2016-05-15
Rob Delves
Its one of our four pillars – Participatory Democracy – and in my opinion the most important. Im a great fan of the Animal Farm quote (slightly modified) that “all pillars are equal, but the Participatory Democracy pillar is more equal than the other three.” Its central to our ethic of means that no matter how urgent the issue, it must be decided and implemented through full-strength, open participatory democracy.
The Greens (WA) in particular were born from a desire to do politics differently: a commitment to the principle that all citizens have the right to express their views and have the capacity and opportunity to directly participate in environmental, economic, social and political decisions. And we actively seek to increase these opportunities for public participation in decision-making ‒ attacking the inequalities of gender, wealth and power which inhibit participatory democracy.
The corrupting force of inequalities of wealth and power have increased in recent times. The democratic threat posed by huge political donations has been highlighted by The Greens (see the work done by NSW Green Lee Rhiannon). However, we should also recognise and call out the anti-democratic issues raised by the Panama Papers. What these revelations show is a massive corruption of democracy.
Runaway incomes for those at the top, combined with their financial trickery, mean they no longer play by the same rules the rest of us have to follow. Tax havens are simply one reflection of that reality. The Guardian quotes international tax expert Nicholas Shaxson: “You take your money elsewhere, to another country, in order to escape the rules and laws of the society in which you operate. In so doing, you rob your own society of cash for hospitals, schools, roads, public transport, welfare…”
The wealthy increasingly withdraw from contributing to the welfare of our nation and at the same time increasingly demand and win more power, ensuring political decisions suit them very nicely. Theyve succeeded handsomely: increased ownership and influence of media, cuts in personal taxes that overwhelmingly favour the wealthiest, invitations to advise on overhauling (i.e.: slashing) corporation taxes, the security of knowing that their tax havens will be treated very gently indeed.
Todays news headline: 'Neither major party in Australia is promising to outlaw shell companies that disguise their true beneficial owners. No Greens member would ever have guessed theyd read such a thing! The Greens core belief is that transparency and openness are essential to a healthy democracy. Our Participatory Democracy pillar refers repeatedly to values such as “transparency and accountability in government decision-making… citizens and groups to be fully informed on how to participate, with transparent and fair mechanisms utilized… the free flow of information between citizens and all spheres of government, which requires locally responsible, diverse, and independent mass media.”
Lack of transparency and openness go to the heart of all that is wrong with tax avoidance. At the very least, there should be political consensus on the response demanded by the Tax Justice Network:
“The government should respond to the Panama papers by following through on its G20 commitments and implement a public registry of who the real owners of companies are. Shell companies with front people have a long history of being vehicles for all sorts of harmful and criminal activities, from tax evasion, to money laundering, to illicit arms dealing and funding terrorism. It should be against the law for an Australian to act as a front person of a shell company where the real owner or controller of the company is hidden. It should also be against the law for an Australian to own or control a company where they have not disclosed that fact.”
Simple, really. Democracy 101 - unless your politics have succumbed to the gross inequalities of wealth and power. Democracy 101 also teaches that we are a representative democracy. The Greens would like to add an important paragraph that while representative democracy is good it remains a dangerously thin version of democracy if it isnt supported by ongoing community participation in decision-making. However, Lee Rhiannon argues convincingly that because of the excessive influence of big money, we can barely claim to be even a representative democracy. Plutocracy, anyone?
Photo Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/photos/money/