I am fast becoming a fan of the Australian Greens under senator Richard Di Natale, who took over the leadership in May from Christine Milne.
Under Di Natale, the Greens quickly changed track and supported the Government’s fuel excise re-indexation (opposed by Labor).
The Greens then supported the Government’s Aged Pension reforms (opposed by Labor) whilst also advocating for fairer superannuation concessions (opposed by the Government).
The Greens then implemented as policy reform to Australia’s inefficient and inequitable housing tax concessions (opposed by the Government).
And it is the Greens that almost single handedly opposed the Government’s draconian and expensive metadata scheme.
For anyone still doubting the new found capability of the Greens, check-out Richard Di Natale’s address to the National Press Club yesterday (highlights above, full video here), in which he came across as a statesman, eminently balanced and sensible across a broad range of policy areas, and willing to support reform provided it is sensible.
Of most interest to me were Di Natale’s comments about Australia’s tax system, whereby he urged reform to the holy trinity of superannuation concessions, the capital gains tax discount, and negative gearing:
“I’ve written to the Prime Minister to set out a series of specific policies, fully costed by the PBO, that would increase revenue fairly. Let’s start by reforming our superannuation system so that it is no longer a tax haven for the wealthy. $10.16 billion over the next four years. Let’s end negative gearing for new housing investments – $4.6 billion. And let’s remove or reduce altogether capital gains tax discounts, which would bring anywhere between $2billion and $10 billion…
A fairer tax system allows us to pay for those things that we expect from our national governments: funding health care and education, aged care, public transport and infrastructure, social security, a decent childcare system, social services including domestic violence services…”
Di Natale also talks about the dutch disease that has destroyed the non-mining economy, and the dire need to develop new innovative industries:
“Our vision is for an innovative, entrepreneurial, cleaner and fairer economy – one that works for people and for the environment. Central to this vision is investing in education. It’s investing in R&D and making it easier to establish the industries of tomorrow…. These new horizon industries are the pathways to a high tech, jobs rich, pollution free future. Let’s embrace it…
[But] Australia can’t afford to have a grave yard of terrific ideas. We can’t afford for our best minds to leave our shores…. There is a strong role for government’s to play…”
With the major parties offering a choice between dumb and dumber, the Greens are now emerging as a genuine political alternative, thanks to the leadership of Di Natale and highly capable MPs like Scott Ludlam and Peter Whish-Wilson.
