Kerry Packer's Political Philosophy

we got all the photographs down oh man we could get down to actually being serious about it rather than just being a circus first of all I declare open this afternoon's proceedings of the print media inquiry and welcome mr. Kerry Packer the chairman of the Australian consolidated press mr. packer could you please state your full name and the capacity in which you appear this afternoon place Kerry Francis balm or Packer I appear here to say afternoon reluctantly if you exercise the rights for the pre-emptive purchase of the junk bond holders what what effect does that have on the shareholding structure of to ring as we now know it from the information given to us by mr. Kennedy not at all - rang will be out of the business by then but if you think I got to be railroaded and sit here and be told that you're going to change the laws and you're going to push me around I may well buy them why is his 15 percent no 15 what was his 15 percent any difference your 15 he's about to sit on the board don't you know the difference of course this there's some deenis they don't have any contact with the management I don't have any access to the editors I don't have any any method of talking to people mr. black on the other hand as a board member and as deputy chairman has the capacity to talk to the management are you saying that there's no arrangement formal or informal between you and mr. black with these what I'm saying it's what I've said ad nauseam in that document you're either gonna have to believe me or call me a liar I am Telling You there is no arrangement and I'm sick of telling people there is no arrangement no that is the situation there is no arrangement there is no agreement I am not in a position what of course formal or informal implied or anything else I'm sick of trying to tell you all I am NOT going to run John Fairfax you know and what's more I don't want it constitutionally there's got to be an enormous argument that you have no right to inquire into print media at all Foreign Investment Review Board 15% and it's automatic what's next so you'd legislate so that would be 15% less automatic so that would be no more than 15% foreign owners I'm saying to you that it is like that at this point in time that you don't have to go to the Foreign Investment Review Board if your ownership is under 15% no but there are still approval processes which have changed not by legislation but by regulation over the course of time which are very days a percentage and the extent to which the F IRB provides a judgement up there you've got very clear guidelines very clear guidelines and this is one of the things which I think has really been enormous ly hurtful to this whole process you have guidelines and you have changed them you've twisted them around in response to pressure from journalists now you know there are people out there who want to invest in this country and they want to invest in it because they think it's a stable decent country the performance we have seen and the attempted hijackings and mis company in this performance have taken people who I know over there who was saying why would anyone invest in Australia the laws get twisted and changed the whole structure gets moved round depending on whether they like the color your eyes or not now if we were a little bit more worried about jobs out there and getting people to invest money into this country and and getting some businesses going instead of trying to stop people helman Freedman represent a group of people in America who are committed to Pacific Rim Pacific Rim investment and the clients that they have are worth some hundreds of billions of dollars and they are sitting here saying nobody could carry on like these people it's not possible now that's the damage you're doing changing the rules every single day and I think the people out there whose jobs have been pissed up against the wall don't thank you for you saying that the back of the jib you don't think Parliament has the right to inquire into the print media yes I am saying exactly that and and so you don't you're doing Australian Broadcasting in trial board and you're not doing it for any other reason so you don't think Parliament has the responsibility I on Constitution you have the right to do it can I finish my question that the national parliament has the responsibility for looking at any aspect of public policy which it judges to be appropriate you you seem to be completely unaware of the constitution of Australia which you as a politician have to abide by the same as everybody else my view is that under the Constitution you don't have the right well the law now it can get the lawyers also hold that view almost equally whether you do or whether you've done now if you really want any you can go to the High Court and find out no lawyer has come before us as question that we have the right to do that maybe you haven't asked him the question does PepsiCo just point out that the committee has taken evidence from the attorneys general the Attorney General's Department are going to be volunteering it well in fact they have advisors the vein considered that the national parliament does have the power to legislate in certain areas but that doesn't mean that it's right to do so no I don't but what's your view do you think we should relax foreign ownership of television networks in Australia I don't mind what you do I'd love it at Megiddo Bruce Weber you made the rules in 1986 what I didn't try to sneak around the back door or sneak underneath this these rules were made in 1986 I read the rules said what am I allowed to do and that's exactly what we've done now why do you want to change the rules again this is the first what's happened with this operation going on now is exactly what those rules were put in place for it's the first time it's been used it's exactly what they were put in place and we have obeyed them absolutely why do you want to change the rules again I mean since I grew up as a boy I would imagine that through the parliaments of Australia from the time I was 18 19 years of age to now there must be 10,000 new laws been passed and I don't really think it's that much better place and I'd like to make a suggestion to which I think would be far more use if you want to pass a new law why don't you learn to do it when you've repealed an old one I mean this idea of just passing legislation legislation every time someone blinks is a nonsense nobody knows if nobody understands you've got to be a lawyer books up to here few means simply to do the things we used to do and every time you pass a law you take somebody's privileges away from what the four-corners program suggested was not that you were evading text at all that would have been libelous but that you were minimizing text with minimizing text I don't know anybody who doesn't minimize their tax and that you were doing so in ways that were that were contrary to the spirit of the law well I just got through telling you what I thought about that and what you're saying is exactly what the four-corners program says I am not evading tax in any way shape or form now of course I am minimizing my tax and if anybody in this country doesn't minimize their tax they want the Headroom because I was look as a government I can tell you you're not spending it that well that we should be donating extra

Channel: economicsthemovie

Views: 799,383

Rating: 4.81989 out of 5

Keywords: Kerry Packer, Packer, tax, libertarianism, Australia, liberty, free market, capitalism, Howzat, cricket, tax quote, channel nine, James Packer (Wealthy Person), peter costello, Ian Sinclair (Politician)

Id: EVIOmU3l0Zo

Length: 8min 11sec (491 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 18 2010

Reddit Comments

[u/k-h]

Between governments of all persuasions and people like him we have ended up with our media ownership concentrated in the hand of only a few people including one US citizen.

Way to go Australia.

[u/Ardinius]

Can't believe my tax money was spent on this prick's funeral.

[u/HospitableJohnDoe]

Like him or not, the man was sharp as a tack and had a fantastic a no bullshit attitude.

[u/vanmavus]

Bit of a hero in my opinion.

[u/nath1234]

Whinging about having it tough/hard done by and being persecuted while shirking his fair share of taxes with no qualms at all.

Sounds like all our billionaires - operating in a moral vacuum created by a belief in "free market solves all" and "taxation is a sin".

[u/Gamblor11]

Wow i didn't realise this post would cause a flame war.