Conservative Australians are committed to the following:
- We will revisit all free trade agreements every ten years to ensure they are aligned with our national interest.
- We will initiate a not negotiable, reciprocal requirement, in respect to foreign ownership of land and infrastructure. Where this has not previously been achieved, review of previous foreign acquisition ownership of land and infrastructure will be undertaken and the possibility of the reversal or sale of the assets back to Australian interests will be undertaken.
- We will review all existing treaties including those with the United Nations and withdraw from agreements.
- deemed no longer in the Australian national interest.
- We uphold that free markets will generally deliver the best prices, range and quality for our consumers.
- and the greatest access to new markets for our exporters. Where not, they will be reviewed and re-negotiated.
- We will substantially reduce the level of foreign aid we give and improve its delivery method and effectiveness.
Free trade agreements
Australian Conservatives believe in freer markets and trade driven by healthy competition, innovation and
entrepreneurship. The liberalisation of markets and trade benefits our export industries, consumers, business and productivity.
We will periodically review all trade agreements to ensure they are still operating in the national interest and delivering the benefits promised.
Foreign ownership of Australian assets
Australian Conservatives understand that we need foreign capital to help develop our vast natural resources and grow our economy.
We welcome commercial investment into Australia – however, strategic, non-commercial investments by foreign state-controlled entities or their associates are unlikely to be in our long-term interest, particularly where significant or strategic Australian assets are targeted.
We must not compromise the national interest or our long-term economic well-being for the foreign capital we need – there is always a balance to be struck between the economic benefits of foreign investment and our national interest.
We support the ‘ethic of reciprocity’ in our foreign investment and free trade agreements – where foreign
investors are granted similar rights to what Australians are granted in their countries.
Foreign Aid
It makes little sense to ask the Australian people to endorse their government borrowing money to provide
foreign aid, when there are so many pressing issues at home.
We recognise the need for regional aid to maintain the stability of Southeast Asia and Oceania, but our own population must come first, and we will not continue to provide foreign aid from government debt. Foreign aid will therefore only be approved where it is substantially in Australia’s strategic national interest or on compassionate grounds.
United Nations
Australian Conservatives will review Australia’s involvement and funding of the United Nations and its associated entities and organisations. In recent decades, the UN has promoted a selective and highly politicised agenda which appears to be increasingly hostile to Western interests.
We will examine all our existing treaties with the UN and its associated entities and organisations regarding obligations, to determine whether they are working in our national interest. Further, we will focus on bilateral and multilateral solutions to foreign issues, which continue to deliver far better and lasting results in contrast to the United Nations.