our Prime Minister was able to do, and we want dental brought into Medicare. We want billionaires and multinational corporations to pay their fair share to make it happen.
The Greens are ready to take on the LNP and Labor and their billionaire backers in Gina Rinehart, the CEOs and the big corporations and to stick up for everyday people. We are the only party that is willing to take on the real estate agents, the big banks and the wealthy investors to make rents, mortgages and new housing more affordable. The Greens are fighting every day to make billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share for the things we need and we are the only party fighting to stop fossil fuel oligarchs from opening more fossil fuel projects. We are the only party saying that billionaires can no longer call shotgun on every ride and we want to put real people in the driver’s seat.
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