Gina Rinehart reveals the five ways China’s communist government is better than Australia’s

Australia’s richest person says the nation is being outdone by communist-run China when it comes to policies on energy, the economy, defence, education and emissions.

Gina Rinehart, 70, admitted, in a keynote ­speech at an Institute of Public Affairs conference on the Gold Coast on Saturday night, that her verdict would likely ‘shock’ the audience.

But the mining magnate insisted China is ‘doing a better job than our government’.

She took aim at Australia’s ban on nuclear energy at a time when China has built 37 nuclear power plants in the past 10 years with a further 22 under construction, The Weekend Australian reported.

‘Which country’s government understands the importance of reliable electricity production and is building many coal-fired power stations and nuclear ones?’ Mrs Rinehart rhetorically asked the conference’.

‘The conclusion certainly shocks,’ the businesswoman added, saying that her evaluations on China were ‘not referring to the rights or responsibilities of the individual’.

The Australian government is currently pursuing its net-zero policy, which aims to cut CO2 emissions entirely by 2050.

Ms Rinehart claims the strategy could destroy Australia agricultural sector as it would cost the average agricultural station between $10.4million and $11.5million – plus another $650,000 to convert diesel generators to solar powered batteries. 

‘Sadly, very sadly, should the government pursue its policies, Australians will be without their outstanding agricultural industry,’ she said.

In a similar comparison, she asked the invite-only audience: ‘Which country’s government is running down its military, lessening its defence spending, causing a decrease in military personnel… lowering morale, while the other country’s government is doing the very opposite?’ 

Her blunt criticism of Australia’s military leaderships comes just days after the Albanese Government announced a $50billion plan to boost defences over the next decade.

The billionaire’s blows continued as she accused successive Australian governments of ‘lowering education standards, adding woke agendas, making students anxious with climate-induced global extinction propaganda, [and] teaching its students not to be proud of their country’.

Ms Rinehart contrasted Australia’s education system to China’s, which she said counteracts the dangers of ‘mal­iciously distorting, denigrating and negating a country’s history’.

Ms Rinehart drew her final comparison between Australia and China’s economic policies.

‘Which country’s government has introduced special economic zones, lowering government burdens, successfully introduced in thousands of other places around the world, to improve investment, development and raise living standards?,’ she asked the audience, which included fellow speakers Tony Abbott, senator Jacinta Price and Judith Sloan.

The ‘special economic zones’ refer to former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s decision in 1980 to provide concessional tax arrangements in five cities to rapidly grow the country’s economy.

Scott Hargreaves, executive director of the IPA, said Ms Rinehart’s controversial speech would be ‘an inspiration to all Australians wanting our leaders to put us back on a road to prosperity and urgently address the immediate challenges to national security’.