Australians concerned about the future of their nation are worried by reports that the Australian government may sell Fraser Island.  Or swap it to the likes of the IMF and World Bank in exchange for Australia's enormous national debt, which amounts to the same thing.

"ESTES PARK, Colerado:- At the edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park last week, some of the world's most powerful bankers advanced a bold new strategy for dealing with environmental degradation in the Third World.  Their plan is to use the immense debts owed by impoverished countries to pressure them into taking steps to conserve their threatened environments.

"Dubbed a "debt-for-nature-swap", the plan calls for outside forces to pay off parts of a targetted country's outstanding debts in exchange for concessions to protect natural regions...

"... Among those at the Colorado conference backing the new approach to Third World ecology were David Rockefeller of the chase Manhattan Bank and Edmund de Rothschild of the European banking empire."

Anyone surprised that Australia might be one of the "impoverished countries" or could be considered part of the "Third World" may like to check the figures quoted from the CIA Factbook in this report on Australia's monetary system.
After Mexico and Brazil Australia is, per head, the largest debtor nation on Earth!

As far back as June 1994 the Maryborough (Queensland) Chronicle reported that a conference was held on Fraser Island to privatise Australian National Parks.  The excuse quoted was:

"Governments cannot meet the public's expectations and demands of recreation reserves, national parks and endangered species protection so it is time for the private sector to take a look...

"...The private sector can put dollars into park management provided there is a return on that investment."

On the 23rd of May 2000, Queensland Senator Len Harris issued a press release headed:

OVERSEAS DEBT FOR NATURAL HERITAGE SWAP OFFICIAL

The press release said in part:

"The cat is out of the world heritage bag - here comes the World Bank's debt swap for our so-called world heritage areas.  These vast tracts of North Queensland are in the process of being officially valued by none other than the chairman of the Wet Tropics Management Authority, Tor Hundloe in conjunction with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.  Also an economist, Mr. Hundloe published his comments in the Courier Mail in April giving yet the strongest signs of the World Bank utilising our natural resources to help pay off our staggering $200 billion overseas debt.  Entry fees are being proposed for visitors to areas defined as World Heritage or of high conservation and cultural heritage value...

"... Ten years ago former Queensland corruption inquiry head, Tony Fitzgerald was appointed as head of an inquiry into the future use of Fraser Island.  For nearly a century responsible logging and mining practices had kept the local economy afloat providing quality building timber and high-value minerals from sand mining.  This harvesting of natural resources had left the island's ecology and economy in such good shape it was readily accepted as a world heritage area.

"These commodities are now being imported at great cost to ordinary Australians.  Hundloe was involved in the controversial listing, at the time preparing a valuation of the island's natural resources."

Feel free to phone senator Harris's office on 1800 638 820 to request the full copy of his press releases.

In Issue 26 of the National Interest newspaper, freedom campaigner Tony Pitt writes:

"The government is moving to sell our last assets of any value...

"... They plan to sell our world heritage areas to expunge part of the national debt they should never have incurred.  Their fiscal management shows that the politicians and parties over the past 20 years have been incapable of managing our affairs in our best interests."

You may feel that the reports quoted above provide less than concrete evidence of the Australian government's intentions.  That's true.  But if you were considering commiting treason, wouldn't you want to keep your intentions secret?

Have you heard of any more likely government plans for finding the $200 billion plus needed to get Australia out of debt?

Paragraph One of the Australian Constitution prohibits the sale or dissolution of the Commonwealth.  But already in 2002 we have witnessed the government attempting to declare Australia's offshore islands to be not part of Australia as far as refugees and asylum seekers are concerned.  The same government had already sold off some of the common wealth of all Australians when it sold the profitable Commonwealth Bank and Telstra.

Will Fraser Island be next?  Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, the Friends of Fraser Inc. campaigns against government mismanagement of the Island.