ANDREW CARSWELL: Labor is sacrificing smart long-term investments for populist sugar hits

It was the perfect juxtaposition that showcased the economic absurdity that has been the hallmark of the Albanese Government.

Here was the Prime Minister, battered and bruised from a horror month that raised serious questions about his tenure, preaching to the rent-a-crowd in Labor’s safety-blanket city of Adelaide, promising to use taxpayer money to wipe $16 billion off the student loans of those who pursued university degrees.

It was a brash attempt to rehabilitate his tarnished image. A bribe aimed at the myriad young Australians increasingly disenchanted with Labor’s confused brand and the Prime Minister’s apparent weak leadership.

The choice of city here is significant.

Ironically, young folk in Adelaide are born counting the days till they can leave. That’s an aside.

Coincidently though, it’s also a city where a nascent space industry is ramping up to compete in the global race to explore and capitalise on the vast potential of space.

Until now.

Under the cover of Albanese’s student cash splash, the Federal Government scrapped plans for a $7 billion military-grade satellite communications system that would have given Australia an invaluable leap forward in military intelligence and capability, and our ability to combat the rising scourge of cyber warfare that is not merely a societal nuisance, but will consistently be the first-strike weapon of future wars.

Apparently we couldn’t afford this vital infrastructure geared at keeping Australians safe.

But we could afford to give Australians, who willingly chose to attend university in order to secure the well-paid jobs of the future, some free money to pay down their debt.

This mind-boggling decision, made by a Prime Minister singularly focused on re-election, comes at the expense of Australia’s national security and future prosperity. It looks even more reckless when compared to the aggressive space and defence initiatives of our global partners and rivals..

Space is back, baby. With both positive and negative ramifications.

SpaceX and Boeing are revolutionising space transport at a blistering pace, leaving NASA trailing in their wake. The moon is poised to see new footprints, as countries explore its potential for a permanent human presence or mining helium-3, a resource that could power the United States for an entire year with just 25 tonnes.

Meanwhile, a Mars landing — long the stuff of sci-fi — could be realised within a decade.

However, alongside these advancements are mounting geopolitical tensions, now extending beyond our atmosphere and shaping future conflict zones. China has emerged as a formidable space power, funnelling billions into a rapidly growing arsenal of military satellites. These are engineered not just to disrupt communications and threaten global defense networks, but to host anti-satellite weaponry and enable long-range precision strikes against adversaries.

This capability alarms Pentagon officials more than Russia’s nuclear arsenal, even when wielded by the Kremlin’s unpredictable leaders.

Space is the future battleground. And Australia just vacated the field.

And in doing so, closed the door to the untapped billions pouring into the sector from global partners whose geographical assets aren’t a smidge on Australia’s vast plains and remote locations.

What nation, what commercial partner, what organisation would consider Australia a viable destination for space investment when its Government cancels a crucial defence program just 18 months from conception because it needs to appease a growing army of angry young folk?

Beyond this extraordinary act of misplaced priorities is a pattern of behaviour from the Albanese Government that should alarm taxpayers.

This is a Government that believes in throwing money at problems for quick wins rather than crafting enduring policy frameworks that drive long-term change and secure future prosperity. Rather than tackling the underlying issues that stifle economic growth, repel investment, and hinder job creation, it opts for short-term spending sprees.

It takes too long to reap a dividend from policy reform, leaders secretly whine. Elections come around too quickly.

So it spends. And it spends. And it calls it a plan.

Its Future Made in Australia “plan” throws $23 billion worth of incentives to encourage companies in the clean energy supply chain to invest in downstream processing. What would the mining companies prefer? Save your money. Just get the fundamentals right in the economy and companies will invest without incentives. Lower energy costs. Flexible industrial relations policies. A competitive tax regime.

Its National Reconstruction Fund is a $15 billion throw at the stumps to help manufacturers. What do manufacturers really want? Broader regulatory or economic reforms to support innovation and productivity.

Its energy price relief, childcare subsidy expansion, additional aged care spending and even its revamped changes to the stage three tax cuts all throw buckets of money at systemic problems, without any thought to addressing these structural issues with clever reform.

And now $16 billion to reduce student loans, with no attempt to address the real problems with educational disequity, housing shortages and cost of living pressures.

It’s free money for quick fixes, not strategic investments to build Australia’s future. All geared toward re-election, not nation-building.

Apparently, it is not rocket science.

Andrew Carswell is a former adviser to the Morrison government