Senator Jim Molan AO, Liberal Senator for NSW & Former Australian Army Major General – Chief of Operations, Coalition Forces, Iraq, joins Michael to discuss Australia’s lack of self-reliance and what it means for our families, households and for our nation.

Senator Molan has written recently about the need for Australia to defend our sovereignty, meaning our ability to act in our own interests as a nation. He says unless we have an appropriate level of self-reliance, we cannot act in our own interests.

Over the last 75 years, market forces have structured our nation to become very efficient in the use of manufactured goods and products from overseas. Because our domestic market is so small, big nations or big industries overseas can produce most things much cheaper than Australia can, so logically we import much and enjoy lower prices.

To pay for our imports and to sustain our high standard of living, we export massive amounts of natural resources and services such as education.

COVID has made us very aware of Australia’s vulnerability to an interruption to our ability to import and export. COVID has turned many nations away from an international focus to an internal focus on their own needs, not that of their neighbours.

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