Australia is facing an uncertain world and a more extreme climate. To make matters worse, the political choices of the past decades have left us a more divided and unequal society.
But we can make smarter choices that correct the mistakes of the past and take hold of the opportunities of the future.
Concentrated marketshare fails consumers
Competition is required to make private markets efficient and innovative. Increasingly though Australia has become a country of dominant monopolies and duopolies, shielding these companies from effective competition through their market power. We must-
- disincentivise excessive marketshare both overall and within local markets
- protect competition within less profitable geographical areas
Equitable access to housing
Rates of home ownership have plummeted as governments have both stopped building social housing and encouraged housing as an investment. Housing is a right and not a way to make money off the desperation of others less fortunate. We need to-
- continue focusing on building housing supply near existing services and public transport, including in towns and regional centres
- build more social housing, even when the private market doesn’t want to
- phasing out the generous tax arrangements for property investment
Prioritise rail freight
Moving freight by rail is several times more efficient than by road, resulting in lower emissions. Rail freight also improves safety by getting trucks off our roads and reduces road maintenance costs. We should-
- optimise freight movements from the west of the state to the ports of Melbourne and Geelong
- review network access costs to ensure they provide the correct incentive to shift freight to rail
Resilient communities for the future
We must prepare communities for the impacts of climate change. Communities connected by strong social services and thriving local/small businesses is the best defence. We should-
- optimise land use within urban areas for people and safety, including the pedestrianisation of streets to reduce the safety issues posed by cars and provide more green space and enhanced tree canopies
- provide tax-offsets to small businesses that provide community services and employment within walking and active-transport distance from houses
- be realistic about how to best best protect communities from events such as floods and bush fires, including being willing to relocate at-risk services and property
A fairer tax system
Australia is too reliant on income tax. While efficiencies in government can be carefully found, the obsession with small government of the past decades has only lead to poor and missing service provision. We need to-
- fund quality services as fairly as possible while limiting the impacts of taxation
- to be able to quantify the tradeoffs of additional or less government service provision in terms of impact to overall cost-of-living
Celebrating diversity
Australia is a truely glorious mix of different cultures, religions and identities. We should promote this diversity through the secular state – the notion of equality between these differences – and through institutions such as the education system.
We can be a Green Energy Superpower
Our coal and gas power plants are aging and need to be replaced. Renewables are the cheapest path forward. Our abundant natural resources – sun and wind – will then allow us to be a lead exporter to the world as countries eventually realise the necessity of seriously tackling climate change.
Equal and sufficient service provision
Lower taxes at the expense of non-competitive private monopolies and an overall higher cost-of-living is a poor tradeoff. The failure of neo-liberalism that that sometimes effective completion is not possible and other times the profit motive results in perverse outcomes. We should-
- be willing to step up in the case of non-competitive markets or where important services have been withdrawn from less profitable areas – such as in telecommunications and banking
- be willing to identify services where equity and fair service provision is too important to leave to a private market – such as aged and child care – and transition private operators out of these areas
Invest in Regional Passenger Rail services
Regional Passenger Rail services are regularly crowded and infrequent. Many areas of the state are car dependant. We should-
- ensure at least a 30 minute frequency for intercity services throughout standard operating hours
- replace the weekend Night Coach with faster rail services throughout the night
- investigate re-instating Passenger rail services to Hamilton/Portland, Horsham and Mildura using the existing freight-only corridors
Prioritise public transport within urban areas
Our urban areas continue to grow rapidly and the capacity added by mega road projects is quickly consumed by induced demand. Cars are simply too inefficient at scale. We must-
- focus on local/last mile service provision in the middle and outer suburbs of our capital cities and within our regional centres and towns through expanded rapid buses and tram routes
- prioritise heavy rail services for Melton and Wyndham Vale, followed by improving capacity in Melbourne’s north, including duplication between Gowrie and Upfield.
- ensure at least a 15 minute frequency on all metropolitan routes throughout standard operating hours