Gerard Rennick

Rennick has used his background in finance to advocate for tax reform. He called for profits in Australia to be taxed at the same rate as profits of foreign owned entities. He claims that this will fund cuts to both payroll tax (even though this is a state based tax) and income tax.[10]

Rennick has been called a "right wing climate denialist"[11], and has repeatedly accused the Australian government's Bureau of Meteorology of falsifying climate data.[12] He accused the Bureau of Meteorology of tampering with climate data to "perpetuate global warming hysteria".[5] On 12 November, during the 2019 New South Wales bushfires, Rennick claimed that the Bureau did not follow proper processes when recording statistical data. In that same interview, Rennick admitted he had not yet met with the BoM, claiming he would get to that "eventually".[13] Rennick has subsequently claimed that he has now read the independent peer review panel findings but has not confirmed if he has met with BoM.[14]

Rennick has questioned scientists in the media and at Senate estimates on scientific theory and their records, including charges that they have destroyed records. It has lead to instances where Rennick has had to be corrected on basic misunderstandings of some scientific theory.[15][11] He has leveled charges during that questioning that the Bureau has ignored scientific advice and accused them of destroying records and a lack of commitment to scientific accuracy. Many of these questions were taken on notice,[16] while "BOM CEO Andrew Johnson indicate[d], politely and not in so many words, [he has] no idea what [he is] talking about".[17]

Rennick has challenged BoM on the margin of error in their thermometers, which according to the independent panel's findings, should be reduced from ±0.5°C to ±0.2°C.[18] The BoM ignored Rennick's queries about a lack of implementation of procedures recommended by the 2011 review, confirming its margin of error remains more than double that suggested by the review panel.[19]

On 13 November 2019 Rennick called superannuation a "cancer", stating in his speech; "Millions of dollars gets sucked out of the pockets of the battlers in the bush and sent to the blowhards in Sydney and Melbourne to manage, all for a small cost of around $37 billion a year in management fees." He said union-linked industry super funds were "laughing all the way to the bank" while no money was reinvested in regional areas. In the same speech he accused the Labor party of selling regional Australia "down the toilet" during the Hawke-Keating era through their globalist, privatisation agenda - selling off such government owned corporations as Qantas and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "Now regional Australia has to pay more for flying regionally than it costs to fly overseas...The CBA, like every other bank in this country, became obsessed with housing rather than driving business and investment, especially in the regions."[20][21]

He called Labor's policy of providing free childcare to all 3 year olds in Australia a conspiracy "to strengthen the role the state has in raising a child at the expense of parents."[22] Rennick claimed that "subject to financial considerations, if we can leave children at home with at least one parent, that's something worth striving for," but he suggested that "early childhood education is... not the best way to invest in our future".[23]

Rennick has advocated for closer ties with Russia because "they're part of the West; they drink, they're Christians, they play soccer, they're Caucasian". Rennick has called for deescalating tensions with Vladimir Putin and Russia; "They are a genuine superpower and it’s not in the world’s interest to have antagonistic relations with superpowers...There’s a bigger picture here and it is world peace." [24]

Rennick raised doubts that Russia was behind the Skripal chemical weapons attack in the United Kingdom.[25]

Rennick is a non-interventionist and has spoken out against regime change wars. He outlined his position clearly during his maiden speech.[26]

Rennick has compared Australia's immigration policy to farmers who "overstock [their] paddock", and has claimed that immigration was more damaging to Australia's environment than carbon pollution. He also wants a reduction in the number of temporary visa holders in Australia which numbers over 2 million.[27][28]

Rennick has been a long term advocate for reforming the federation; government building and retaining profit making infrastructure such as dams, ports and electricity power plants; sustainable immigration to ensure quality of life for all Australians; higher taxes on profits sent offshore; and he has called on universities to underwrite the costs of education.[28]

Rennick opposes the closing of maternity wards by the state government in regional Queensland.[29][30][31]

He also spoke about having a constitutional convention to clearly define and separate the responsibilities of the Federal and State Governments in the federation - "It is time for COAG to hold a constitutional convention to clearly define and separate these responsibilities with proposed changes put to a referendum."[32]

Rennick is also opposed to the adoption of poker machines in the state of Queensland. He has accused the state government of being "utterly incompetent and morally corrupt". [31]