Where I stand

The treatment of First Nations Peoples since the First Fleet’s arrival in 1788 has generally been appalling. Yes, government policies and programmes have often been well intentioned. But just as often they have been the unsuccessful work of old white men with a paternalistic mindset. That’s why I supported the Yes vote in the referendum, and why I remain supportive of all the tenants of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Older Australians have a right to live with dignity and independence in their home or the aged-care facility of their choice. Home care needs to be expanded, improved and made more affordable, and the recommendations of the Aged Care Royal Commission implemented quickly and in full.

After years of intense lobbying, Andrew was thrilled to see the Federal Government finally legislate to end live sheep exports. But cruelty remains commonplace in greyhound and horse racing, live cattle exports, the industrial production of food and fibre, rodeos and puppy and kitten farms. We urgently need a National Independent Office of Animal Welfare.

Mandatory detention of asylum seekers, offshore processing and boat tow-backs must be abolished, and the High Court’s ruling against indefinite detention must be respected. Australia has a legal and moral obligation to give protection to people claiming to be fleeing persecution, quickly hear their claims and provide permanent refuge if those claims are correct.

Government payments and pensions, including Jobseeker, the Age Pension and Disability Support Pension, are poverty by design and urgently need to be increased. Recent increases to Commonwealth Rent Assistance fall well short of what’s needed.

Climate change must be addressed much more urgently, including with net zero carbon emissions. The Government must re-write the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act, and include a climate trigger, if it’s to address the extinction crisis. In Tasmania, fish farms should be restricted to deep waters and only then as a stepping stone to onshore farms, native logging banned, and plans for the proposed Rosebery tailings dam abandoned.

Consumers are not effectively protected in Australia and this needs to be remedied. So, consumer law needs to be updated to provide better protections from dodgy businesses and products. And the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission needs the power and resources to more effectively ensure compliance with Australian competition and consumer laws. Protecting the community from scams needs to be a particular focus of further reform, and I have long campaigned for banks and other financial institutions to be required to refund scam losses when they’ve failed to put in place effective safeguards. This is the case in the United Kingdom and is supported by consumer groups in Australia. Moreover poor behaviour by airlines needs to be addressed, and again we could follow the lead of other countries, especially in Europe and North America, where more effective compensation is provided in the event of delays and cancellations.

I support developments that meet sensible social, environmental and economic criteria, and are assessed in a transparent way that can be trusted. By those measures the proposed Macquarie Point stadium is completely unacceptable.

The recommendations of the Disability Royal Commission must be implemented, quickly and in full. The National Disability Insurance Scheme must be put on a more sustainable footing and refocussed to be genuinely in the best interest of participants, including by extending it to new participants over the age of 65.

Learning at every stage, from early childhood education to primary school, high school, college, vocational and trade training, and tertiary study, needs to be much better funded. We can afford to prioritise education, including universal access to affordable childcare and free first university degrees.

Tasmania’s unemployment rate remains too high among both young and mature workers. Governments need to address this, for example by reversing excessive casualisation of the workforce, introducing better protections for gig economy workers and cracking down on ageism.

Every person has a fundamental right to equality, irrespective of characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, faith, ability and age, and any barrier to equality must be addressed urgently with better public policy and laws. In particular, any attempt by a Federal Government to water down Tasmania’s strong anti-discrimination legislation must be fiercely resisted.

I have long advocated for Australia pursuing a much more independent foreign policy which is underpinned by adherence to international law.

Australia can and should play a role as a responsible middle power in advocating for a resolution of a range of important global challenges, most notably an end to Israel’s campaign against Palestinians, especially in Gaza and the West Bank; Russian withdrawal from Ukraine; increased overseas development assistance; coordinated global action on climate change; and an end to nuclear weapons proliferation.

Foreign investment needs much better regulation. Yes, Australia needs it, but only on our terms and only when it’s genuinely in the national interest. Assessment criteria must always include a national security test, and strategic assets including energy, transport infrastructure and broadacre prime agricultural land must never be sold or leased.

Effective reform to minimise gambling addiction is heartbreakingly slow. In particular, the Federal Government’s refusal to implement a total ban on gambling advertising shows politicians are scared of the gambling and media companies, as well as the AFL and NRL. The Tasmanian Government’s dumping of a mandatory cashless pre-commitment card for poker machines is another example of politicians taking their orders from the gambling companies.

The health system is a shambles and people are dying needlessly, despite our world-class health professionals. We need to make hospitals the responsibility of only one level of government and allocate more funding for frontline workers including in mental health, dental care and preventative health. The GP rebate must be increased to support bulk billing.

The housing crisis demands a bold response. This includes tax reform, targeted incentives for local and state governments to provide well-planned medium and high-density social and affordable housing, improved national rental standards for renter protection and security, and increased investment in combating homelessness, including more crisis accommodation and public housing.

While the National Anti-Corruption Commission is a good first step, Australia needs much better whistleblower protection and media freedom laws. Elections also need to be cleaned up with sweeping reforms to political donations and expenditure, as well as truth in political adverting laws.

Australia would be better served by a more independent security posture bolstered by, and not beholden to, international partnerships like ANZUS, the Quad and AUKUS. Critically, the decision to go to war should be one for the Parliament, not the Prime Minister.

It’s clear we are witness to one of the most appalling humanitarian catastrophes of our lifetime. No one disputes the horror and tragedy of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack in Southern Israel, nor Israel’s right to defend itself. But Israel has been engaged in a decades-long, systematic campaign of occupation and oppression in Palestine. Surely peace can only come with formal recognition of Palestine by all parties and a two-state solution.

Small businesses are the backbone of the economy and should be given every support. This includes measures to lower costs, like improving the Bass Strait Freight Equalisation Scheme, and overcoming workforce shortages through greatly expanded vocational training and much better skilled visa arrangements.

Government payments and pensions, including unemployment benefits, the Age Pension and Disability Support Pension, is poverty by design and should be raised above the poverty line. Commonwealth Rent Assistance must also be increased.

Hobart is choking on traffic.  As many people rely on cars, better roads and traffic flow is essential.  But a comprehensive response would also include ferries, buses, light rail, park-and-ride and improvements for cyclists and pedestrians.

Shamefully Australian governments continue to pay lip-service to the welfare of veterans. To start with, the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide must be implemented, rapidly and in full.