ABSTRACT
Australia has the highest level of foreign investment of any industrialized country. Nations and foreign companies will be able to meet their greenhouse gas reduction targets by purchasing Australian tree plantations, or buying credits on the Australian Stock Exchange for resale to another buyer. Foreign companies have been the main beneficiaries of the minimalist strategy pursued by a neo-liberal government. Foreign investment has multiple impact on the wellbeing of Australians. This chapter examines what foreign ownership of the country's natural resources contributes to wealth creation. Foreign companies contribution to government revenues and, therefore, to the wellbeing of Australia is far less than it should be. City-based Australians have experienced phenomenal increases in the cost of housing due mainly to the inflow of foreign investors in the market. All main parties depend on foreign investment for Australia's economic growth, and salvation from former prime minister Paul Keating's vision of Australia as a banana republic.
