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Former prime minister John Howard says he believes in competitive capitalists and a free enterprise system, one where you get to keep the returns from your hard work.
The nation’s second longest-serving prime minister made the comments in his opening speech at Ray White’s recent Connect 2018 conference on the Gold Coast.
Mr Howard called himself an “unreformed believer” in competitive capitalism.
“I aspire for people to make a lot of money and pay their taxes,” Mr Howard said.
Mr Howard also made it clear that he is not a supporter of envy taxes.
“There are gaps between the rich and the poor, and some people need a safety net, but the gap is less marked in this country as it is in other countries.
“We have a much larger middle class and private home ownership which is much higher much earlier.”
He said that the real estate industry should be “very proud” of that.
“We will always have the challenge of economic change and economic reform.
“Keep striving towards the finishing line, but keep running or else your competitors will surge past you.”
Mr Howard lauded the attendees at the conference.
“I like speaking to gatherings like this where there’s a remarkable collection of small and not-so-small business owners who create their own destiny.”
He said that there are leadership commonalities in politics and business.
“The most important element in leadership to achieve success was that he or she had to believe in something and have strong beliefs and strong values.
“So often I hear that ‘he’s not a bad bloke but I don’t like what he stands for’, so always let your business employees know what you believe in.
“Leaders must have a clear set of values and that is absolutely fundamental.”
He also said that while mistakes are inevitable, it’s important to get the big things right.
“I took a few decisions in my time that were not popular and I know that the most unpopular thing I did was to commit the forces to military operations in Iraq.
“It’s still unpopular today, but my instinct was that it was the right thing and an important thing to do.
“That is one of the most difficult parts of leadership — to get the balance right between listening and leading.”
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