Australia 'moving in the wrong direction', says Frank Lowy

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Australia 'moving in the wrong direction', says Frank Lowy

By Nick O'Malley

Describing himself as a “boat person” Sir Frank Lowy has used the 15th annual address of the think tank he founded in his family’s name, the Lowy Institute, to call for the nation to reject the insularity that is sweeping western politics and embrace immigration, innovation and infrastructure.

“When I established the institute, I made it very clear that it would not be a platform for my own opinions,” he said last night in a speech introduced by the former foreign minister, Julie Bishop.

Australian democracy needs to be nurtured with care, says the shopping centre magnate.

Australian democracy needs to be nurtured with care, says the shopping centre magnate.Credit: Nic Walker

“I have kept that commitment. Until now.”

In the speech Sir Frank described his memories of being a child refugee at the end of World War II.

“As a boy I stood at the doorway of our hiding place in Budapest and watched Russian troops fight house by house to liberate the city and therefore rescue us from certain death.

“I was also aware back then that Britain and the United States were forces for good in the world.

“I remember huddling around the radio with others, waiting for the chimes of Big Ben to signal the start of the BBC broadcast that would tell us what was happening in Europe.

As a teenager I became a boat person – a refugee – as I made my way to Palestine.

Sir Frank Lowy

“I knew that Britain and the United States were beacons of freedom and democracy at a time when my life – and Western civilisation itself – was at grave risk.

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“As a teenager I became a boat person – a refugee – as I made my way to Palestine.”

Sir Frank eventually made his way from Israel to Australia at a time when it was deliberately and rapidly expanding its population and made his fortune with Westfield shopping centres.

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Describing Australia as blessed by its social harmony, economy, natural resources and geographic location Sir Frank said, “I look at all this and ask: “Why are we so timid? Why are we so quick to assume that we cannot have an impact?”

Sir Frank said he was an unashamed advocate for a “big Australia”.

“But I note that for the first time in the history of Lowy Institute polling, I am in the minority. In the 2018 [Lowy Institute] Poll, 54 per cent of Australians say the total number of migrants coming to Australia is too high.

“There is a rising crescendo of opinion from columnists and politicians saying we should reduce our immigration intake.

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“And in the past year our immigration intake has declined. We have gone from migration targets to migration caps. I think we are moving in the wrong direction.”

Sir Frank argued that despite a “chequered” past that included the white Australia policy, Australia still had the best functioning multicultural society on earth.

For Australia’s remarkable prosperity to continue over the coming years it had to maintain the current massive rate of expenditure in infrastructure, he said.

“You might think this is more idealism. I promise you it is pragmatism. Large scale investment in roads, rail, airports, housing, energy, agriculture and digital infrastructure will make a huge difference to our future.”

Finally Sir Frank argued that while such nation building was difficult, “being prime minister of Australia is even tougher”.

No prime minister can push through the reforms we need if they cannot even finish a term in office.

Sir Frank Lowy

He said that Australian democracy needed to be nurtured with care.

“We need to give the prime minister of the day a chance. If he or she cannot win an election, so be it. But no prime minister can push through the reforms we need if they cannot even finish a term in office.”

Sir Frank’s speech marked the first occasion that he had made the institute's annual address, which in the past had been delivered by figures including prime ministers John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull, former CIA director David Petraeus, as well as the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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