2014-09-05
Christine Cunningham and Penny Allman-Payne
Both of your Co-Convenors have a background in teaching, so the following analysis offers a report card of sorts on the first year of the Abbott government — and it probably comes as no surprise that on our assessment, the Abbott government has achieved an F.
Since taking office, the Coalition has been blatant in their cosying up to the big end of town; pugnacious in their allegiance to Christian zealots; and paternalistic in their desire to re-create Australia in their remembering of a utopian 1950s society. Compounding this regressive state of affairs, the ALP seems to continually support a 'unity ticket' with Abbott's government legislation – for example, on asylum seeker detention policy; on funding cuts to single parents and extending welfare quarantining; on data retention; on coal seam gas drilling and even going back to a war in Iraq.
The Coalition tries to demonise the Left for our desire to spend tax payer money on infrastructure, education and health because they believe such investment is unaffordable in their souped-up budget crisis ideology. And yet, without any recognition of the hypocrisy, Tony Abbott proudly announces the spending of billions of taxpayer dollars on stealth fighter jets; spent $20 million on marriage vouchers; and prioritises ploughing millions of dollars into the funding of roads and private schools. While some of this spending may be justified, it is very depressing to hear such binary rhetoric that 'our spending is good and other parties' spending is bad'.
In this morass, our Australian Greens parliamentarians continue to act with integrity and transparency. Our parliamentarians have a very different approach to politics compared to Labor and the Coalition — and a fundamental reason for this is that our parliamentarians are bound by our comprehensive suite of Greens policies which are underscored by our four pillars and published on the Web for all to see.
Can you imagine what Australia would be like in 2014 if the Greens controlled the government benches?
Instead of the death knell of the carbon tax, mining tax and renewable energy target, imagine an Australia where the Clean Energy Act continues and our carbon emissions are on a downward trajectory. Imagine an Australia where the RET is kept and our burgeoning renewable energy industry continues to strengthen and take an increasing market share off the dirty fossil fuel industries. Imagine if the mining tax was kept and re-worked so that it became a successful means of taxing the Big Polluters.
Instead of two deaths in off-shore detention centres and a secret Chauka 'behaviour modification unit' on Manus Island that punishes legal seekers of asylum, if the Greens were in government we could put in place our humane and compassionate on-shore processing policies. It would be millions of dollars cheaper than what we have in place now and we could begin to turnaround our international reputation for cruelty that has led Abbott and Morrison to be named in a submission to the International Criminal Court.
Instead of facing the outrageously frightening possibility that Abbott will push Australia into involvement in wars in the Ukraine and against ISIS, imagine an Australian government which embeds our philosophy of peace and non-violence into all foreign policy actions. Imagine the Australian Parliament having the final say on whether we go to war — not just Tony Abbott. Imagine Australia with an independent foreign policy, under which we do not just blindly follow the United States like John Howard did in 2003. Along with every other Australian, the Greens deplore the extraordinary savagery of ISIL and the horrific acts of violence against hundreds of thousands of Shia, ethnic and religious minorities, and other Iraqi and Syrian civilians, as well as the executed journalists. However, the international community must also deplore the savagery of various government forces and government-backed militias in the region. There is extreme brutality and sectarian polarization in Iraq. This is why picking sides and sending in more weapons will not result in a lasting peace.
It's not hard for us to imagine such a parallel universe — an Australia where we also value education as a public good; we protect those places that are too precious to lose; our young people are supported in their career development; the NBN connects all our homes and businesses via fiber to the home; there are effective checks and balances on the surveillance state; and where we negotiate a treaty with the First Australians and offer generous reparations for our historical failings.
On the anniversary of the Abbott Government's election win, we channel our hope and envision a future where what we have imagined on these pages becomes the reality that we know is possible.
Artwork by Manderlee Anstice based on an image supplied by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade licensed under Creative Commons 3.0