Below is a list of all of the Senate Candidates for Victoria;
unfortunately, I have not had time to look into the independents this year. I
have tried for each to list three policies or positions, though this was not
always possible. I’ve done my best to make these the three most important issues
to the party, so you can expect there will be little room for compromise if
elected. This often involves a lot of guesswork. Where it was particularly
speculative, I have explained why I have chosen these three policy areas. Links
are provided to the source of the three policy headings, not necessarily the
policy detail which may come from multiple sources.
A Liberal & National (LIB)
As one of the major parties the Liberals have a very wide-ranging
policy platform. To isolate three talking points, I have referred to their
"our plan" which after championing several past achievements
identified four key areas: tax relief, infrastructure, family services and
border security. Of these, family services was omitted from my summary due to
its broad and loosely defined scope which includes childcare, education, health
and numerous other distinct policy areas that cannot be summarised concisely.
Tax Relief:
Ignoring the large portions of the Liberal policy pages
dedicated to establishing Labor as a tax bogeyman, the main points are that the
party will reduce personal income tax, reduce the company tax rate from 30% to
27.5% and eventually to 25%, and they will expand the availability and size of
the instant asset write-off which allows the full deduction of business assets
individually worth under $30,000.
Infrastructure:
The list of infrastructure projects on the Liberal website
is too long to effectively summarise, but includes $100 billion in transport
and congestion solutions including road upgrade and expansion, rail expansion
and electrification, public transport and car parking projects, bridge
construction, heavy vehicle accommodation and new airports/airport access.
Border Security:
The essential planks of Liberal border protection policy
are: assessing refugee status in offshore centres rather than in Australian
borders, granting temporary protection visas to ensure refugees cannot become
permanent citizens, turning back boats where it is deemed safe to do so,
cancelling visas for criminals and most controversially revoking citizenship of
dual nationals involved in terrorism.
B Republican Party of Australia (RPA)
The Republican Party hasn't updated its policies since 2014,
was deregistered in 2016 for a shortage of members, and its site is in a state
of neglect, so I hesitate to present any policies beyond this rather obvious
opening to its Wikipedia page: "The Republican Party of Australia is a
minor Australian political party dedicated to ending the country's links with
the United Kingdom and establishing a republic."
C Socialist Equality Party (SEP)
The Socialist Equality Party doesn't have policies, it has a
program. This program has six parts, two being largely rhetorical discussions
on the plight of the worker. Of the remaining four, three are directly quoted
below and the fourth explains how these will be funded: nationalisation and
government take-over of banks and major industry.
War
"All Australian military and police personnel and other
foreign forces must be immediately withdrawn from Iraq, Afghanistan, East
Timor, and the countries of the South Pacific, and the necessary resources
allocated to construct decent housing and social infrastructure—including
schools and hospitals—for the local populations."
Rights
"All workers must have the right to organise and to
full legal protection from unfair dismissal. All laws against strikes and
pickets must be repealed. All discrimination based on nationality, ethnic
background, religion, gender or sexual preference must be outlawed."
Social equality
"Instead of the poverty-level minimum wage, and below
poverty-level pension and welfare payments, a decent annual living wage,
covering all needs, must be guaranteed to everyone as a basic right. This must
be paid not only to all workers, but to all those who, due to disability, old
age, illness or care responsibilities, are unable to work."
D The Small Business Party (SBP)
The SBP is a single-issue party focussed on supporting small
businesses to grow and power the economy. Their policies involve tax reform
including raising the threshold for GST and removing payroll tax, valuing
energy affordability over climate change concerns, rutting red tape (and
specifically fees for registration, compliance and ASIC searches) and transparency
in government tendering.
E Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group) (CDP)
The CDP is a conservative Christian party whose 'advocacy
will be based on the 3 forgotten pillars of society" (Family, Church and
Community) The policy page contains a wider scattering of policies from gender
politics to economics, but the extracts here are taken from the plans page as
an overview of their guiding ideals.
Family
"We believe that the institution of the family is the
most important pillar of society. We reject any attempt to redefine or the
nature of what is a family, and remain firm supporters of the needs of mothers,
fathers and children."
Church
"With the legal system beginning to reflect an
increasingly secular world, churches have a voice to protect their religious
freedoms and their ability to preach openly. Secular political parties cannot
make this guarantee, however the Christian Democratic Party can."
Community
"Increasingly our local community is coming under
pressure from Big Government and Big Business. The Christian Democratic Party
is the values-based party that will defend the interests of locals concerning
issues such as building over-development, coal seam gas mining and the building
of mosques. We believe that political decisions should be made on most local
level, so that the interests of the local community affected are properly
represented."
F United Australia Party (UAP)
Despite Palmer's ubiquitous advertising campaign,
particularly online, the policy page is rather sparse. I quote it below:
“Party Officials should not be Lobbyists, thereby taking a
strong position on Paid Political Lobbyists, saving tax payers dollars and
introducing Fair Policies
Revising the current Australian Government’s Refugee Policy
to ensure Australia is protected and refugees are given opportunities for a
better future and lifestyle
Creating Mineral Wealth to continuously contribute to the
welfare of the Australian community. This will be achieved by utilising mineral
resources from Queensland and Western Australia, and incentives from the
Commonwealth of Australia to establish downstream processing in the States of
Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia; and exporting products at a
higher dollar value, thereby creating more revenue, jobs, tax and more
facilities.
Establishing a System where people create wealth in various
parts of the country and for that wealth to flow back to the Community that
generates the wealth. For example, if a particular region creates wealth, a
significant percentage of that wealth should go back to the region."
G Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (SFF)
There are a number of policies I could draw from here
regarding foreign affairs, economics, recreation and environment. But it seems
to me the three that deserve priority are the three F's linked to the party's
very identity: Firearms, Fishing and Farming & Land Management.
Firearms
This party wants to relax gun restrictions including a
review of the 1996 gun laws, removing Federal limits on firearm imports, expand
self-defence rights, support for gun manufacturers and funding for 'Shooting
Australia'
Fishing
Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of the fishing policy concerns
increasing commercial and recreational fishing opportunities, cutting
restrictions and opposing international fishing operations
Farming & Land Management
SFF opposes the current extent of foreign land ownership and
wants to make further foreign investment more difficult. They also want
"right-to-farm" legislation giving absolute rights to farmers for
example to prevent sale of minerals under the owned land, plan to expand live
exports, oppose cheap imports and review the Murray Darling Basin Plan to
recognise farmers' rights.
H Climate Action! Immigration Action! Accountable Politicians! (CIA)
Still branded under their old name, Online Direct Democracy,
this party doesn't have policies. If elected, the candidates will vote on any
law in accordance to the result of a vote by enrolled Australian voters
I Derryn Hinch's Justice Party (DHJ)
This party is primarily, but not entirely, concerned with
law reform. I found exactly two other policies on the policy list, and 1+2
makes 3…
Law reform
By far the most extensive part of DHJ's platform, the party
wants a public sex offender register including addresses of offenders, longer
sentences for violent crimes, tougher parole conditions, harsher penalties for
animal cruelty and revocation of the right to bail for serious violent
offences.
Equal Rights
The policy, which is more a statement of historical fact,
contains two sentences: " Senator Hinch was a co-sponsor of the Marriage
Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017. This Act amended the
Marriage Act 1961 to redefine marriage as 'the union of 2 people to the
exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life'."
Dying with dignity
Though the policy site contains a very emotive story, the
policy itself is simple: DHJ supports voluntary euthanasia
J Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party (HEMP)
HEMP is a single-issue party supporting the
decriminalisation of cannabis for use as food, fuel, fibre, medicine, cosmetic
and a recreational drug. It is probably a safe assumption based on previous
alliances and the general focus of this party that they will vote in a
generally left/progressive direction on other matters, but this is always the
risk with single issue parties.
K Citizens Electoral Council (CEC)
CEC's header on its 2019 election page lists three policy
areas
Stop 'bail-in'
Bail-ins, according to the CEC are
situations where banks in debt delete your savings and instead issue you with
shares in the bank without permission. How real this threat is I won't comment
on, but the CEC is outraged at this secret international conspiracy.
Break up the banks
TO summarise, the CEC wants all banks to be split into
commercial banking (loans and deposits) and investment banking (including insurance,
stock broking, financial advice, wealth management and superannuation) to
separate the public's savings from the volatilities of the investment markets
Rebuild the country
"The CEC advocates a massive public infrastructure
development program for Australia of major nation-building projects in water,
power, and transportation, which will open up all of Australia to economic
development and population. We reject and will scrap public-private
partnerships (PPPs), and use a national bank to publicly fund projects to be
kept in public ownership. This program will address the infrastructure deficit
that has been built up through decades of under-investment, and reindustrialise
the economy by stimulating industries, including steel-making and cement
manufacture."
L Australian Democrats (DEM)
Once, the Democrats were Australia's third party, much like
the Greens are today. Despite their history, however, it is hard to pin down three
core points. Political accountability has always been a focus, and this is the
third policy on their page, which I can only assume is ordered to represent
priorities. Perhaps arbitrarily, then, I discuss below the energy, rural and
political accountability positions. The party seems to like dot-points, too,
and that works for me.
Energy
“The Australian Democrats will support policies and
legislation that:
- ensures energy initiatives prioritise consideration of climate change mitigation through emissions reductions
- develops a well-resourced, whole of government approach to the transition to a sustainable energy economy
- guarantees there is affordable and reliable electricity supply all for Australia’s people and industries
- uses progressive strategies that lead to national energy self-reliance
- actively reduces fossil fuel dependence and greenhouse gas emissions from all sources and across all sectors
- removes market barriers to develop a strong commercially viable and Australian owned renewable energy industry
- includes the transfer of appropriate technology and other forms of aid to developing countries to enable them to develop sustainable energy economies
- purposefully protects the energy sector from undue influence and distortion from vested interests and partisan politics
- proposes innovative and fair use of fiscal instruments to reduce consumption and encourage the transition to a sustainable energy economy
- increases support for innovation, research and development within the private, public and university sectors
- supports incorporating principles of eco-design and energy efficiency for future infrastructure developments including transportation, construction and industry
- extend the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target
- establishes a Domestic Resource Reserve policy to guarantee domestic supply
- retains the Clean Energy Finance Corporation”
Rural
“The Australian Democrats will support legislation that:
- supports farmers to innovate practices that increase profitability and productivity, reduce resource use and maintain ecosystem health
- recognises the strategic importance of agriculture to Australia, in terms of trade and increasingly in underwriting regional political stability
- protects agricultural landscapes and water resources for future generations
- delivers natural resource planning which includes achievable, practical and ecologically sustainable measures for the environment, communities, agriculture and industry
- fosters sustainable land use and provides incentives for recovery of degraded lands and conservation of biodiversity, empowering farmers to play a greater role in the development of land management policies
- protects and restores the health of Australian soils and native ecosystems
- reasonably mitigates production and market risks for agriculture, particularly for extreme weather-related events such as drought, flood and heat
- builds social and financial resilience in rural and regional communities, in towns and on farms alike
- supports the ongoing innovation and implementation of best practice to underpin animal welfare in agricultural supply chains.
- maintains the integrity and objectivity of agricultural regulators to increase consumer confidence in the sustainability and legitimacy of agricultural industries and ultimately protect their social licence.
- fosters greater understanding and equity between city and country dwellers
- limits tenure for foreign investment in Australia
- provides accurate reporting of all foreign investment in Australia
- regulates operating compliance of foreign investment entities”
Political Accountability
“The Australian Democrats will support legislation that:
- establishes an effective federal integrity commission for politicians, parties and public servants with genuine powers of criminal arrest and discovery
- apply truth in political advertising laws with the same rigour that applies to commercial sector advertising
- is implemented for the interests of the Australian people not the interests of a political party’s agenda or grab for power
- better manages taxpayer refunds of election expenses for parties and/or candidates, limited to actual expenses and to a maximum based on the proportion of the vote
- limits the timeframe of pre-polling to after the commencement of the advertising blackout
- establishes a charter of government accountability
- ensures government meets higher corporate citizenship standards
- removes party control over the flow of preferences in any election, handing power back to the voters to reflect the will of the electorate”
M Independents for Climate Action Now (ICAN)
ICAN is, obviously, a single-issue party in favour of action
against climate change. Their target is 100% renewable energy by 2030, with
support for fossil fuel companies to transition their workforce out of the
sector. ICAN admits the risk of voting for a single-issue party: "ICAN is
a party of allied independents committed to climate action now. Beyond our
binding climate policy platform ICAN candidates and future parliamentarians
will pursue other policy areas as independents. Therefore, it will be important
that ICAN supporters come to know their candidate’s and representative’s
positions on policy areas of importance to them." They also state that the
spirit of their party is one of evidence-based policy and that
"inappropriate or extreme policy positions" may lead to expulsion
from the party where it brings ICAN into disrepute.
N Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
Liberal Democrats are a libertarian party. This means
minimal government control on social issues (typically 'left') and economics
(typically 'right'). Their policy page divides policies into two streams
(liberty and prosperity) and 'our philosophy' identifies four headings of
principles, but first notes "The Liberal Democrats stand for greater
freedom, smaller government and personal responsibility." These are the
three headings used below.
Freedom
Freedom for the LDP includes legalisation of marijuana and
other drugs less harmful than tobacco; freedom of speech including defamation,
public indecency and intimidation; allowing gun ownership for self-defence, and
not requiring registration of long-arms or prohibiting semiautomatics; and allowing
assisted suicide and most abortions.
Small government
Policy positions include end-dates on legislation,
protection for whistle-blowers, bodies established to review government,
privatise immediately the NBN, ABC, SBS, Postal service, Electricity, Public
Transport, and eventually TAFEs, Universities, Public schools and hospitals.
Personal responsibility
The LDP would enable business owners to allow smoking in
their venues, non-late-term abortion, pornography, sex work, euthanasia, all
personal-use drugs and victimless crimes (including not wearing a seatbelt or
bike helmet, and BASE jumping).
O Secular Party of Australia (SPA)
The Secular Party Website is returning an error message to
me, so here's my summary from 2016:
https://psephologyplus.blogspot.com/2016/06/nsw-senate-candidate-rundown-2016.html
[Party site, supposedly, at https://www.secular.org.au/secular-party-aims/]
Religion
Obviously a major issue for the SPA. The party objects to
oaths (as opposed to affirmations) in public life, such as at the swearing in
of elected members and in courts as "anachronistic, ethnocentric and
divisive". They also support the removal of the optional words "under
God" from citizenship ceremonies, clear labelling of halal products and
that all payments for religious certification of a product be limited to
covering the costs involved, while opposing legislation against blasphemy in
Australia and abroad.
Republic
The SPA objects to the concepts of monarchy and hereditary
privilege, and in particular to the current system of monarchs who are also the
heads of the Church of England. Citing the ideal of responsible government
where the public is sovereign and the ultimate repository of power, the SPA
supports the transition of Australia to an independent republic.
Foreign Policy
The SPA supports the International Criminal Court rather
than allowing superpowers dictate international law, supports international
secularism and objects to human rights abuses particularly from religious
groups or for ideological reasons.
P Democratic Labour Party (DLP)
The DLP is not to be confused with the Australian Labor
Party, or as this party puts it "We are a true Labour Party and base all
our policies on three important questions: Is it good for the family? Is it
good for the worker? And is it good for the community?"
Family
The DLP family policy is based on the beliefs that marriage
should be between a man and a woman, that parents need the right to discipline
their children and solidarity with women who find themselves struggling with an
unintended pregnancy (though the DLP is anti-abortion), the abused, the
dispossessed, and parents separated from their children.
Worker
The party supports a portable leave scheme, so leave
entitlements accrue even when changing jobs; more annual and long service
leave; and reintroduction of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act to resolve
work disputes
Community
In the 2019 policy platform, being a federal election, this
is described as "support the Nation" and includes a national bank to
fund infrastructure, a national fuel reserve for emergency services, defence
and public transport for 12 months, a ban on foreign ownership of agricultural
land, clean coal power stations and renewable energy and review the delayed
French submarine purchase.
Q Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON)
One Nation's controversial policies are well known and their
recent scandals involving the US NRA are still fresh. I can't find any guidance
on which of their policies to prioritise on their site, and the list is
alphabetical. I note that in Google, however, special mention is given to
Climate Islam and Education. Whether these are topics One Nation considers
priorities on not, it's the best I have to go on.
Climate Change
Simply put, One Nation has dedicated an entire
"policy" page to climate change scepticism, claiming there is no
global warming, increase in extreme weather events or polar ice cap melt. In
terms of policy, PHON wants to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord.
Radical Islamic Terrorism
PHON insists the majority of terrorists are acting in the
name of Islam (which surely depends entirely on your definition of terrorism)
and proposed a 10-point policy including a Trump-style travel ban (their
comparison, not mine), penalties for racism of any sort (as a cause of
alienation and thus radicalisation), and cutting funding to groups like the
Bankstown Poetry Slam which they describe as "a forum for hateful Islamic
ranting"
Higher Education
The full policy text is "Support higher education for
every Australian, at a reasonable cost. Availability should be given to
Australians first, before foreigners. We oppose the privatisation of our
universities. Students requiring assistance with fees should be assessed on an
individual needs basis and not according to their parents’ income and
assets."
R Pirate Party Australia (PPA)
The Pirate Party has many lists of ideals and policy
headings to pick from, but I have chosen this line from the PPA constitution:
"The basic tenets of this movement are free culture, civil liberty and
intellectual rights reform."
Free Culture
PPA would provide $500 m to support libraries, repeal
lockout laws and allow pubs to determine their own hours, expand tax exemptions
for cultural organisations, and protect public broadcasters.
Civil Liberty
The party stands for freedom of speech, privacy, bodily
autonomy (including euthanasia, abortion and sex work), the repeal of any legal
authority over marriage and instituting civil unions as the only legally
recognised institution, and net neutrality. The party also wants a Bill of
Rights.
Intellectual Rights
The PPA desires a complete overhaul of copyright law, with
copyright extending only 15 years from publication, only limiting commercial
uses of intellectual property, and allowing copyright to be bought and sold.
S VOTEFLUX.ORG | Upgrade Democracy! (VFX)
VOTEFLUX.ORG has no policies. What it does have is an app,
and a promise that elected members will vote according to the results of polls
on that app.
T Australian Workers Party (AWP)
The Australian Workers' Party perhaps say it best: "The
AWP has a comprehensive array of policy initiatives and positions. Our core
values are fairness and social & economic justice."
Fairness
The WAP vision of fairness includes an end to metadata
collection; establishment of an Australian republic; removal of the Union Flag
from the Australian Flag and addition of emblems representing Indigenous
Australians and multiculturalism; the inclusion of dental, pathology and
physiotherapy's inclusion in Medicare; needs-based funding for schools; phased
out funding for private schools; merit-based free tertiary education; and abolition
of the Indue Cashless Welfare Card.
Social Justice
The party would propose, subject to support from Indigenous
Australians, signing of treaties, ending the NT intervention, full
implementation of the Closing the Gap recommendations and Indigenous representation
in parliament. They also support the right to seek asylum, an end to off-shore
processing, greater funding for the NDIS and setting the retirement age at 65.
Economic Justice
An increase to rental assistance; retention of tariffs;
ending foreign investment in Australian property or foreign ownership of
Australian assets; ending employment discrimination exemptions for religious
institutions; removal of full tax rates for second jobs; establishing optional
work provided by the government for all unemployed; and good governance of
strong unions are all supported by the WAP.
U Animal Justice Party (AJP)
Reasonably self-explanatory, and without much for me to add
since the party divides its policies into those for humans, animals and the
environment. Despite the breadth of policies, it's not inaccurate to describe
the AJP as a single-issue party, so their vote on non-animal-related issues is
unreliable.
Animals
"The AJP's proposed reforms for legislation relating to
animals is quite lengthy, but includes:
- Establishing an Independent Office of Animal Welfare with prosecution powers and “a definition of personhood to replace the current property status of animals”.
- Ensuring a “fairer” (presumably lower) burden of proof for prosecuting animal cruelty cases.
- Phasing out all animal farming and industries, but starting with factory farming techniques.
- Banning live export.
- Banning the use of stray animals in research.
- Phasing out funding the use of animals in experimentation, “except where there are net benefits to the animals concerned”.
- Banning horse jump racing, greyhound racing, recreational hunting, game fishing, rodeos and horse-drawn carriage rides.
- Banning the use of animals in circuses and marine theme parks.
- Banning zoos or transitioning them to sanctuaries and conservation parks “which exist solely in the service of animals”.
- Limiting breeding of animals to licensed breeders.
- Phasing out sale of pets except from shelters and rescues.
- Subsidising pet desexing.
- Making desexing a requirement for the sale of pets.
- Making it illegal to prevent pet ownership of tenants.
- Ensuring domestic violence shelters have facilities for animals.
- Supporting non-lethal population control methods for introduced species and threats to native wildlife."
Environment
The AJP supports
transitioning to a vegetarian lifestyle to minimise human impact on animals and
free up land for reforestation. They also support the use of recyclable and
upcycled materials, protect forests and marine habitats from destruction, and
the use of clean energy. The AJP argues that coal seam gas and other sources of
natural gas be reduced and phased out within 20 years, that fossil fuel usage
not increase, that a carbon tax be placed on coal use and agricultural
industries, and that Australia "rapidly transform to a carbon free energy
infrastructure"
Humans
Most of the human policies are health policies, and most of
the health policies are derived from perceived benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle.
They would promote this dietary shift through education, cutting subsidies to
the red and processed meat industries and a "phase out [of] subsidies to
intensive animal industries because they are both cruel and provide a breeding
ground for new diseases which pose large public health risks". The AJP
also advocates for an end to drug research for "diseases best managed by
simple lifestyle choices" and the overuse of antibiotics which increase
the rise of drug-resistant diseases. Other policies include opposition to gun
ownership (based on the use of firearms in pest control), that domestic
violence shelters include shelter for pets, and that work places should allow
animals to be present.
V The Greens (GRN)
According to their policy page, the Greens "champion
big, evidence-driven solutions to the major problems we’re facing now: economic
inequality, increasing cost of living, environmental destruction and climate
change." I think it's fair to say the party's stance on environmental
destruction and climate change are well known, so I have merged them to give a
broad environmental policy here.
Economic inequality
The party supports public ownership and opposed
privatisation, including reversing past privatisations, creating a
non-for-profit bank and not-for-profit renewable energy company, capping power
prices and opposing selling the NBN. The Greens' plans also include increased
funding for temporary and emergency accommodation to combat sleeping on the
streets along with more long-term allocation of money for more rental
properties and tenancy advocacy services as well as phasing out tax incentives
that favour investors over home buyers. Greens policies for economic equality
extend more obliquely to include "closing the gap" with Indigenous
people through treaties, ensuring equality for women in the workplace,
increasing accessibility for disabled people and fully finding the NDIS
Increasing cost of living
The party's not-for-profit companies and caps on power
prices are factors here too, along with rewriting workplace laws and increasing
wages, investment in science and research in preparation for future industries
and support for more than 2 million small businesses.
Environment
The Greens aren't just known for their environmental
policies, they're named for them: opposition to coal seam gas and fracking,
deforestation, gas exploration in the Great Australian Bight; legislation to
protect marine parks, the Barrier Reef, the Murray-Darling; support for
electric vehicles, 100% renewable energy, and coal workers during the phase out
of fossil fuels.
W Rise Up Australia Party (RUA)
RUA is a far-right minor party famous for leader Danny
Nalliah's claims that non-Christian places of worship are "Satan's
strongholds", that gay and lesbian individuals can be converted back to
heterosexual lifestyles and that bushfires which killed over 170 people were
divine punishment for legalising abortion; although the policies outlined below
are selected reflect the party's main focusses, it is of course worth
remembering that the party also holds to core conservative ideas including opposition to
Euthanasia or voluntary assisted dying; scepticism about climate
change; and opposition to same-sex marriage (this
policy is outdated on their website, citing obsolete legislation and noting
that SSM cannot be legalised without an act of parliament (which was passed
more than a year ago)). The party is one of very few, however, who have a
specific policy
condemning Nazism.
Protect Aussie Jobs:
RUA has set itself the ambitious policy to "Introduce
full employment; eliminate dole payments as we know them.". It's
proposed measures to protect Australian jobs include tariffs to protect
manufacture and rural industries; a minimum milk price to be paid to farmers
along with tax exemption for dairy products and a ban on milk imports;
abolition of payroll tax and unspecified red tape; and a repeal
of the Gillard-era carbon tax (which was actually repealed in 2014, but
who's keeping track?).
Protect Aussie Ownership:
This party aims to preserve Australian ownership of companies
and assets through measures which include the establishment of a
government-owned bank giving interest-free loans with generous repayment terms
to Farmers, Market Gardeners, small Business and those suffering severe
hardship on top of a freeze on mortgage repayments for these people. The party
also believes it is important to prohibit foreign acquisition of Australian
land and infrastructure.
Protect Aussie Way of Life/Protect Aussie Customs:
RUA has a strong view about what parts of Australian culture
need preserving; this is their most famously controversial dimension, with some
arguing that the party's policies in this area are contrary to core elements of
Australian life including inclusiveness and "mateship",
multiculturalism and freedom of speech. RUA believes defacing the Australian
flag should be a criminal offence, the Burka should be banned in public, child
refugees should not have been brought to Australia from Nauru, immigrants must
"respect Australian values" which includes respect for Christmas and
Easter regardless of their religious beliefs, and that multiculturalism (the existence
of varied cultures which they distinguish from multi-ethnicity, the existence
of multiple races) is inherently dangerous. They defend the rights of parents
to smack children and support the return of (undefined) "discipline"
to schools, sack university staff perceived to be encouraging "left wing
socialist policy" and mandate school teaching of how to raise a (also
undefined) model family.
X Australian Labor Party (ALP)
Labor's policy page is obviously comprehensive. So I didn't
look at that. I looked at their campaigns page, which allows you to search
specifically for two themes: education and health. To this I will add climate
change, as that has been a huge focus in the campaign.
Education
Labor will subsidise 700,000 preschool places,
"uncap" universities to provide funding for 200,000 more places, and
waive fees for 100,000 TAFE places including at least 50,000 female students,
20,000 students of disability and aged care and 10,000 students of early
education. They have also set the target of 3% of GDP to be spent on research
and development projects. Spending commitments also include $3.2 m to assist
rural students into tertiary education, $300 m for a University Future Fund and
an extra $14 b for public schools.
Health
One of Labor's earliest major commitments was around cancer
treatment: the party will spend $2.3 b on this, including $125 m in research,
$600 m to fund cancer scans and $433 m to cover consultation costs. Partially
overlapping with this Labor will invest $2.8 b in hospitals, $200 m in
headspace plus to combat mental health issues, develop a National Rural Health
Strategy and regulate drug and alcohol treatment.
Climate Change
The party's target is 50% renewable energy by 2030 and net
zero pollution by 2050. Specific programs include rebates to support 100,000
new solar/battery installations in homes, 10 community power hubs (including
wind farms) and $1 b in projects to support hydrogen power.
Y Sustainable Australia (SA)
The policy page does my job for me. Which I guess is what a
good policy page should do? Priorities are identified as jobs, housing,
planning and environment, and the summaries are directly quoted:
Jobs
"Better invest in education and skills training for
local workers; Re-allocate our scarce economic capital (back into our
factories, farms and small businesses, to re-diversify our economy); A simpler,
fairer tax system; Re-invest in the regions; Fair trade with a level playing
field; Australian ownership and management of utilities, land and resources;
& more."
Housing and Planning
"Tax reform (end [capital gains tax/negative gearing] concessions); Stop foreign
purchases; Reduce population growth pressures; Increase investment in public
housing; Better bank lending practices; Greater renters’ rights; & more...
Give real power to local communities in planning decisions; Increased developer
charges for land value (rezoning) gains; Better public transport; Preserve or
plant corridors of biodiversity; Prioritise ecological design in housing;
Reduce population growth pressures; & more."
Environment
"Transition to renewable energy; Moratorium on all
fracking; Better manage our water security; Increase conservation management
funding and employment; Enhance biodiversity and native species programs;
Protect animal habitats from housing and farming land clearing; End old growth
forest logging; Minimise factory farming; Reduce waste production; Reduce
population growth pressures (so all of the above isn't undermined); &
more."
Z - (IND)
AA Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party (FACN)
Fraser Anning shot from relative obscurity among elected
politicians due to his highly controversial and conservative views. His party's
policy page has only one policy link (Veterans' Policy) but also lists 21
numbered items, topmost on that list being (1) that Australia was founded as a
"as an English speaking, predominantly European Christian Commonwealth",
(2) that immigration needs to prioritise "those best able to integrate and
assimilate" (i.e., presumably, English speaking, predominantly European
Christians) and (3) opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion. So do not
assume this party is a single-issue one simply because there is only a single
policy to expand upon.
Veterans
The party supports marking the drivers' licenses of veterans
or issuing veterans ID cards, military appointments to veterans affairs, military
membership on tribunals for all claims on the department of veterans' affairs,
re-establishment of a defined benefit superannuation scheme for ADF members,
the right of any former serviceperson to demand accommodation at military
facilities and a retirement village for veterans in Townsville.
AB Australian Conservatives (CON)
The Australian Conservatives are reasonably
self-explanatory, but I couldn't find any objective way to pick the three most
important policy areas. I can't even take the top three on their policy page,
because they are ordered alphabetically and don't necessarily reflect their
importance to the party. So, I've done it subjectively instead, and I apologise
if my personal bias has influenced me.
Society and Culture
The party recognises Australia's Judeo-Christian heritage;
supports freedom of thought, expression, association and equality; has pride in
the Australian flag and history; believes "traditional marriage" is
the foundation of civil society and champions individual rights and freedoms
Immigration and Citizenship
The Conservatives have vowed to halve immigration, never
resettle refugees, withdraw from the UN Refugee Convention, reform all classes
of visa, eliminate permanent residency and require ten-year residency (with 7
years of tax payment) to become a citizen
Energy
The Conservatives' website still hosts a video titled
"Climate Doomsday Alarmism is a Hoax". It is unsurprising, therefore,
that the party describes itself as "technology agnostic", does not
support renewable energy targets and plans to withdraw from the Paris Climate
Accord. The party also supports nuclear power.
AC The Great Australian Party (GAP)
The GAP believes, among other things, that the government is
acting ultra vires, and specifically in violation of the constitution. This is
a very serious claim, but I couldn't find any details of what they consider
this violation to be (and perhaps one shouldn't take the politico-legal analysis
to seriously from a party that thinks Australia has a former PM called
"Julie Gillard"). Their other policies are numerous and hard to
whittle down to something concise. Fortunately, they've done this for me.
AD Health Australia Party (HAP)
HAP essentially has five core pillars found repeated across
their website: Healthy People, Healthy Economy, Healthy Environment, Healthy
Democracy and Healthy Society. The most extensively discussed in their policy
document are People, Environment and Society, so those are the three I have
focussed on below. The party also provides a handy reference guide comparing
some positions to the Liberal, Labor and Greens' stances here.
Healthy People:
HAP is pro-vaccine, pro-natural remedies, pro-euthanasia,
pro-homebirth and pro-(Australian grown, non-GMO, pesticide-free, organic)
medicinal cannabis, including the legalisation of growing up to 6 plants at
home. They are also against fluoridation of the water supply. Primarily the
party is concerned to shift the Australian Healthcare System from "disease
management" to "health creation" and will fund research and
programs to place pharmaceutical and natural medicine on an equal footing.
Healthy Environment:
Wood chipping and pulping of old growth forests, import of
illegally forested timber, nuclear power, fire-based land clearing and
perpetuation of fossil fuel energy are all opposed by this party, which
supports green energy, government funded damming for water security,
investigation into claimed harmful impacts of radio waves, stringent
environmental protections for mining approval and a national agricultural
policy which limits urban expansion and encourages urban farming.
Healthy Society:
HAP believes a national curriculum must be tempered by
personalised approaches, subject to greater teacher autonomy and a shift from
instruction to play and enquiry. HAP also supports home-schooling and argues
that industry-funded grants for tertiary research must be phased out in favour
of independent/government funding. The party also supports the rights of
refugees to seek asylum; a strong, state-of-the-art defence force; active
participation in peacekeeping and diplomacy; optional "Swiss-style"
national service; an end to live export; rejection of the death penalty; and
prayer and meditation as part of a holistic approach to health.
AE Yellow Vest Australia (YVA)
The only thing this party has changed since 2016 is its name
(formerly the Australian Liberty Alliance). For this reason, I have also not
updated this summary
Citizenship and Integration
The ALA dedicates most of this platform to its aims to
"Stop the Islamisation of Australia", which is focused on preventing
Sharia law being "imposed" upon Australians, banning immigration of
Muslims from the countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation,
prohibiting face coverings in public spaces, and mandatory labelling of
products and services from companies that have taken out halal certification.
They also oppose dual citizenship, and consider Australian citizenship a
privilege rather than a right - which may include revoking the citizenship of
current Australians.
Health
In the party's health policy are aims to end universal
healthcare for "those who can afford to contribute more and foreign
nationals", support the NDIS, but after a gradual introduction and on a
sound financial basis, and requirements for children’s' health checks and
immunisation before parents receive child benefits. This policy also includes
tentative opposition for abortions after the first trimester (excluding
exceptional circumstances) a somewhat firmer stance against assisted suicide
and euthanasia. Oddly, the "health" policy also includes opposing
stereotyping and disadvantages for homosexual couples, but reject also a
rejection of same sex marriage and same-sex adoption.
Foreign Affairs
The ALA considers the UN Charter on Refugees to be outdated,
and remove Australia from the charter. They promote resettlement only in
countries from a similar region and culture to the one they have fled, insist
aid be restricted to nations "subscribed to the UN Charter on Human Rights
and who guarantee gender equality and protection of religious minorities"
and would limit foreign investment in Australian real estate to nations with a
reciprocal agreement with Australia. They also fully support the rights of
Israel in the Middle East, in particular to have undivided control of
Jerusalem.
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