Thank you, Prof. Powell! This is an excellent presentation, covering all important points. Except for the third alignment going on, that being Australia being captured also as a vassal of Israel. But that is a sub-set of UK alignment. But that’s a minor point. The big question is - does Australia really want to be yet another base surrounding China, for America’s final Great Bargain war? The thing holding back “middle powers” is that they don’t have the backbone to unite as a middle-power bloc to hold their place in the world. The principle of "indivisible security" has been corrected by replacing the term with "collective security." This entails mutual respect and commitment to dialogue over any irritants. As for pension funds, money that is not working in YOUR economy is not only abstracted from your economy, it is funding the over-consumption of another economy. Instead of chasing returns, fund managers must keep their funds working in their own economy. People complain that China has too much savings. If those savings are stuffed in the mattress, yes, they are removed from the economy. If the savings are bank deposits, they are then working in the economy. Likewise, if pension funds have left the country, they have been removed from the economy. What replaces that void? These funds are essentially the profit of the nation, so if removed, there is a void somewhere. If the funds don’t receive the desired return invested in Australia, they are at least part of the nation’s balance sheet as an asset, so the government as a monetary sovereign can always make up the pension payments. The U.S. continues to stand as the World’s Policeman by sapping the savings from all other nations. Stop funding them!
This is a substantial intellectual contribution to building peace in and for Australia in its community of nations. The recent visit of the Vietnamese head of state would have been an opportunity to consolidate diplomatic ground, and test a template for relations with ASEAN and the Pacific. I am wondering though what actually happened. Certainly better than providing troops to storm the beaches of Phillipines in a show of military strength (as depicted in Foreign Correspondent recently) .
Thank you Warwick, a solid and very timely contibution to the AUKUS inquiry.
My preference though at Recommendation 2 is that Australian workers deposited superannuation capital funds should be guaranteed by the only entity that can provide near absolute security - the national currency issuing government.
As much as we distrust our governing political operatives we must acknowledge that if things go badly 'pear shaped' across world economies, only the Aust. national govt. (without need for profit extraction) can always deliver such stored wealth back to superannuation contributors - even if only in fairly dispensing access to whatever resources remain available within an economically devastated recovering nation.
Management overheads, combined with normal structured outflows of private super funds are such that the yields delivered from 'real' industrial investment are insuffucient for sustainability - so the private funds are steered to where profits are highest - the speculative stocks, shares & foreign equity funds etc.
Further to Recommendation 3 re AI impact on warfare.
Regardless of whether such estimates are accurate, the advent of drones and remote controlled warfare provides military commanders overlording control and monitoring of multiple individuals battle performance.
It removes the decision to kill from the individual - it turns it into a collaborative objective, where personal responsibility is removed- where failure to partake has potentially severe consequence.
In my view, that is how so many ghastly war crimes are being committed in recent times.
Thank you, Prof. Powell! This is an excellent presentation, covering all important points. Except for the third alignment going on, that being Australia being captured also as a vassal of Israel. But that is a sub-set of UK alignment. But that’s a minor point. The big question is - does Australia really want to be yet another base surrounding China, for America’s final Great Bargain war? The thing holding back “middle powers” is that they don’t have the backbone to unite as a middle-power bloc to hold their place in the world. The principle of "indivisible security" has been corrected by replacing the term with "collective security." This entails mutual respect and commitment to dialogue over any irritants. As for pension funds, money that is not working in YOUR economy is not only abstracted from your economy, it is funding the over-consumption of another economy. Instead of chasing returns, fund managers must keep their funds working in their own economy. People complain that China has too much savings. If those savings are stuffed in the mattress, yes, they are removed from the economy. If the savings are bank deposits, they are then working in the economy. Likewise, if pension funds have left the country, they have been removed from the economy. What replaces that void? These funds are essentially the profit of the nation, so if removed, there is a void somewhere. If the funds don’t receive the desired return invested in Australia, they are at least part of the nation’s balance sheet as an asset, so the government as a monetary sovereign can always make up the pension payments. The U.S. continues to stand as the World’s Policeman by sapping the savings from all other nations. Stop funding them!
This is a substantial intellectual contribution to building peace in and for Australia in its community of nations. The recent visit of the Vietnamese head of state would have been an opportunity to consolidate diplomatic ground, and test a template for relations with ASEAN and the Pacific. I am wondering though what actually happened. Certainly better than providing troops to storm the beaches of Phillipines in a show of military strength (as depicted in Foreign Correspondent recently) .
Thank you Warwick, a solid and very timely contibution to the AUKUS inquiry.
My preference though at Recommendation 2 is that Australian workers deposited superannuation capital funds should be guaranteed by the only entity that can provide near absolute security - the national currency issuing government.
As much as we distrust our governing political operatives we must acknowledge that if things go badly 'pear shaped' across world economies, only the Aust. national govt. (without need for profit extraction) can always deliver such stored wealth back to superannuation contributors - even if only in fairly dispensing access to whatever resources remain available within an economically devastated recovering nation.
Management overheads, combined with normal structured outflows of private super funds are such that the yields delivered from 'real' industrial investment are insuffucient for sustainability - so the private funds are steered to where profits are highest - the speculative stocks, shares & foreign equity funds etc.
Further to Recommendation 3 re AI impact on warfare.
AI has enabled the warhawks to take individual decision making out of the control of a human individual. Research suggests that 50-70% of combatants purposely are reluctant to shoot to kill another human out of the humans basic instinct. (See- 'The Decision to Kill in Legitimate Combat Situations' Janine Peterson Wonnacott, Catholic University of America.) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262560724_Killing_in_CombatThe_Decision_to_Kill_in_Legitimate_Combat_Situations_a_topic_paper_for_completion_of_MA_psychology
Regardless of whether such estimates are accurate, the advent of drones and remote controlled warfare provides military commanders overlording control and monitoring of multiple individuals battle performance.
It removes the decision to kill from the individual - it turns it into a collaborative objective, where personal responsibility is removed- where failure to partake has potentially severe consequence.
In my view, that is how so many ghastly war crimes are being committed in recent times.