Economic Justice and Equity

A just economy prioritises equity, sustainability, and wellbeing. It empowers all, ends poverty and exploitation, and minimises ecological harm.

Principles

The Greens NSW believe that:

1. Economies function within and depend on natural systems. Responsible environmental management is crucial for economic wellbeing and long-term sustainability.
2. The pursuit of extractive economic growth is incompatible with the planet’s finite resources.
3. Our economic system must be redesigned to address the climate emergency as well as social and economic inequality quickly and effectively.
4. A just society ensures equitable distribution of resources so that no one lives in poverty.
5. Everyone has the right to access the resources they need to live with dignity.
6. Community wellbeing is enhanced by an equitable distribution of wealth and income.
7. Before colonisation, First Nations peoples had a sustainable and thriving economy  from which principles of stewardship must be learned. 
8. First Nations peoples must be included at all stages of natural resource management decisions, thereby ensuring there is full, prior and informed consent.
9. The budget should serve as a tool to achieve outcomes that promote the well-being of both people and the environment.
10. Deliberate and coordinated government intervention is necessary to encourage a diverse, resilient, and sustainable economy.
11. Democratic ownership and participation in economic decision-making will empower workers and communities to achieve a more socially just and ecologically sustainable world.
12. The taxation and transfer system as a whole should be progressive, and the incidence of taxation should be shifted away from labour and towards capital.
13. Organised labour and strong, enforceable workers' rights are fundamental to the achievement of a democratic and equitable society.
14. Governments have an obligation to ensure workers and communities are supported to transition from declining, unsustainable, or unethical industries into new sustainable and locally-based industries.
15. Everyone should have access to meaningful, secure, fairly-paid jobs.
16. Everyone should have sufficient time to contribute to the community, civic life, and civil society.
17. Locally-owned small and medium businesses are significant and important elements of strong and resilient local economies.
18. Democratic business models like co-operatives, social enterprises, mutual enterprises, employee ownership, and community exchange schemes boost economic health, community resilience, and economic power distribution.
19. Governments should ensure public ownership and control over public services.
20. Democratic control of public expenditure requires full transparency and accountability from governments over the use of funds.
21. The requirement for competitive neutrality should be avoided because it diminishes government capacity to serve the interests of the people.
22. Current economic institutions and measures of economic value obstruct efforts to address the inequality and climate crises.
23. The monetisation of nature should be rejected.
24. Measures of economic progress should include indicators of ecological sustainability and social wellbeing.

Aims

The Greens NSW will work towards:

25. Introducing a universal wellbeing payment, a regular amount paid unconditionally and without means testing to cover essentials such as housing, food, electricity, clothing, internet access, and water.
26. Strengthening government interventions to curb the power of monopolies and oligopolies.
27. Establishing a public bank to more efficiently manage the state’s financial resources, contribute to projects that are in the public interest, streamline payments to people in a time of crisis, and work towards a more stable and affordable housing market.
28. Ensuring good, secure, and well-paid work for everyone who wants it, including through a job guarantee.
29. Recognising the value of unpaid work, including volunteer and care work as well as emotional labour.
30. Bringing the provision of public services into public ownership and blocking further privatisation.
31. Reducing the inequality of capital ownership in our society by actively supporting cooperatives and public ownership.
32. Supplementing traditional economic indicators such as Gross State Product with wellbeing indicators that more accurately measure the quality of conditions for people and the environment.
33. Introducing a budget framework with a focus on improving the environmental, social, and cultural wellbeing of the state and its people, rather than focusing on maintaining credit ratings.
34. Raising revenue from big businesses and wealthy individuals and using it for the benefit of the public.
35. Ending tax loopholes and unreasonable tax concessions on capital, including existing tax rules which allow corporations to pay no tax in Australia.
36. Prioritising taxes on economic rent-seeking and value-extraction activities over taxes on value-creating activities.
37. Indexing tax brackets and thresholds for income and support payments annually according to inflation.
38. Reforming the tax settings on housing and land, including by:

1. Ending the capital gains tax discount;
2. Phasing out negative gearing;
3. Replacing stamp duty with a progressive broad-based land tax;
4. Introducing a vacant property levy;
5. Establishing a windfall profits tax on developers from rezoning;
6. Imposing a luxury homes tax on the most expensive properties.

39. Removal or reduction of counterproductive taxes such as payroll tax, insurance levies, transaction taxes, and levies on local governments.
40. Increasing public involvement in budget decision-making, along with greater transparency and accountability.
41. Ensuring as much transparency as possible in the handling of government contracts, with commercial-in-confidence to be used only when necessary to get the best outcome for the public.
42. Ensuring that evaluations are conducted by governments using broad and long-term considerations that appropriately value and consider impacts on future generations and the planet.
43. Re-establishing public rights to utilise public buildings and spaces without obstacles or fees.
44. Opposing the commercialisation of public spaces and services.
45. Rejecting environmental offsets and other financial schemes that don’t improve environmental sustainability.
46. Requiring producers to remediate and pay for environmental damage and pollution, as well as halting or phasing-out unsustainable activities.
47. Ensuring governments assist all communities in adapting to, mitigating, and recovering from climate change.
48. Providing a universal publicly-owned and controlled insurance scheme to cover climate change-driven disasters such as fire, storm, and flood.
49. Providing assistance to support the creation and maintenance of new green industries.

Related policies

Public Sector, Industry.

Last revised December 2024