By Clive Palmer
All Australians have an inherent right to be treated equally under the law regardless of our race or means or where we live. We are one nation, with a diverse and rich background.
The heritage of all Australians, rich or poor, and that of our leaders, elected or not, is something we all must respect. It's the mark of an intellectual pygmy not to recognise that and to play the man, not the ball.
To classify people by their means, race, class or gender is not a substitute for robust discussion about ideas or solutions to pressing national problems. John F. Kennedy once said words to the effect that ''governments may come and go but ideas go on for ever''.
Yet Treasurer Wayne Swan has done just that. His attack on industry leaders who have led not by their words but by their courage and willingness to take action - to preserve the nation's standard of living, to protect workers and families, to expand our international trade, to reach out to our future in Asia and the world - is disappointing. As an elected national leader, the Treasurer needs to examine who he is, who he really represents, and what is in the best interest of all Australians.
In his essay in The Monthly attacking so-called ''billionaire activists'', including me, the Treasurer suggested he is fighting for workers' rights and to represent the workers in all areas of national government and policy. But as a member of Parliament and our Treasurer, he should not just be concerned with the rights of workers but the rights and needs of all Australians.
The Labor Party has lost respect for the rights and needs of individual Australians. So it is not surprising to see the Labor Treasurer singling out our national business leaders for attack. It is common ALP practice to attack others rather than to examine the shortcomings of Labor policy or Labor leaders.
It would be far better for the Treasurer to face the truth that he personally doesn't know how the economy works, that he is just a puppet of the faceless men who give directions on what to do and say. In last week's leadership ballot between the two robots, we saw the robot with the least respect of the Australian people being re-elected to lead the ALP - a clear demonstration that there is no leadership in the Labor Party and that it has contempt for the views and wishes of the people.
That the Treasurer takes instructions from the faceless people and/or his department, rather than reflecting the will of the people, is not democracy as I know it. Democracy means respecting the rights of all. It means respecting the verdict of all members of society and respecting the results of public polls and the will of the people.
The Treasurer attacks me as being anti-democratic but he hardly knows me, or who I am. Other than a five-minute encounter at breakfast one morning, he has never met me.
I would say that, with his limited ideas, he could not make an impression on a cushion.
If the Treasurer knew me, he would know that I stand ready to protect the precious democracy we value in this country. If he knew me, he would know that my family has a strong commitment to this country. That our family members served and died in the First World War and four of them served in the Second World War. They served in the Middle East and elsewhere to protect the democracy we know. Members of my family still suffer from their service in Vietnam, and my nephew served in the Australian Air Force at INTERFET headquarters in East Timor.
If the Treasurer knew me, he would know that I am a director of the John F. Kennedy library in the United States and one of the main benefactors of the Profile in Courage Awards that recognise outstanding government service and leadership. If he knew me, he would know that I am a member of the presidents' council of the Club of Madrid - a club that includes 57 former presidents, prime ministers and heads of state and which was set up for the purpose of creating good governance and democracy around the world. If he knew me, he would know that I sponsored the last conference of the Club of Madrid in New York, along with Microsoft and Google. That conference dealt with the Arab Spring and a shared society.
I truly believe in democracy and accepting the people's will. We have in this country respect for freedom of speech, the right of association, the right to vote, the equality of men and women and tolerance - tolerance towards all those who are different from ourselves, who come from different countries or races and have different means and wealth but are the fabric of the society that we all love.
We need to always respect the right of the public to know. The free press stands as the last sentry at the gate of freedom, protecting the public's right to know and the freedoms we all enjoy. What is far more important than how much money you have or any position you hold is the content of your character.
We need in our country more love and forgiveness and the spirit of reconciliation.
I forgive the Treasurer for his mistakes and I remind him that a mistake doesn't become an error until one refuses to correct it. Australians, however, will not forgive the Labor Party for destroying the wealth of this country and robbing our children of their opportunities.
Clive Palmer is a Queensland-based mining magnate.