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?
The Greens believe in creating safe pathways for refugees, not forcing them to risk dangerous journey by boat at the hands of people smugglers. Our policy increases humanitarian intake to 30 000 and resettles assessed refugees directly from our immediate region as recommended by the Houston Panel. The Greens believe in ending offshore detention in Nauru and PNG and ensuring that no children are held in detention. We believe in supporting a coordinated regional response by boosting the capacity of the UNHCR in Indonesia and Malaysia to speed up refugee assessments and resettlements.
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?
Power bills have skyrocketed in recent years, mainly because of unnecessary investment in new poles and wires. The Greens’ independent Energy Savings Agency will fix Australia’s energy network and help you generate your own power. The ESA will help to bring down power bills by achieving $1 billion in energy savings every year, comprising avoided network investment and customer energy savings. In addition, a National Energy Efficiency Scheme will expand three existing state-based schemes to save energy and money at home and work.
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?
Disability policy and law is a matter of human rights, as well as individual health and well-being. There are a variety of medical, societal, environmental and cultural reasons why people’s individual abilities differ; society has a responsibility to accommodate this diversity and remove barriers to equitable access for all. The Greens believe it is a responsibility of the government to ensure a fair system, which requires access to free legal advice and advocacy where disability limits the individual’s capacity to put their case forward. Care and support for people with a disability should be accessible, individualised, self-directed and age-appropriate.
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?
Alcohol causes harm not only to the individual but also to the wider community. The costs to the community of alcohol abuse are enormous, and include negative health effects, traffic deaths, violence and domestic abuse. The Greens policy is that all alcoholic beverages are to be taxed based on alcohol content rather than value. The Greens also support putting stricter measures in place to ensure there are no advertising promotions of alcohol in sport, that targets young people, or encourages excessive drinking.
Multiculturalism
Does your party have a plan for facilitating programs that build and strengthen understanding and reconciliation across cultures?
All people, regardless of ethnicity, culture, religion, language or place of birth, have equal rights economically, socially and culturally. The Greens believe that Australia’s cultural plurality is a part of the nation’s identity and should be recognised as such.
The Greens plan includes:
- implementing successful models of racism prevention programs throughout the community
- developing policy that is based on wide and inclusive consultation
- supporting non-government refugee and migrant organisations to advocate on behalf of their members
- making cross-cultural training available for government staff
- funding community language studies including ESL.
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?
The Greens believe that gambling reforms are needed to reduce the negative impacts of problem gambling.
Under the Greens’ policy, all Australian poker machines will have the following limitations:
- A maximum bet limit of $1 per spin.
- A load up limit of $20.
- Jackpots of no more than $500.
- Staged introduction of these policy measures to 2017
Limiting machines to lower intensity is a simple reform that won’t affect most players, but will help problem gamblers limit their losses and the Greens policy will do so over a timeframe that is realistic, affordable and fair to industry.
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?
The Greens have a long-standing commitment to delivering Constitutional change to recognise Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders as Australia’s first peoples and their rights as owners, and their enduring connections between lands, water and culture of Australia, and believe it is a crucial step towards true Reconciliation.
The Greens are active in encouraging the public to get informed and read about what the constitutional change entails, to spread the word by talking about it with friends and family, and to make your voice count, by contacting your local MP or the Prime Minister to encourage them to stand up for full constitutional recognition of Australia’s first peoples.
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?
The Greens are the only party with a practical and useful approach to addressing the many challenges on climate. The cheapest way to decarbonise the electricity sector is to plan the transition early and build the right energy infrastructure in the right place at the right time.
Carbon pricing is an essential long-term policy, but it is in Australia’s interest to make strategic decisions about our energy future now. The Greens are proud authors of the carbon price legislation and are committed to maintaining it as part of Australia’s efforts to reduce our carbon emissions.
What will your party do to ensure that Australia reaches and exceeds its target for 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020?
Relying on 100% renewable energy is technically achievable according to a recent publication by the Australian Energy Market Operator. Only the Greens have a plan to make Australia the best place in the world to build clean energy but we need to encourage investment. To get there, the Greens’ Clean Energy Roadmap will:
- Increase the Renewable Energy Target to 90% by 2030.
- Increase Clean Energy Finance to $30 billion over ten years.
- Improve national electricity transmission planning to cost-effectively exploit our huge renewable energy resources.
This will make Australia a world leader in renewable energy and deliver significant gains to the economy by creating thousands of new clean energy jobs.
