Asylum Seekers and Offshore
Processing What policies will your party put in place to work collaboratively in the region to improve the conditions for asylum seekers in Indonesia and Malaysia and other places so that they do not have to seek refuge by engaging people smugglers?
We believe processing asylum seekers close to major airports will provide the safety and economic incentives to destroy the people smugglers business; is the most humane way of keeping families together (long separation periods will only create dysfunctional attitudes and destruction); liberate those who have suffered and turn back those who do not qualify, while saving Australia a further $5.6 billion.
Energy Affordability
What will your party do to ensure people on low and modest incomes and people living with additional disadvantage pay no more than 4 per cent of their income on the energy they need to live a decent life?
Disband the Carbon Tax and refund retrospective amounts already paid. Initiate new forms of power supply and provide pensioners with an additional $150 per fortnight, to commence with.
Disability
How will you ensure that people who are marginalised through poverty, or who are otherwise socially excluded, have access to the support they need from the NDIS?
NDIS will be extended to all age groups, currently not accessible by the Labor government to our over 65s. As a nation, we must ensure Australians are prioritised, especially when it comes to all benefits.
Alcohol Misuse
Does your party support reform of alcohol taxes to discourage harmful consumption, especially increasing taxes on alcoholic products with high volumetric content of alcohol?
Taxing or fining people is no way to resolve the root cause of people turning to drugs and alcohol. Better we reform the economy and give people cause to seek out opportunities. Many people have lost faith and hope and turning this around is what the Palmer United Party seeks to do with political reform; tax reform and judicial reform in enabling economic and social reform. To commence those initiatives we will be disbanding paid political lobbyists who seek out and receive priorities over the interests of Australians; eliminate the carbon tax and FBT; reduce income tax by 15% and make the first $10,000 a tax deduction on all mortgages; Palmer United intends to reduce red tape on businesses and recreate manufacturing thus providing new jobs and opportunities and this will reduce the current level of bankruptcies due to “economic conditions” created by both Liberal and Labor. Reduction if financial stress on families will reduce disharmony in families and reduce our 50% divorce rate.
Multiculturalism
Does your party have a plan for facilitating programs that build and strengthen understanding and reconciliation across cultures?
A plan is being developed and will be announced in due course.
Gambling
In government, would your party be willing to introduce some of the key measures suggested by the Productivity Commission to reduce problem gambling, including setting the maximum a gambler can lose on poker machines at $1 a button push, limiting the opening hours of poker machine venues and moving towards a system that allows gamblers to set enforceable limits (mandatory pre-commitment) on their losses?
Gambling is synonymous to a mindset of “the only way of winning” – in reforming our political system we believe we can give Australians hope again in being winners but measures do need to be taken to protect people, while not infringing on their rights. A mandatory pre-commitment is a good way to have people accept what they are prepared to lose.
Constitutional Recognition
What commitments do you and your party have to help raise public awareness of the need for the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians?
Recognizing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders “now in 2013” in our Constitution is no more than saying they are not Australians. Aboriginals have the highest mortality rate of any indigenous people in the world, neglected by both Liberal and Labor, they do not need to be segregated in Constitutional recognition but they do need the support, which has only ever been promised to them by both sides of government and that which Palmer United will provide in housing, jobs and benefits.
Climate Change
Will your party keep the price on carbon and commit itself to long-term investment in a green economy through renewable energy sources?
What will your party do to ensure that Australia reaches and exceeds its target for 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020?
We will provide incentives for new forms of power in reducing pollutants and we intend to take a national approach to the entire country in reinvigorating and creating new agricultural interests, while protecting our farmers, maximizing our resources and ensuring all the environment is protected.
