In the run-up to the Federal Election many progressives tried to justify Labor’s small target strategy by arguing that Labor would get things done once in government. But that too much detail beforehand would confuse and overwhelm people. Now the day has come. Labor has enjoyed a strong victory. And it’s time to deliver.
The Greens have argued for Medicare Dental ; but Labor could make the policy its own while winning broad and ongoing Greens support for the remainder of the term. The squeeze on the cost of Gas also demands subsidies in favour of those on low incomes and welfare. While an increase in the supply of public housing could improve housing affordability. Pressure on the NDIS should be lifted with additional funding ; as should pressure on our hospitals. Waiting lists have exploded with Covid ; and action is urgently required. Accessibility and affordability in Higher Education should also be addressed with lower fees and an increase in repayment schedules clearly above the average wage. Tied grants should be provided to the states to fund an increase in teacher numbers ; while a National Curriculum should be designed which promotes active, informed and critical citizenship. This includes understanding of political processes and opportunities for public sphere participation ; as well as sophisticated ideological literacy. Finally, promises on Aged Care should be implemented. Albanese has promised an increase in care personal attention hours for residents ; but to implement this we need Aged Care Worker Ratios. Winning Government is not the end of the journey ; it is only the beginning.
We also
need a sense of scale when talking about funding for reform. There is often a sense of panic and alarm
when talking about policies which go into the billions. How often
do we hear that ‘we cannot throw money at problems’ or that funding policies is
dismissed as a ‘cash splash’. (and hence
‘irresponsible’) But let’s be clear ;
the economy is valued at some $1.7 Trillion a year. That’s ONE THOUSAND AND
SEVEN HUNDRED BILLION. Fear to pursue
truly ambitious policy leads to stagnation. And failure to commit money translates as a
failure to commit resources. Viewed
thus, any public policy agenda will fail without sufficient resourcing. Labor needs to be thinking about what is
reasonable in terms of short to long term plans to expand the social wage and welfare
state, as well as other programs to provide infrastructure and skill development,
and to improve public broadcasting. We
need to develop popular understanding of concepts such as ‘collective
consumption’ ; and how the social wage can provide better value for money for
workers, consumers, tax-payers. $17 billion
is one per cent of GDP. And over several terms of Government it is a reasonable objective
to aim to broaden the social wage and welfare state by 5 per cent of GDP.
This is
not an arbitrary figure, but an estimate of what is necessary for ambitious
reform. Again, this could fund public
housing, education and health, aged care, welfare and unemployment insurance
reform, infrastructure (including renewable energy, rail transport and fiber to
the home National Broadband Netowork (NBN) ), and programs to secure guaranteed
job placement and experience for the disabled. Disability Pensions should be reformed also,
to increase the scope to supplement income with part-time or casual work, and
to take away perverse incentives to avoid intimate relationships. (eg: measures which radically reduce pension
payments to individuals in relationships and marriages) Further
; local government should be supported so that suburbs who suffer from
undeveloped social infrastructure like parks and gardens, sporting and fitness
infrastructure, libraries and so on – are able to deliver better quality of
life to working class families.
Meanwhile
; over the long term there should be plans to resocialise energy and water. And to reintroduce public-owned competitors
in markets like financial services and insurance: to counter collusion and
support consumers by providing competition from government business enterprises
on a not-for-profit footing.
Finally,
the labour market demands structural reform to prevent the entrenchment of a
class of working poor Australians. This may have a once-off inflationary effect
; but redistribution one way or another is necessary to deliver wage justice. We need
to address the distribution of the economic pie between capital and labour ;
but also between labourers themselves as well. Other innovative policies could include
financial support and financial counselling for people planning on developing
co-operative enterprise. (on either a large or small scale) If increases in minimum wages will not eventuate
without direct intervention, then there should be direct intervention. This should be
undertaken where the current framework of Fair Work Australia fails to deliver. Allowing secondary boycotts 'in good faith' could also enable the industrially strong to assist the 'industrially weak' in achieving better outcomes for historically low-paid workers.
It's not
good enough to put ambitious reforms off until a second term. Policies like Medicare
took years to become entrenched ; to the point where any effective frontal
assault against basic socialised medicine became impossible. Here, also, once-introduced and accepted as
part of the ‘socialised medicine landscape’, Medicare Dental would be very
difficult to dismantle. The establishment of
a Labor Government provides the opportunity to introduce life-changing
reforms. It is an opportunity that should not be wasted.
