When Marx wrote “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce” he might as well have been talking about the recent spat between former Treasurer Peter Costello and the Albanese Government Treasurer, Jim Chalmers.

The Howard Government, with Costello as Treasurer, put $60.5 billion into the Future Fund, planning to meet in part financial obligations like the payment of public service pensions, but also broadly so that it would have money saved to help future taxpayers with the ageing challenge.

Ostensibly the Chalmers-Costello argument was about what the Future Fund should or should not invest in. The Labor Government wanted the Fund to invest in things like renewable energy and housing Costello argued this would be unnecessary and dangerous.

The Future Fund assets are now $230 billion and if there are any investments which meet Australia’s future needs renewable energy and housing are both massive imperatives. Such investments would help safeguard the many areas of the nation threatened by climate charge while simultaneously addressing massive inequities in the housing market.

But the spat is insignificant when considered in the context of the size of the Australian economy and derisory when compared, more importantly, with the size of other nations sovereign wealth funds.

In fact, we are in a situation similar to that of the UK when oil and gas were discovered in the North Sea – deposits to which the UK and Norway had claims. Norway invested the windfall in a sovereign wealth fund which has now grown to $1.5 trillion and which is benefitting the current population of six million Norwegians and future generations. In contrast the UK, under the Thatcher Government, squandered the windfall on tax cuts for the rich while a massive privatisation program resulted in substandard rail transport and a water industry which pollutes beaches and waterways and rewarded shareholders of companies such as Macquarie which loaded companies with debts and then siphoned it off as dividends.

The obsession with financialization of the economy and privatisation contributed to the growth of corrupt practices at central and local governments – exemplified by the UK’s Covid procurement processes which benefitted Tory insiders, who then received gongs and millions of pounds in contracts for providing sub-standard equipment now being disposed of in tips around the country.

Arguably this is a product of the fact that Britain has suffered from the same sort of resource curse which has affected many Third World countries.

But another similarity between the UK and Australia is also important – the presence of the Murdoch media. In the UK Murdoch and other similar media outlets relentlessly attack any progressive government policies. In Australia’s case the proposed resource rent proposals were viciously attacked by much of the media and the resource industry spent many millions attacking the policy – culminating in the amazing sight of Gina Rinehart on the back of a truck with a loudhailer attacking the proposed legislation.

Also, while Australia’s political failings have been relatively minor compared with those of Britain, when it comes to reaping the benefits of our national resources we are equally inept. Like Britain we squandered the financial benefits which should have flowed. With five times the population of Norway we have a fund – which is sadly not really a wealth fund at all – a fifth the size of Norway’s.

Comparisons with other resource rich countries are also instructive as Australia’s revenue from our LPG exports are around only half of what Qatar reaps from their LPG.

Sadly, it is too late to undo the damage the resource industries campaigns have done to Australia – and the complicity of their LNP supporters – but save us from Costello bleats about preventing the Future Fund from addressing the very real problems a national sovereign wealth fund should address and recognising the most tragic policy failure in Australian history.

The comparisons between Norway, Qatar and Australia were provided by the blog’s friend Norman Huon.