We gave you a special depreciation allowance to make it profitable, and we let you appoint three High Court judges just in case there were any legal challenges. We are being underpriced by the competition, despite my government having virtually eliminated labour costs and tax burdens on business. There is only one other way to cut our costs. A muffled gasp went around the table as the listeners began to suspect what was coming. Statistics provided to my office by the Bureau of Statistics and our embassies around the world demonstrate conclusively that Australian levels of profit are uncompetitively high.
Australian profits continue to be well above the average.
If we are to compete successfully, we must reduce costs, which means reducing our profits to world's best practice levels. But rest assured that my government will brook no evasions of the national interest in these trying times. He turned, woke the deputy PM, and left the room with him in tow. The businessmen looked at each other almost sheepishly in silence for a few seconds. They rose simultaneously.