In this interview, Daniel Wild appeared on ABC North West Queensland to discuss the IPA’s research on a Northern Special Economic Zone.
All media appearances posted onto the IPA website are directly related to the promotion and dissemination of IPA research.
Below is a transcript of the interview.
Zara Margolis:
Now, you’ve heard the argument before about North Queensland being a separate state, but what about North Australia, the whole of the North being a separate tax zone. In theory, it means if you live here in the North West, your tax would be less. Research by conservative think tank the Institute of Public Affairs suggests more Aussies would be in favour of that than against it. Daniel Wild is the Deputy Executive Director. Daniel Wild, why is this something the Institute of Public Affairs chose to look into?
Daniel Wild:
Well, the major reason is because of how important Northern Australia is. It’s been pretty forgotten about. I think particularly a lot of the regional towns like Mount Isa. And what we want to do is showcase the potential of the North, and also to alert a lot of those in the cities who don’t know really where their food comes from or might not be aware of what happens in regional Australia, why they should care about it and why it is really important. I mentioned the industry and also the national security, and we know that’s going to become more important with our region becoming more hostile. So we really want to make sure that city-based political leaders understand how important the North is.
Zara Margolis:
So is this information for the politicians?
Daniel Wild:
It’s for a few purposes. It’s for the politicians, and we’re meeting with a number of local political leaders over the next few days in Mount Isa and then over on the coast. And it’s also for the general public and for public education so that they understand what Australians think of Northern Australia. Another important part of our poll that I’ll just mention is 55% of those who we surveyed said that they want our political leaders to be more ambitious for the development of Northern Australia. And we know over the years, different political leaders have dipped in and out. Kevin Rudd, for example, committed to a special economic zone in parts of the North, but it never ultimately went ahead. And what we want see is a more developed and concerted campaign to develop Northern Australia and all of the potential that it has to offer
Zara Margolis:
Daniel Wild, I’m curious about the specialised economic zone because in the press release that came with the Institute of Public Affairs announcement, it said that IPA is long championed for this idea of the implementation of SEZ in Northern Australia. Why is that something that your institute has been campaigning for, not just now, but in previous years?
Daniel Wild:
Yeah. We’ve been talking about it for over a decade now, and it’s really important. Basically what a special economic zone is, is a part of the country, in this case, the North, that has lower taxes, less red tape and incentives for Australians to move up North. And the reason we need that is, as you know, the North is massive. Most Australians don’t appreciate just how big Northern Australia is. And what we believe very firmly is too much public policy is based on cities and on the city based thinking and the metropolitan areas. And there’s a lack of consideration of how we actually going to have a long term, multi decade approach to developing the North.
Zara Margolis:
You mentioned the idea of using this information to educate people in the city so they have a deeper appreciation of how people in the North do feel. Probably not within the Institute’s remit, but how do you sell the idea of a different tax zone basically to people in the city?
Daniel Wild:
Yeah. It’s a great question. I think there’s three key parts to it. The first is, as I was touching on before, in relation to how important the North is for our whole country, for the economic wealth that’s generated and the revenue for the schools and roads and hospitals that comes from that, and the national defence. The second part is our vulnerability up North from a geographic defence perspective. So if we’re not protecting the North, then we can’t protect and defend the South. And I think the third area is how fundamental North and regional Australia is to the Australian way of life. It’s where so much is created and developed. It’s where people go to get ahead. And we want to make sure that people understand that.
Zara Margolis:
In the results, as you said, 42% of respondents when asked if they favour the idea of a different economic zone said they agree, 43% said they were unsure. What do you think that particular bit says?
Daniel Wild:
Well, I think it says two things. One is that people are open to it. So straight off the bat, 42% agree, only 15% oppose. So I think it shows that people are in favour of it, but it also shows they need convincing, and that’s one of the reasons we’re doing what we’re doing is to communicate to people that this is important.
Zara Margolis:
What does IPA plan on doing next with all this information?
Daniel Wild:
Well, next what we’re doing is we’re heading to Townsville and Cairns and a couple of other places around that area to basically continue this discussion. And then we’re going to be undertaking deeper research into how special economic zones work while they’ve been successful overseas, how it might look in Australia, and what that might mean for Northern Australia in terms of the industrial opportunities to make sure that Australians understand the value of that. And then also to take the research to Canberra so that now ultimately this is going to be a federal issue. It can only be done at the federal level because Northern Australia goes across Queensland, Northern Territory and WA. So communicating it to policymakers in Canberra about why this has to happen and why it’s so important.
Zara Margolis:
Daniel Wild, the Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs, a conservative think tank who did some research and found that more Aussies would be in favour of a separate tax zone for Northern Australia than opposed to it. Where do you sit?
This transcript with Daniel Wild talking on ABC North West Queensland from 18 September 2024 has been edited for clarity.
