ANCPER,
Thanks for your post, and spot on
Wikipedia.
"In
economics (see
public choice theory),
rent-seeking is spending wealth on political lobbying to increase one's share of existing wealth without creating wealth. The effects of rent-seeking are reduced economic efficiency through poor
allocation of resources, reduced wealth creation, lost government revenue, increased income inequality,
[1] and national decline.
Current studies of rent-seeking focus on the
manipulation of regulatory agencies to gain
monopolistic advantages in the market while imposing disadvantages on competitors. The term itself derives, however, from the far older practice of gaining a portion of production through ownership or control of land".
About sums up what is happening and has happened in Australia.