Reading the paper this morning about Australia’s wealthiest woman Gina Rinehart calling for a radical overhaul of immigration laws to allow thousands of unskilled ‘guest workers’ to be imported from Asia for the mining industry. She has also spent $280 million in media companies Fairfax and the Ten Network in a bid to influence public policy. She also wants special economic zones across the north where taxes would be lower.
This set me thinking about how wealthy interests and large corporates play a huge part in determining what wealth actually flows to ordinary Australians like the people who live in The Grove and the small businesses here.
Where does our local income come from? Where are the outflows?
Some identifiable economic inflows to the local area are:
[ul]Pensions and government support payment such as family allowances of Grove residents
Public service salaries of Grove residents
Wages and salaries earned out of The Grove by local residents
A smallish number of Council and governement grants
Expenditure on roads and building projects (adds to infrastructure but probably very little comes back as local wages)
Profits of locally-owned small businesses
Rentals and board and lodging payments (for example: Homestay students)
Education place funding at Grovely TAFE and local schools.
Funding of the North West Community Health Centre.
Funding of the Ferny Grove Police Station.
Funding for locally-based emergency services
Wages of people employed in local businesses who live here
Interest dividends and investment income for example superannuation
Medicare payments and various health pharmaceutical and transport subsidies
Solar energy input into the grid
A proportion of gambling funds
Voluntary labour and services
Local currencies that circulate wealth strictly locally
Locally-grown food
Donations to people or organisations in The Grove[/ul]
Some identifiable outflows are:
[ul]Money spent in local businesses owned by big corporates which then flows out to shareholders or corporate owners
Taxes on the work of local people
Taxes on sale of local land
Expenditure outside The Grove for example for purchase of vehicles most travel expenditure entertainment that is not local
Expenditure on imports such as entertainment systems and computers and most food (although a purely local business that sold imports would retain some profit locally)
Expenditure on fuel (petrol..)
Expenditure on electricity and gas
Rates especially where we pay more than comes back into this area
Water charges if they are disproportionate to what we use in this area
Gambling (part)
Health insurance
All insurance payments. Public liability insurance accident insurance house insurance car insurance travel insurance
All licences
Most alcohol cigarettes
Donations to people or organisations outside The Grove.[/ul]