2020-10-16
Did you know that in the Italian city of Bologna, two out of every three workers is a member of a co-operative? Bologna’s co-operatives provide vital social services like housing, early childhood education and aged care in a way that keeps service provision in the hands of the community.
Co-operatives are all about running businesses democratically for the benefit of their members in the community, not just for the profit of corporate shareholders.
As part of the Greens’ policy initiative on building a co-operative Canberra, we want to reach out to Bologna to create a sister city relationship, with the goal of helping Canberra become a co-operative city.
The Greens have also announced $10 million for interest free seed funding loans for the formation of co-operatives for the formation of co-operatives or to transform existing businesses into co-operatives, requiring worker and consumer representation on the board of every ACT territory owned corporation or Government business and employing dedicated staff through Access Canberra to help advise and support the establishment of co-operatives.
If community co-ops excite you, look at the full policy package here: greens.org.au/act/co-operative-canberra