Nationals leader Matt Canavan's proposed 'economic revolution' has been dismissed as a populist mirage that would ultimately harm Australian prosperity. Writing for The Australian, Patrick Commins argues that Canavan's plan—scrapping net zero, boosting fossil fuel extraction, slashing migration, and protecting local industries—is a mid-20th-century solution for 21st-century challenges.
Commins warns that Canavan's policies would lead to massive government debt through new public works and subsidies for uncompetitive businesses. Forcing consumers to buy more expensive locally made goods, he says, would raise the cost of living rather than reduce it. The hidden costs of globalisation, exposed by the pandemic and Iran war, require honest trade-offs, not simplistic answers.
However, Commins acknowledges that Canavan rightly criticises Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as 'Captain Status Quo' for timid reform. While labelling the government as 'free-market acolytes' is overblown, questions remain about whether its Future Made in Australia strategy and piecemeal reforms are bold enough to address a frayed global order.
Albanese has promised the upcoming budget will be 'most ambitious,' but Commins warns that if it falls short, more Australians may buy into Canavan's mirage.
