Climate change buck stops at the ballot box

Senator Kerry Nettle and The Greens candidate for Macquarie, Carmel McCallum, inspect a rail line in the Macqaurie electorate. It's vital to climate change, our safety and our energy security that we get more freight off our roads and onto rail.

It is time to acknowledge that we all share a responsibility to vote for the party that has the plans and the commitment to seriously tackle climate change on Election Day Saturday 24 November and that party is the Greens.

The electorate are making it very clear to me that they are aware and concerned that John Howard is not acting decisively on climate change.


Last week Greens Senator Kerry Nettle visited the Macquarie electorate and spoke about the urgency of action on climate change.

Senator Nettle said that if Kevin Rudd and John Howard are serious about tackling climate change, they must set targets and plan to achieve them now - not in 40 years' time when it will be all too late.

The Greens are calling for emissions reductions of 30% below 1990 levels by 2020, and at least 80% by 2050. Any less than that is not enough.

In the electorate of Macquarie, it means improving our rail and bus connections between the city, regional towns and suburbs so that people aren’t forced to drive and freight can move off our roads onto rail.

It means supporting agriculture to adapt to a drying climate.Our Sun Fund will transfer the $300 million that the Federal Government currently spends on subsidies for fossil fuels across to renewable energy. This investment in research, development, commercialisation of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies will put Australia back at the forefront of innovation.

The impacts of not addressing climate change include extinction of over one-third of the world’s species, heat waves, frequent destructive storms, melting glaciers and rising seas. The climate change buck cannot be passed on; it rests with the vote of every Macquarie voter at the ballot box this federal election.

Those that acknowledge they have a responsibility towards future generations in Macquarie will be voting Green. more..

Macquarie Greens Preference Recommendations

The Greens in Macquarie will recommend voters preference the ALP over the Liberals in the seat of Macquarie and the Greens in NSW have placed the Liberal/National Party Coalition last in their Senate preferences as a clear statement of intent to change the government and remove Coalition control of the Senate.

Greens Candidate for Macquarie, Carmel McCallum said "The Greens in Macquarie are united in our desire to see a change of government and we are also working hard to see more Greens elected to the Senate to end the government control of the Senate.

"John Howard's Government has embroiled Australia in the devastating invasion and occupation of Iraq, has let down rural Australia through its refusal to take climate change and the drought seriously and undermined the working rights of all Australians through its extreme WorkChoices laws. For all these reasons and more, The Greens in Macquarie are recommending voters put John Howard's Coalition third last in the House of Representatives. Greens preferences in the Senate will place the Coalition last if voters vote 1 Green above the line.

"Retaining a Senate seat in NSW will be difficult but our message of serious action on climate change, building a fairer Australia by investing in public health and public education, and our commitment to being a positive force in the Senate is popular with the electorate. This gives us every chance to continue our successes on polling day.

“Our recommended order of preferences on the House of Representatives ballot is: 1 Carmel McCallum Greens, 2 Tim Williams Independent, 3 Bob Debus Australian Labor Party, 4 Charles Liptak Family First, 5 Robert Gifford Christian Democratic Party, , 6 Kerry Bartlett Liberal Party, 7 Kirk Fletcher Liberty and Democracy Party, 8 Michael Segedin Citizens Electoral Council.”

“However, our recommendations are just that – a recommendation. Voters can decide for themselves who they preference in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the Senate, if voters choose to vote ‘above the line’ in the Senate then The Greens choice of preferences will be followed, but voters can choose to vote ‘below the line’ to have their own choices recorded.”

“Its also important that voters realise that voting for the Greens is not a wasted one. When votes are counted, if the Greens candidate doesn’t win a majority of votes, your vote goes to your next choice. A large vote for the Greens will show the electorate wants something better than the tired policies of the Coalition and the “Howard Lite” policies of Labor.”

Thursday 8 November 2007 more..

Homelessness

The most embarrassing statistic in Australia’s recent history must be that the number of people below the poverty line has increased from 7.6% in 1996 to 10% now.

This gut-wrenching figure occurs during a time when the Howard Government is pandering to the mining and uranium industries and subsidising the fossil fuel extraction industries to the tune of $10 billion every year, whilst an insignificant amount is being spent on providing affordable housing.

And for most of this year we have been subjected to an election campaign dripping in extravagance and replete with Coalition propaganda dressed up as government information, costing us up to $1million per day.

Both the Coalition and Labor have announced that they will cut tax in similar amounts around $33-34 billion, over the next three years. This brings the total cost of tax cuts announced in the last three years to $100 billion.

The gap between rich and poor in Australia is growing. One in ten Australians struggle to make ends meet. The Greens have been calling for an increase in the aged pension of $60 per fortnight which has been costed at $3 billion per year. The Greens want to scrap the tax cuts to incomes over $100,000, and divert this money to pension increases.



Despite the fact that this is less than half the cost of next year's tax cuts, the Government and Labor have dismissed such a call as unaffordable.

The Greens believe that older people have the right to live with dignity, and that the skills and life experience of older people benefit the whole community.

So while income earners above $200,000 will get more than $6,650 in their pockets each year, pensioners and people on benefits will receive virtually nothing extra, pittance, because the CPI is so low, being independently calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The recent intervention in the Northern Territory and the removal of the Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) – the main or only source of earned income for indigenous people in most of those areas.

The loss of CDEP jobs and income will force those people to move to larger towns to find work, exacerbating the housing shortage in those areas and leading to still more homelessness. The quarantining of all benefits, including returned service and defence pensions, by 50% for all those in the targeted areas of the NT is another astounding removal of civil rights.

As the Anti-Discrimination Act was suspended in order to pass these new laws and legislation amendments, questions must remain as to the rights of the First People of this land, and especially those in the NT.

This may sound as if it is an aside, but it still sets a precedent, and could be adapted to states through legal expertise. Business managers appointed from the private sector, will be paid to run the new systems at $160,000. This could be better spent anywhere in Australia providing better conditions and support for Indigenous people, to promote self-determination, education and early intervention support.

There are strong indications that the removal of the CDEP from regions across all states and territories from 1st July, 2007, and 18th August, 2007 for the federal intervention, will have a ‘homeless’ effect on all those so affected, as they are forced away from family and support systems. This will also reduce the opportunities for artists, involved in production and sale, and will also reduce participation in customary wildlife harvesting, with CDEP creating 400 full-time rangers in the NT.

The Supported Accommodation Assistance Program is underfunded, having had a reduction of $2.3 billion over the last ten years. It needs 30% more of their current funding to provide adequate accommodation assistance to those in need.

So far there has not been one housing policy put forward by either of the older parties, which would even assist in dealing with the average of 100,000 homeless people seeking shelter each night. They can’t even begin to imagine being able to build a house on surplus Commonwealth and defence or state-held land.

Homeless families have increased by 30% over the last five years, according to the St Vincent de Paul Society. Recently the Society’s Dr. John Falzon has reported that families are living in cars, trying to hold down jobs and keep children in school, after mortgage foreclosures or being unable to find affordable rentable housing.

Dr. Falzon said, “It is absolutely unacceptable that Australian families are denied this fundamental human right- to have a roof over their heads” and he quoted that 345,000 families are paying more than $74 a week in rent more than they can afford. Australia has a national debt of $41 billion, including mortgages and credit card debt. This can’t be sustained.
Foreclosures and repossessions over the last couple of years, being greatest in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, are escalating, and legislation and adequate checks against no-doc loan companies and other high risk lenders are long overdue.

With a possible impending interest rise in November, there will be an expected increase in families losing their homes.

In a Commonwealth report prepared by the Department of Health and Ageing, and released in 2006, homelessness is described as “more than houseless”, and

“includes concepts such as isolation, the inadequacy of facilities and marginalisation. The face of the homeless person has changed overtime…..no longer only the face of the older man,….a loner”

Increasingly, “young people, women, families and indigenous people are among the homeless.” The Report goes on to say that “drug abuse (including alcohol), social isolation and mental disorders are plausible consequences as well as causes of homelessness…..that constant fear, danger and victimisation may contribute to people becoming emotionally distressed…….Research evidence also indicates that effective treatment for people with psychosis early in their illness can prevent homelessness.”

There are a variety of reasons for homelessness in older people, including death of a partner, relationship breakdown, alcohol dependence, gambling disorders, psychological and physical disorders, problems with the housing, and rising rents as concentric development takes place in cities and large regional centres. Gambling and depression can follow the loss of a secure place to live.

Women and children are being forced, as a result of domestic violence, to seek safety in refuges, once the mother feels able to initiate the move away from the compromised situation.

In another study (Martijn and Sharpe, 2005, Pathways to youth homelessness), on homeless youth, it has been found that trauma, either experienced or witnessed, and family breakup, are causal for many, and once homeless, there is an increase in psychological diagnoses, including drug and alcohol disorders. Crime is virtually absent prior to homelessness, but is adapted as part of their survival strategy and to fund drug and alcohol habits.

The removal of homeless people during such events as APEC and the 2000 Olympics, both willingly and against their will, and once again including Indigenous people, is another replication of our continuation of displacement of people from their ‘homes’, be they boxes in railway access tunnels, or the steps of the Art Gallery.

A number of factors contribute to this ever-increasing problem:

• A lack of early intervention and recognition of risk factors predisposing people to homelessness. For example, school counsellors may be adequately skilled to drug and alcohol problems, early trauma and abuse histories and psychological disorders. Might I add, School Chaplains would not necessarily have the skills required to make this assessment.

• One or more of any pre-disposing factors such as drug or alcohol-dependency, gambling addiction, loss of a loved one, domestic violence, physical or mental disability, including dementia, relationship breakdown or death of a relative. Obviously, a combination of these factors adds to the probability of predisposing factors for people to become homeless.

• The lack of low-cost housing, because of continuing gentrification, such as in Kings Cross and other previously depressed suburbs, and the growing number of people renting rather than buying, accompanied by lack of affordability, discrimination, lack of legislative protection against unfair rent increases, lack of legislation to ensure minimum housing standards, and the operation of unregulated tenancy databases. This applies across the board for youth, families and older people.

• A lack of transparency, accountability and monitoring of all areas associated with homelessness, with both State and Federal governments passing the buck and allowing people to fall through the gaps, while there is doubling-up of bureaucracy and ineffective planning and funding, once again, across the board.

• A lack of access to mainstream welfare systems, or a feeling that these services are unwelcoming and inappropriate.

• The casualisation of the labour force, and the general reduction of wages for low income earners since the introduction of WorkChoices by the Howard Coalition government.

• The Richmond Report and the Burdekin Report, along with Breaking the Silence and many other similar reports, recently The Little Children are Sacred Report in the NT, being placed on the shelf, with recommendations being ignored.

There is an obvious need to increase specialised support in all areas, along with assessments of declining conditions for a large number of homeless people.

Factors predisposing people to becoming a part of the increasing number of homeless and poor:

• 1 in 15 children in NSW are reported to DOCS. These are the ‘at risk’ children who are most liable to become homeless in the future.
• The rise of heroin on the streets with the huge crop from Afghanistan and Burma. The most innovative thinking of any government recently was that the US are thinking of purchasing the Afghanistan crop to supply their pharmaceutical opiate needs.
• The drought
• The reduced contribution of government funding to universities and State TAFE system which is much less costly to run than the proposed an unnecessary federally-funded system.

The lack of tenure with WorkChoices for many low-income Australians.

GREENS POLICY SOLUTIONS
A Homelessness strategy to co-ordinate an effective government response to homelessness.

• The housing needs of low income Australians should be met through the provision of a mix of affordable options, including community housing, public housing, shared equity with social housing providers and private low rental housing.
• Public participation in the development of public and community housing, including planning and assessment of development proposals, is a right, the exercise of which should be encouraged by planning authorities.
• The housing needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders needs to be attended urgently.
• A minimum of 20% low-cost and public housing in all new developments would be mandatory.
• Governments should be providing sufficient public and community housing to meet current and projected need, by continuing to fill the gaps through which vulnerable people are falling, and by providing housing assistance where necessary.
• Waiting lists for public housing would be minimised.
• Coordination and collaboration must be provided through existing social service system.
• Fund homeless services such as SAAP adequately from the budget surplus increasing funds by 30% from the budget surplus.
• Invest in public and social housing for low income families.
• Increase public and private investment in affordable housing through equitable incentives via Tax incentives and government subsidies.
• Ensure the provision of adequate support services to help people to stay in affordable housing.

The Greens believe that there must be participation of tenants and homeless persons in decisions regarding their housing services.

Thank God for the Salvos, St. Vincent de Paul, Mission Australia, Anglicare, The Brotherhood of St. Laurence, the Uniting Church and the many other charity organisations, and their associated subsidiaries. Where would the state of our nation be without them? A recent study on poverty conducted in collaboration by some of these groups, shows that some parents living below the poverty line are going without food, in order that they feed their children. Fifty percent have no access to dental treatment, essential to good health and well-being.

Where is the trickle-down that is continually being promised? We are fast becoming a third world economy, where our income depends on extractive industry and services. This is why we have a low unemployment rate, but where will this lead Australia when the resource boom stops and third world nations set mandatory targets, develop alternative truly renewable forms of energy production and decrease their current rapid growth?

In the mean time, without a concerted effort to look after our own residents, we will continue down the path of demise for a growing proportion of our children, giving them little hope for the future.

The gap between rich and poor in Australia is growing. One in ten Australians struggle to make ends meet. I think, that the fact that we have such a large number of people who are homeless, along with our treatment of our Indigenous people, is disgraceful and shameful, and it’s high time that we dealt with the needs of the residents of our country who are battling to survive. We need funding for public hospitals, schools and affordable housing not election sweeteners aimed at marginal seats.

My heart is breaking and tears fall silently while any of my fellow Australians suffer through rejection and neglect. We should all be ashamed.

Speech to the Supported Accomodation Assistance Program, Penrith, 23 October more..

Tax cuts unfair and reckless

The Coalition’s announcement that they will hand out $34 billion in tax cuts over 3 years is unfair to the electorate of Macquarie and reckless.

Once again we see the blatant unfairness of John Howard’s Coalition Government. John Howard is proposing to spend Australian’s surplus on cutting tax rates, especially for high income earners, whilst neglecting investment in services and programs that will make a real difference.

Between 20-25% of households in the Macquarie electorate have a weekly household income of less than $600. Better health care, dental care and raises in pensions and benefits would make for a fairer society than tax cuts will.

Almost a quarter of all Macquarie citizens are aged between 5-24 years old, the key years for gaining an education. It is reckless to continue the neglect of our education system. We are lowest on the list of the 30 OECD countries in terms of our investment in early childhood education and 23rd lowest in our total public expenditure on education.

The Greens have called for a $7 billion injection of federal money to bring government spending on education in Australia up to the OECD average.

It is reckless to throw away our surplus on tax cuts when the Blue Mountains is already starting to feel the effects of climate change in the form of more hot days, bushfires, droughts and intense storms.

We need to invest in the research, development, commercialisation of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies that will put Australia back at the forefront of innovation.

We need sustained investment in areas which we know are going to make differences in people's lives. That is the fair and reasonable course of action. It is the action that the Greens will take.

19 October 2007 more..

Greens Macquarie election campaign - major issues

I'm glad that the Federal election has been finally announced for Saturday, 24th November.

I'm looking forward to the challenge of the federal election campaign, and especially to the promotion of The Greens policies, which are compassionate and forward-thinking.

The big issues for the Macquarie electorate include genuine policies for climate change, WorkChoices, education and better care for people including carers, pensioners and those in need of health services.


The Australian Greens will replace abolish Australian Workplace Agreements and protect penalty rates.

We have called for a $7 billion injection of federal money to bring government spending on education in Australia up to the OECD average.

The Greens will develop a nationally coordinated strategy that offers increased support for Australia's 2.6 million Carers.

The Australian Greens will raise aged pensions by $30 per week funded by scrapping the tax cut for those earning over $75,000 per year announced in this year's Federal budget.

We will reallocate the $3.5 billion of health funds going to private insurance companies to public health and hospitals.

It’s vitally important that we re-elect NSW Senator Kerry Nettle to rescue the Senate from control of the major parties. The Greens act as a brake on both the major parties. A change of Government won't be enough. We need The Greens in the Senate to keep the major parties honest on climate change and workers rights.

Greens Leader Bob Brown agrees. He says "The Greens have never been better prepared and will run the strongest election campaign ever as Australia's third political party. People are fed up with the Rudd-Howard 'me-tooism' have the Greens to vote for. I have never felt more confident."

15 October 2007 more..

Federal Labor funding for road bypass is irresponsible

The announcement by Shadow Minister for Transport, Roads and Tourism, Martin Ferguson, that a Rudd Labor government will spend $200 million building a road bypass around Mt Victoria and River Lett Hill to speed up heavy trucks is premature and economically, socially and environmentally irresponsible.

The ALP are planning to spend $200 million on a road before they've even begun Kevin Rudd's promised study of the long-term transport needs for the Central West.

Whilst we support minor safety upgrades of road black spots, in this era of climate change and increasing oil prices we should be funding rail not roads .


Rudd's promised study would find that the price of oil is rising, and will continue to rise. Recently crude oil prices reached $US80 a barrel - three times the price of five years ago.

The study should also draw on the CSIRO's report 'Climate Change in Australia', released this week. This report says 'unless the basic cause - globally increasing greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels - is dealt with, periods of water shortage will become more frequent and severe'.

Rail is more environmentally and economically more efficient because it uses one third of the diesel to move freight than trucks. And rail is twenty times safer than trucks to move freight.

We believe sensible investment in rail passing loops on the Blue Mountains and between Bathurst and Orange, and re-alignments of the track between Lithgow and Orange, would give trains a clear run, enabling freight heading to port or markets to meet deadline delivery schedules and making passenger rail travel times competitive with road.

Moving freight by rail is the cleaner, greener and safer option. The Greens will cut greenhouse gas emissions and restore the rural rail network.


5 October 2007 more..

A well funded, independent ABC is critical to our democracy

I need to declare a conflict of interest. I am addicted to the ABC, and it is the ABC that is responsible for my becoming more aware, politically speaking.

It would be almost impossible for anyone to listen to ABC radio, either local or national, and not become more passionate about our national and state conditions, our world reputation, and our culture and society in general.

Sometimes it is just impossible to resist calling in and putting in my two bob’s worth. With presenters like John Cleary, who is brilliant as a facilitator and interviewer, with a bounty of knowledge and empathy, and James Valentine with his brand of tongue-in-cheek satire and cheeky intellect, the ABC offers a variety of choices for all tastes.

The ABC is one of the most respected institutions in Australia and has set an example for responsible journalism and innovative entertainment. A well funded, independent ABC is critical to our democracy.


The ABC could be considered to be a member of our families, as about 73% of Australians access an ABC service each week. This, sadly, has actually decreased from 86% in 1990.

There are now 5 million downloads a month including radio and television programs, of which the most popular is The Chasers’ War on Everything. Last week’s record ratings for the show was testimony to its appeal across a broad spectrum of viewers. It’s shows such as these which bring new viewers, who become attached, to the folds of the ABC, and have done through the decades.

The Greens policy requires that both ABC and SBS be governed by independent boards, with members being appointed on their merit and independence, through a transparent process, subject to approval by the Parliament, and including the re-instatement of the staff-appointed position on the Board.

The Greens believe that public ownership of essential communications infrastructure is in the best interests of society, and so that public broadcasting is accessible to all Australians, this should not be compromised. Network neutrality is important for an open internet, so that the ABC continues to be accessible.

Australia must have an independent regulatory framework for media and communications, ensuring diversity of opinion and ownership of media across Australia. ABC local and regional radio fills an invaluable role in this area since the loss of diversity as a result of cross-media legislation passed by the current government.

The Greens intend the ABC and SBS to be public broadcasters which are leaders in independent news, analysis and innovative programming and delivery, including high quality Australian content, with Australian film, television and new media sectors which are dynamic and innovative.

Media Watch provides a valuable input, not only for non-public media, but for the ABC as well, demonstrating its endeavour to maintain the integrity of the ABC Charter.

Among the changes in the latest edition of the ABC Editorial Policies is the board’s decision to state fundamentals in the preamble:

‘…The board is clear that the requirement of impartiality… does not oblige the ABC to be resolutely neutral on every issue. As an Australian public broadcaster, the ABC is committed to fundamental democratic principles including the rule of law, freedom of speech and religion, parliamentary democracy and equal opportunity. The ABC is not – nor can it be – detached from these fundamental democratic principles… It is through the prism of these values that the ABC regards the world.’

For the ABC to be a part of this ground-breaking movement ahead, continuing to lead the way in professionalism and responsible journalism, adequate funding must be forthcoming. The Greens will make funding to SBS and the ABC comparable to current per capita funding models for public broadcasting in the United Kingdom, which is currently three times the Australian per capita funding.

Although the funding to the ABC has increased, to around $850 million, in real terms, it has actually only increased by 3.28%, since 1990, when adjusted for inflation, according to The Friends Bulletin. This is the second lowest funding for public broadcasters throughout the world, and is only at a rate of 10.2 cents per day (per head). That’s minimal growth on the 8 cents a day of 1988 when you consider the increase of services and broadcast media.

ABC TV costs 36% of Australian commercial TV and 40% of Australian commercial radio. With limited funds and resources, the ABC provides an amazing service.

The recent dismantling of the Natural History Unit of production, almost under cover of night, is of concern. The $30 million of funding in the May 2007 budget ($10 million over three years) has been flagged to go to outsourced commercial production, (with Kim Dalton, Director of ABC TV endorsing this policy direction). This would be the first stage of annihilation, for internal production, and a sad outcome based on the ABC’s history of achievement.

The Greens would increase funding for research into the opportunities for Australian content and utilisation of new digital media, reflecting geographical and cultural diversity. Equitable access for all Australians is, once again, essential.

The Greens do not endorse advertising for SBS or the ABC. To maintain independence, diversity in content and format, and self-analysis without interference, advertising would have to be kept out of the equation. It almost goes without saying that pecuniary interest would lead to threats to loss of funding if public broadcasting is dependent on corporate finance. The expectation of the taxpayers, on the other hand, leads to greater transparency and integral devotion to the task.

In the words of Quentin Dempster, “Public broadcasters view their audiences as citizens in a democracy, to be informed, engaged and challenged through innovative, high quality and comprehensive programming, not as consumers to be delivered up to advertisers.”

One big idea is that a national public broadcaster is a necessary part of Australian culture, democracy and civil society. The ABC has evolved over several generations. The ABC is an aspect of the personality of this country. The proof of this is not just that it is beloved, but also that it is at times beleaguered. I feel like a trustee, with a temporary share of the responsibility for something bigger than any person, or group, or era. It is a feeling that daunts, but also nourishes.

Another big idea is that, in a democracy, public power that is not accountable is not legitimate. Media wield public power. Unless accountable, unless legitimate, media will not be trusted. If media are not trusted, a participatory democracy weakens.

Speech to the Friends of the ABC, 22 September more..