Barnaby discovers Singapore
One Nation's Barnaby Joyce is suddenly a spruiker for Singapore's economic miracle.
While celebrating One Nation's victory in Farrer at the weekend, Barnaby Joyce has been spruiking for Singapore's five decade economic miracle. He may not like the fine print.
Barnaby Joyce’s jubilant media performances this week, after One Nation’s victory in Farrer have had a theme. Barnaby is suddenly a spruiker for Singagpore.
Check out our YouTube video and catch Barnaby in action
Turns out, I agree with Barnaby - possibly for the first time in my life.
Singapore is a miracle. And it’s worth looking at how the miracle happened.
In the 1960s Singapore was poorer than most of its region and plagued by ethnic violence. In 2026, by many measures, it’s the richest nation on the planet. It’s easily the richest place in the Asia Pacific - way ahead of Australia at number 2.
Barnaby’s impressed by Singapore’s miracle but I doubt he’s read the fine print.
He’d be horrified by most of its best bits.
Singapore’s staggering economic transformation was driven by a highly interventionist government. It’s been rigidly directed from the top and involves massive government investment vehicles. Sure, big banks, big business get a warm welcome and love the low taxes. But Singapore’s reality is far more textured and interesting.
Singapore offers a quasi-socialist housing system underpinned by a fair amount of social engineering. Among other things, it means that even the poorest Singaporeans aren’t likely to face the kind of housing precarity that’s common in Australia. More than 70% of Singaporeans still live in HDB flats - built by the government and purchased under a complex subsidy system.
Singapore’s health and education systems beat Australia’s by most measures.
Singapore’s great free-market ambassadors in Australia make a lot of the country’s low income and company tax rates - and they’re for real.
But Singapore's new One Nation BFF, probably hasn't noticed that one of his beloved gas guzzling utes, would cost him around $100,000 in fees, BEFORE he buys the car and gets it registered. There are heavy road-user charges too.
Alcohol prices might shock Barnaby as well.
Teaching is considered a prestige job in Singapore. Pay is comparable to Australia but the benefits are significant in housing and healthcare. And respect underpins both idea of education and the profession of teaching.
The likely deal-breaker for Barnaby’s new Singapore romance is the island's fierce defence of science - including the scientific reality of human-induced climate change. Sure, it’s gonna be complicated achieving nett zero on a tiny island. But Singapore’s is a fact-based government. They even introduced Asia’s first carbon tax.
What say you Barnaby?