2015-03-15
John Kaye, MLC
On Sunday we launched the final two weeks of our election campaign at the University of Technology and together talked about our vision for the future. It was incredible to stand in a room of 400 committed, passionate advocates for a future that relies on green jobs and investing in our local and regional communities — not the big end of town.
We have a plan to take on the vested interests to fund the future. Labor and the Liberal and National parties are unable to see beyond the very limited palette of traditional economic options. We have shown that it is possible to fund public schools, hospitals, housing and other social infrastructure, and create tens of thousands of new jobs without selling public assets or running up unsustainable debt.
We've done the maths.
We have a plan to create jobs, restore local infrastructure and invest in affordable public housing.
By restoring the tax on property speculators and poker machines in super-profitable clubs and maintain the stamp duties on big business transactions that are scheduled to be abolished, it is possible to service and pay back a loan of $20 billion without having to cannibalise vital public assets.
The Greens would invest part of these funds into communities that are struggling with high unemployment, a skills deficit, limited housing options and infrastructure that is not fit for the 21st century.
Labor and the Liberal and National parties would like the public to believe that they have to make a choice between economic growth and quality social infrastructure.
They don't.
Our plan shows that governments can grow the revenue base and use the funds to create real jobs, transform the energy sector, and build a resilient economy — but only when they're not afraid to stand up to land speculators and cashed-up clubs.
For too long, the old parties have responded to the powerful vested interests and put property developers before public housing and allowed the big clubs and the pokies industry to profit at the expense of problem gamblers and their families and communities.
The cashed-up fossil fuel industry and their lobbyists have held sway in NSW, re-writing public policy to enrich themselves by shutting the door on renewable energy, stifling the protests of communities at risk from coal and coal seam gas and ignoring the evidence on climate change.
The world is changing — and Australia is at risk of being left behind.
NSW will become 100% renewable. The question is not if but when. The sooner that governments realise that the rest of the world is abandoning fossil fuels and racing towards a renewable energy future, the more chance this state has to become an international leader and build a vibrant export-oriented industry in the energy technologies and services that will be in ever increasing demand.
That's why the Greens have developed a plan where households and small businesses become active participants in, and beneficiaries of, the clean energy industry.
Public ownership of the electricity network is critical to a rapid transition to 100% renewables. Profit-focused corporations will work hard to frustrate the development of energy options that compete with their monopoly and reduce demand for their services.
The Greens want to build a 21st century energy economy where households can trade in roof-top solar and clean energy. Our plan avoids much of the enormous cost of investing in new power lines and creates opportunities for solar, thermal and wind.
There are two things that strike me about the difference between our plan and the rigid thinking of the two old parties.
The first is that the Greens are clearly looking to the future. We are looking towards the kind of community, state and world that sustains the planet and ensures that every member of the community benefits. This is about generating new wealth and sharing it equitably.
The second is that our policies are developed with our feet firmly in the communities that we belong in, and that we represent. Where the Labor and Liberal Governments tear money out of services in struggling communities, the Greens invest in local infrastructure programs to create new jobs and training opportunities for the long term and young unemployed.
In less than two weeks, the voters of NSW will make a critical decision about the the next four years and far beyond. We have a plan for NSW's future that I am very proud of, but we need to share it with our family, friends and colleagues so that they understand what we're all working so hard to achieve.