What a year: Nick McKim

2020 has been such a difficult year for so many people.

By Senator Nick McKim


2020 has been such a difficult year for so many people. The pandemic has brought greater exposure to some of the faultlines that have existed in our community and our economy for some time. These include insecure work, unfair wealth distribution, unemployment and underemployment, underinvestment in crucial public services, and the dangers of privatisation.

Despite being in recession, the war on nature has continued unabated. We continue to fight against the mining and burning of fossil fuels, and the strip-mining of our native forest. We also continue to resist the government pandering to its donors in big fossil fuel corporations with a ‘gas led recovery’.

Economic justice

I am very pleased to take on the new portfolio of Economic Justice, which combines treasury, finance, and reflects the focus the Greens want for our economy.

Economic Justice is about imagining and creating an economy that shares wealth fairly, helps people to lead good lives, and respects the ecological processes that underpin everything.

People often say that the Greens have no economic credibility. My response to that is to suggest they have a look at the shambles that fifty years of neoliberalism have left us with – a biodiversity crisis, a climate that is breaking down around us, and a rampantly unfair society in which the big corporates and the super wealthy make off like bandits while too many people miss out. If people want to ask about economic credibility I suggest they ask the LNP and the ALP, whose stewardship has led us into this neoliberal calamity.

It’s time to start building an economy that serves people and the environment, instead of the other way around. We will keep fighting to ensure the recovery from this pandemic makes Australia a fairer place, and that our wealth is better shared.

So we are going to use the new portfolio to campaign against austerity and wealth inequality, and to fight for the big corporations and the super wealthy to pay their fair share of tax so we can create a fairer society.

A big thanks to Senator Peter Whish-Wilson who held this portfolio before me. Thanks for the Banking Royal Commission Pete – great job!

Immigration and citizenship

Late last year, the Liberals, with the assistance of Jacqui Lambie, repealed the medevac legislation, leading to more torment and suffering for people who have already suffered for years at this government’s hands.

And since the pandemic started it’s only been made worse. People have been locked up in onshore detention centres that are becoming more and more like prisons.

Worse still, the Liberals are trying to pass legislation to take phones away from people in detention, which would isolate them further from their support networks and make it less likely or abuse to come to light. We continue to fight.

A complete lack of planning and an arbitrary decision-making process has meant that hundreds of people in immigration detention were cut off from their families during the lockdown period.

Australian citizens, permanent residents and temporary migrants were stranded from their families, their jobs and their loved ones. I am proud of the work the Greens parliamentary team and our offices have put into reuniting people and keeping the pressure on the government.

Justice

The government’s attempts to bolster its own powers and fetter human rights were not deterred at all by the pandemic.

ASIO will now have more power to question minors, and the consolidation of power for Peter Dutton within the Department of Home Affairs continues.

We have also seen the government move to give religious organisations more powers to discriminate against people

Our newest senator, Lidia Thorpe, has now taken on this crucial portfolio. I have no doubt that she will continue her fierce advocacy for justice both inside and outside Parliament.

Digital rights

The fight to defend our digital rights, both from the government and big tech, continues.

The prospect of a code to force Google and Facebook to pay for news is a small but important step down the path of better regulation.

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