An open letter to Australia’s Business Lobby Groups
This is a copy of a letter that was sent to numerous prominent Australian business lobby groups including the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Business Council of Australia and the administrators of the Federal Australian Government Register of Lobbyists.
Dear business group,
I’m reaching out as a concerned small business owner and advocate for ethical practices in the Australian business landscape. I believe it’s time for business lobby groups to take a hard look at the role they play in shaping our nation’s economic and social fabric.
The nation we love — Australia — has not been properly taken care of. Exploitation of Australian workers, resources, and our national interest has eroded the very foundations that should support equitable prosperity. Business lobby groups have significant influence in this area, but this influence has often contributed to long term issues rather than resolved them.
With Donald Trump about to be sworn in, it’s clear that the global political environment is entering an era of unprecedented volatility. The guardrails are off. If we don’t act decisively now to protect Australia’s national interests, the consequences could be long-lasting, perhaps irreversible.
Rather than blindly following Trump’s rhetoric and policies, and trying to flatter him into a peaceful relationship, we must learn from his approach and focus on securing our own future. This includes building relationships with nations currently under sanctions, or other barriers to trade, within BRICS, ASEAN and elsewhere. These trade alliances are a space where mutual interests can be explored without the need for ideological posturing. There are nations that have serious human rights issues, however so does Australia. We can’t hope to properly address broader world issues until we resolve broader risks, including ones within our own borders.
I urge you to recognize that Australia’s values of hard work and resilience can quickly turn into anger if injustice is allowed to persist. The unchecked greed of our local billionaires, who have now ventured into politics, threatens to destabilize Australian society. Their behavior as cult icons must be rejected outright, as it undermines the stability we all depend on to maintain functioning businesses and a thriving economy.
As a small business owner, I feel the hardship of the average person because I have my foot in both worlds. I experience firsthand the struggles of ordinary Australians and the challenges businesses face in such an inequitable system. While corporations and politicians and unions have all of the wealth and power in this economy, it’s small business owners like myself who are the backbone of the economy. The current environment is so hard to function in, let alone to get ahead in. We are already seeing a collapse of small business and that will only accelerate if nothing is done.
Electing parties with conservative and neoliberal values is not helpful either. Their social conservative agenda, willingness to ignore modern Western values, and toxic narcissistic approach toward our most vulnerable minority groups is deplorable. Many people view austerity and profiteering off of human life as a form of torture, slavery and murder in and of itself. Unfortunately, I don’t see any party in politics today that truly represents my interests, other than perhaps The Greens, who care about the planet which happens to be where I live.
This is a call to action for business leaders to prioritize Australia’s long-term interests, not just short-term profits. Let’s ensure that our policies and practices strengthen our economy, workforce, and global standing — ethically and sustainably. We can’t allow rampant greed to dismantle our nation, for terms like egalitarianism to be lost to the pages of history books.
I’d welcome the opportunity to discuss these concerns further and explore ways that business lobby groups can lead the way in advocating for real change.
Your sincerely,
Paul Brzeski
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