2022-11-25
A terrific election result nationally has given us a strong mandate to press for action on climate, nature, social justice and economic inequality.
By Senator Nick McKim
What a year!
A terrific election result nationally has given us a strong mandate to press for action on climate, nature, social justice and economic inequality.
It was inspirational to see so many new people join our movement and get onto the streets to help get more Greens into parliament. We ran really strong grassroots, movement-building campaigns around the country which really paid off.
We should also acknowledge the work of present and past National Councillors. Since the last election, our National Council has collectively made some really smart decisions which put us on a very sound footing to deliver on the national strategy we agreed to.
It’s exciting to think that on top of a great result we can, and must, keep improving the way we plan and deliver our campaigns.
The new Parliament
What a great day we had shortly after the election when we got our new Party Room together for the first time. Every one of our new colleagues has brought something special and extra to our collective. Exciting times!
It turns out that smashing the two-party system involves more than just displacing major party MPs – we’ll have to move a few walls around in Parliament House, too.
There are so many Greens MPs that we can’t all fit in the room we previously used for our Party Room meetings. It’s a very good problem to have! We’re currently in a larger temporary space in one of the committee rooms, and are working with parliamentary staff to design an accessible space that we can call home.
Balance of power in the Senate gives us some real leverage, and we have cautioned the new government against taking our votes for granted. There will undoubtedly be some roller-coaster rides ahead as we use our leverage to try to deliver outcomes outside Labor’s comfort zone.
Economic justice and treasury
Millions of Australians are in a more precarious financial position than they were 12 months ago. We are living through a housing and rental affordability crisis, rising interest rates and the cost of living is spiking.
In response, we've announced policies for a freeze on both interest rates and rents. We’ve also led the charge on one of the last bastions of neoliberalism by calling on the Governor of the Reserve Bank to resign.
When he led Australians to believe that interest rates would not rise until 2024, RBA Governor Phillip Lowe knew exactly what he was doing. He was turbo-charging the housing market and deliberately inducing Australians to take on more debt. He has now raised rates sharply when the preconditions he set for doing so have not been met. He should resign for misleading Australians, as well as for continually talking down wages while ignoring corporate profiteering. The independence of the RBA should not mean that it can’t be held to account.
The pandemic years saw one of the largest upward transfers of wealth in human history. In Australia, billionaires collectively more than doubled their wealth over the past two years.
Yet Labor presses ahead with its stage three tax cuts for the top end. Rather than giving an annual $9,000 tax cut to billionaires, politicians and CEOs, Labor should use the funds to help people struggling to make ends meet. It should put dental and mental health into Medicare, make childcare free and build more affordable homes.
Home affairs, immigration and multicultural affairs
Sadly, the immigration policy Labor took to the election owed more to Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison than it did to the principles of decency and compassion.
There are still around 200 people in Papua New Guinea and Nauru who were exiled to those places nearly ten years ago. Many of these people are very sick, and need much better medical support than they are getting.
Of course they should all be offered resettlement and permanent protection here in Australia. But if Labor is not prepared to do that, then the very least they can do is offer temporary relocation to Australia so they can be supported here while they await resettlement in another country.
One day there will be a Royal Commission into immigration detention. It will help us make the necessary apologies and reparations, and make sure that this dark chapter in our country's story is brought to a close for all time.
The new government is yet to come to the table to fix a broken family reunion visa system. The current system is too expensive, too complicated, and takes far, far too long. For some classes of visa there are waiting periods of over 40 years.
The Greens initiated a Senate Inquiry during the last parliament, and we have a plan to make the system fairer, faster and more affordable. We have put the government on notice that we will be increasing the pressure on them to act.
Australia’s visa processing system is still in need of fundamental reform. Despite some additional resources being allocated recently, hundreds of thousands of people are still waiting for their applications to be assessed. This includes tens of thousands of applications from people from Afghanistan who are being hunted and persecuted by the Taliban. Labor certainly inherited a massive backlog from the previous government, but much more needs to be done to respond to claims for protection with the urgency that is necessary when lives are at risk.
While the new minister works on a plan to give permanent protection to holders of temporary protection visas, we stood in solidarity with thousands of refugees at Parliament House in Canberra to demand faster action. Many had travelled from as far as Perth, Brisbane and Hobart, some with their young children, to share their stories and urge the government to act.
My office and Greens MPs’ offices around the country continue to work hard to help people navigate an often complex and capricious immigration system. We’ve had many successes worth celebrating, which have resulted in lives saved, families reunited and more diverse and resilient communities.
In lutruwita/Tasmania
Here in lutruwita/Tasmania, we had a rousing election swing, testament to terrific candidates and a very strong campaign. After some well deserved celebrations we’ve switched our focus onto local government elections, which are underway as I write. We are running a record number of Greens candidates contesting more seats than ever before, and we are confident of a strong result.
On the ground we are seeing wilderness and our environment under ongoing threat from mining, logging and tourism interests. Native forest logging continues unabated, emitting massive amounts of carbon and destroying threatened species habitat.
In the Tasmanian WIlderness World Heritage Area, the government presses ahead with plans to privatise Hall's Island on Lake Malbena. For the pittance of about $100 per week, the developer will be granted exclusive rights, and people who are not invited will be charged with trespass if they dare to set foot on the island. We’ve joined forces with First Nations people, conservationists, anglers and bushwalkers in vowing to fight the proposal.
In takayna/Tarkine, a mining company wants to destroy over 100 hectares of pristine rainforest for a new tailings dam, and the loggers are eyeing off another summer of destruction. There are many courageous activists planning blockade action again this summer, and I can’t wait to get out there to join them.
Go Greens!